Lefebre FULL PDF

EDWARD A.
LEFEBRE (1835*-1911):
PREEMINENT SAXOPHONIST OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
by
JAMES RUSSELL NOYES
Submitted to
The Manhattan School of Music
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
and approved by
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
May 2000
*Original title = (1834-1911). See Post-Addendum, page 288.

Dedicated to my parents,
for teaching me
the true meaning of
love and generosity.
ABSTRACT
As the saxophone continues to play an ever-
increasing role in music throughout the world, interest
has begun to shift to its earlier traditions and
legacies. The life of Aldophe Sax, his struggle to
develop and promote the saxophone, and his nineteenth-
century European legacy has been well documented. Much
research has also been devoted to the post World War I
saxophone “craze,” largely an American phenomenon. It
had previously been thought that the saxophone lay
relatively “dormant” in the late 1800s and early 1900s,
only emerging in the 1920s as an integral part of jazz
music and in symphonic works of Gershwin, Kodaly,
Milhaud, Prokoffiev, and Ravel, among others.
The career of Edward A. Lefebre, spanning from the
mid-1850s to his death in 1911, provided an important and
direct link between Aldophe Sax and the nineteenth-
century European orchestral tradition, and the
saxophone’s eventual widespread popularity, mass appeal,
and world-wide acceptance in the twentieth century.
Lefebre’s monumental efforts to popularize the saxophone
were initially felt in Europe and Africa, and Lefebre
eventually became a significant part of the musical
ii
fabric of America from the time he joined Patrick S.
Gilmore’s 22nd Regiment Band in 1873, to his last public
solo and quartet performances in 1909. Lefebre was
associated with bandleaders Patrick S. Gilmore and John
Philip Sousa, instrument manufacturer C. G. Conn,
composer Harry Rowe Shelley, and music publisher Carl
Fischer, all icons of the era. In fact, Lefebre himself
was also an icon, the “Saxophone King.”
In a comprehensive examination of Lefebre’s life and
career, this study will present Lefebre’s legacy as one
of the most meaningful and substantial in the history of
the saxophone.
Thesis advisor: Dr. Paul Cohen
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT...............................................ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................vi
PREFACE..............................................viii
TIME LINE: LEFEBRE’S PROFESSIONAL CAREER.............xiii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION.............................1
CHAPTER II ADOLPHE SAX AND THE BIRTH OF THE

SAXOPHONE, c.1840-1857..............5
CHAPTER III LEFEBRE’S MISSION BEGINS, c.1855-1873...16
South Africa............................18
F. J. Weygand and Company...............18
Parepa Rosa English Opera Company.......22
CHAPTER IV LEFEBRE THE “SAXOPHONE KING,”

1873-1894..........................27
Gilmore.................................27
New York Saxophone Quartette Club.......29
European Tour...........................38
Caryl Florio............................43
Lyceum Concert Club.....................52
Lefebre Benefit Concert of 1883.........65
Deafness................................69
Death of Gilmore........................81
Sousa...................................90
Blakely Correspondence.................101
CHAPTER V LEFEBRE’S MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED,

1888-1911.........................118
Carl Fischer...........................118
C. G. Conn.............................122
Elkhart, Indiana.......................131
Conn Conservatory......................135
Freelance: Conn Wonder Quartet, Elks,
Trumpet Notes Band................138
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette............146
Florio Correspondence..................152
CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION.............................188
iv
APPENDIX A PERFORMANCES...........................194
Solo...................................194
Chamber................................197
Variations with Band...................198
APPENDIX B PUBLICATIONS...........................199
Solos..................................199
Duets..................................203
Quartets...............................203
APPENDIX C PROGRAMS, PHOTOS, AND LETTERS..........204
Gilmore Programs, 1874-1892............204

