Inez Moore Parker Archives, JCSU
1907
A University Quintet
Dr. Thomas A. Long organizes JCSU’s first music ensemble.
01 Our Story From a 1907 quintet to the International Institution of Sound.
The story
From a Quintet
to the I.I.O.S.
The Johnson C. Smith University band program was established in 1907 as a university quintet organized by Dr. Thomas A. Long, the first music director at JCSU.
In 1912 it grew into an orchestra and brass band, though the cost of instruments and the difficulty of finding trained musicians made it a struggle. The ukulele and banjo were added in 1922, and the band began performing at university events and annual on-campus concerts. By the late 1930s and early 1940s, JCSU had added music courses, a music minor and degree certification.
The program became known as the Royal Collegians in 1947, the year a marching band was introduced. It grew substantially over the next decade under Professor Daniel E. Owens, who served both as director at JCSU and as a music educator in the local community.
In 1966 Professor Marvin Davenport took over, created a Concert Band and introduced private lessons — work that earned him respect throughout the CIAA, and a director’s award that still carries his name.
Inez Moore Parker Archives, JCSU
The Names
Over the years the band was known as the “Dirty Thirty,” the “Nifty Fifty,” the “High Stepping Forty” and the “Institute of Sound.”
The Renaming
When Professor Duncan C. Gray took the role in 1986 and led the band to Ireland a few years later, the program was renamed the International Institution of Sound.
The Band Room
Once on the third floor of the Biddle Hall Administration Building. In 1966 it moved to the old cafeteria, where it remains today.
