Henry Fillmore - Biography

Biography

James Henry Fillmore Jr. was born in Cincinnati, Ohio as the eldest of five children. In his youth he mastered piano, guitar, violin, flute, and slide trombone. He kept his trombone activities a secret at first, as his conservative religious father believed it an uncouth and sinful instrument. Fillmore was also a singer for his church choir as a boy. He began composing at 18, with his first published march "Higham", named after a line of brass instruments.

Fillmore entered the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1901. After graduating he travelled the United States as a circus bandmaster with his wife, an exotic dancer named Mabel May Jones. They were married in St Louis.

In the 1920s Fillmore was back in Cincinnati conducting the Shriners Temple Band, which he turned into one of the best marching bands in the country.

In 1938 Fillmore began an active retirement in Miami, Florida. He kept an active schedule rehearsing high school bands in Florida and composing marches. Henry Fillmore Band Hall, the rehearsal hall for many of the University of Miami's performing groups, acquired its name as a tribute to Fillmore's work in the band genre. His march Orange Bowl was written for Miami's Band of the Hour. His arrangement of the 'The Star-Spangled Banner' is the traditional arrangement performed by the Florida State University Marching Chiefs. His march Men of Florida was composed for the bands at the University of Florida. He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Miami in 1956 in recognition of his career. Fillmore lived out the rest of his days in South Florida.