Gilmore’s Saxophone Section, c.1889....212
Florio’s Introduction, Theme and
Variations, 1879..................213
Florio’s Saxophone Quartet, 1879,
Soprano Saxophone Part............214
Cover of Musical Courier, 1884.........219
Lefebre’s Benefit Concert, 1893........220
Letter to Blakely, 12 Feb. 1894........221
C. G. Conn Poster, c.1896..............224
Conn Conservatory Certificate,
Issued to Will Yeglea, 1897.......225
Letter, Trumpet Notes Band, 1897.......226
Carl Fischer’s “Celebrated Solos
For the Saxophone,” c.1900........227
Lefebre’s Wonder Quartette, 1901.......228
Letter to Florio, 26 Nov. 1902.........229
Lefebre’s 1903 Conn Saxophone..........232
Lefebre Saxophone Quartet,
Des Moines Register Ad, 1903......233
Lefebre’s Los Angeles
Saxophone Quartette, 1909.........234
APPENDIX D SAXOPHONISTS WITH 22ND REGIMENT BAND....235
APPENDIX E LEFEBRE FAMILY HISTORY.................236
ADDENDUM LEFEBRE AND BESSIE MECKLEM.............239
BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................243
INDEX.................................................252
LEFEBRE’S LAST BAND, SAXOPHONE SYMPOSIUM 26 (2001)....255
POST-ADDENDUM LEFEBRE’S BIRTH RECORD.................288
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Paul Cohen for his
enlightened guidance and unwavering support of my
research efforts.
Special mention must be given to Dr. Margaret Downie
Banks and her staff at America’s Shrine to Music Museum,
Vermillion, SD. Without the assistance of Dr. Banks, I
may never have realized Lefebre’s true significance. The
bulk of the C. G. Conn Truth articles, and thus much of
Lefebre’s career between 1892-1905, come from the
archives at ASMM. Dr. Banks’ own research efforts on my
behalf, including the Elkhart Truth, the Trumpet Notes
Band Archives, and the Julius Stenberg scrapbook, were
both thoughtful and generous.
I would like to thank the following individuals for
providing information from their own private collections,
all of which has proved invaluable: Frank Cipolla,
Buffalo, NY; Paul Cohen, Teaneck, NJ; Steve Dillon,
Woodbridge, NJ; Barry Furrer, Bound Brook, NJ; The
Lefebre Family, St. Petersburg, FL, and West Islip, NY;
Kathleen Maxwell, Valencia, CA; Betsy G. Miller,
Columbia, SC; and Fred Williams, Philadelphia, PA.
vi
I would also like to thank George Bosiwick and the
entire staff at the Library for the Performing Arts and
the staff in Special Collections at the New York Public
Library.
Thanks to everyone at the following institutions:
Academy of Arts and Letters, Brooklyn Library, Library of
Congress, National Archives, New York Historical Society,
Rutgers University Library, and the University of Iowa
Library.
Thanks to Dave Anderson, Jeff Langford, Gary Morgan,
Ruth Mueller-Maerki, and Marcel P. van Rootselaar for
technical assistance.
This project made me realize the tremendously
important and crucial role of our libraries and museums,
as well as private collectors, in preserving our cultural
heritage.
vii
PREFACE
In the fall of 1997, while enrolled in my first
semester at the Manhattan School of Music, I settled on
“The History of the Classical Saxophone Quartet” as my
doctoral thesis topic. Such a broad topic was ripe with
possibilities, and I didn’t hesitate in getting started.
With the help of my teacher, Dr. Paul Cohen, I secured an
interview with the premier classical saxophone quartet of
our generation, the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet. The
members of the RSQ were generous with their discussion
about their music, their philosophies, and their thirty-
year history.
As summer of 1998 arrived, I looked for a way to
continue my research. Knowing that Edward A. Lefebre was
the leader of the New York Saxophone Quartette Club, one
of the earliest American saxophone quartets (1873-85),
Dr. Cohen encouraged me to try and answer, “Whatever
happened to Lefebre’s stuff?” The thought of locating an
old trunk of Lefebre’s music and personal belongings was
enticing, so I traveled to Brooklyn, Lefebre’s American
hometown, and began digging. With no record of a will,
the only lead was an obituary from the Brooklyn Daily
Eagle which provided the first clues to Lefebre’s rather
extensive career, including his years in South Africa,
viii
and as soloist with Gilmore and Sousa, but nothing of his
quartet. At the New York City Public Library, I began
scanning issues of the Musical Courier. To my
astonishment, E. A. Lefebre’s name appeared with great
regularity, and while none of the articles mentioned the
New York Saxophone Quartette Club, they mentioned
numerous solo engagements, performances with the Gilmore
Band, the Lyceum Concert Club, and a Lefebre Benefit
Concert in 1883. A subsequent trip to America’s Shrine
to Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota, revealed
Lefebre to be no ordinary saxophonist, but a man of
intense drive and motivation. Here, with the help of
curator, Dr. Margaret Downie Banks, I uncovered a wealth
of information on Lefebre as a consultant to C. G. Conn,
as a teacher at the Conn Conservatory, as leader of the
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette, and as a solo performer. I
returned from South Dakota realizing I had a new
dissertation topic: the career of Edward A. Lefebre, and
his mission to popularize the saxophone.
Having narrowed my focus, I was able to pinpoint
specific places to continue looking, particularly that of
the Twenty-second Regiment Band directed by Patrick
Gilmore, and to a lesser extent, the band of John Philip
Sousa. What I found was truly staggering: hundreds of
ix
concert programs from the Gilmore Band, including the
first known performance of the New York Saxophone
Quartette Club (January 1874) as well as dozens of
Lefebre’s solo performances, a program from a second
Lefebre Benefit Concert of 1893, four handwritten letters
from Lefebre to Sousa’s tour manager, David Blakely, and
three letters from Lefebre to the composer Caryl Florio.
One of the Gilmore programs included the following
profile on Lefebre:
E. A. Lefebre, Gilmore’s solo saxophone player,

has no rival living. He was the first to bring
this comparatively modern instrument into
notice in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany,
England, and America. Lefebre seems to have
been born with a mission to bring his
instrument into favor. He has been with
Gilmore for seventeen years.1
Just as Lefebre had a mission, which began nearly 150
years ago, I realized I was now entrusted to return
Lefebre’s long-lost legacy to its rightful position of
prominence, and thus inspiring further generations to
aspire to such desire. Lefebre’s monumental efforts to
popularize the saxophone can now be seen in full view and
in proper perspective, no longer obscured by the
ignorance accrued by the passage of time.
1
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Music Hall (Cleveland), 8
December 1888, Library of Performing Arts, New York Public Library,
New York.
x
But what of E. A. Lefebre’s “stuff”? Nearing the
end of my research, I decided to mail postcards to every
person in the United States, whose name was Lefebre (a
mere 134 listings). A week later, I received a call from
a Bob Lefebre in California: “My brother has the
saxophone.” The excitement was overwhelming! Could it
be I had found the saxophone? Indeed, Edward John
Lefebre, the great, great grandson of Edward Abraham
Lefebre was in possession of the genuine article, a
beautifully restored, gold-plated Conn alto, dating from
1903. His son, Edward Adam Lefebre, had even played the
instrument a few years previously with the junior high
school band! The story of a world-renowned saxophonist
and his resentful son Edward Jr., who, with his mother,
had raised the family in his father’s absence, was truly
remarkable. Even more remarkable was that the family
still owned a piece of its musical legacy, as Edward Jr.
had sold all his father’s belongings. The alto saxophone
resided in a pawnshop for a short time before being
rescued by another family member! The instrument, the
only surviving possession of the 19th-century “Saxophone
King” has been passed down through five generations of
Edwards. They have now begun to learn about and
appreciate E. A. Lefebre’s contribution to music history,
xi
along with all the rest who have been following my
research.
There is a certain sense of satisfaction in knowing
that just as Lefebre was ultimately able to “bring his
instrument into favor,” I believe that with my research,
I have been able to bring Lefebre himself into favor.
Indeed, Edward A. Lefebre deserves such recognition, as
he was the most important saxophonist of the nineteenth
century and truly one of the greatest saxophonists in
history. In his lifetime, Lefebre was known as the
“Saxophone King.”2 A century later, his crown has been
fully and permanently restored.
James R. Noyes
New York, Spring, 2000
2
Paul E. Bierley, John Philip Sousa, American Phenominon, Revised
Edition, 1973, 177.
xii
Edward A. Lefebre
Professional Career
(c.1855-1911)
55-6—7—8—9—60-1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—70-1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—80-1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—90-1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—00-1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—10— 1
(Paris)
Cape Town
The Hague
London
U.S.A.
Parepa Rosa English Opera Company
Gilmore Band
New York Saxophone Quartette Club
Caryl Florio
Lyceum Concert Club
Harry Rowe Shelley
Carl Fischer
C. G. Conn
Sousa Band
Elkhart
Conn Conservatory
Trumpet Notes Band
Conn Wonder Quartette
Lefebre Quartet
Freelance (Ill)
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
When one thinks of pioneering saxophonists in
classical music, two names immediately come to mind:
Sigurd Raschèr and Marcel Mule. These men had roughly
parallel careers beginning in the mid-1920s and spanning
much of this century. Each made his mark in the concert
hall as well as the classroom, inspiring some of this
century’s greatest composers to write original music for
the saxophone and guiding generations of classical
saxophonists throughout the world to continue their
tradition. But what is known of this classical tradition
prior to the 1920s? Are we to assume that there were no
prominent or influential classical saxophonists before
this time? Many are familiar with Elise Boyer Hall, the
Boston-area saxophonist, who, in the first two decades of
this century, commissioned over twenty works for
orchestra and saxophone, the most famous of these being
Debussy’s Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone. However,
Mrs. Hall did not make her living as a professional
saxophonist, but was more of an enthusiastic amateur
musician and patroness of the arts.
1
An obvious place to begin looking for prominent
professional saxophonists before the 1920s would be in
the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century
bands led by John Philip Sousa and Patrick Gilmore. As
leader of the United States Marine Band, Sousa introduced
a section of three saxophonists by 1884, and saxophonists
were with Sousa’s own band from its inception in 1892.1
Searching even further back one may be surprised to learn
that Patrick Gilmore, perhaps the most celebrated
bandleader of the nineteenth century, employed four
saxophonists as part of the newly reorganized Twenty-
second Regiment Band of New York City in 1873!2 But
what do we know of these early saxophonists? Were there
any that shared a comparable pioneering spirit and sheer
passion for the saxophone as found in our modern-era
masters? Indeed, there was such a man: Edward A.
Lefebre. With a career spanning from the 1850s until his
death in 1911, Lefebre introduced the saxophone as a solo
instrument to audiences in Europe, America, and Africa!
Intent on establishing the saxophone as an instrument
capable of high artistic expression, E. A. Lefebre
1
Frederick Hemke, “The Early History of the Saxophone” (D.M.A.
diss., University of Wisconsin, 1975): 413.
2
Harry Gee, Saxophone Soloists and Their Music 1844-1985: An
Annotated Bibliography, (Bloomington IN: Indiana University Press,
1986), 14.
2
vigorously pursued a performing career (with concert
appearances numbering in the thousands!) as a saxophone
soloist, section leader (with both Gilmore and Sousa),
and even as the leader of his own saxophone quartet.
Composers, so taken by Lefebre’s artistry on this novel
instrument, wrote original solo works and quartets for
him. As a teacher, he influenced numerous students and
published dozens of transcriptions, arrangements, as well
as a few original works for the saxophone. He was also a
consultant to the C. G. Conn company, supervising the
production of the first American-made saxophones (before
the 1890s, all saxophones were made in Europe).
Lefebre’s efforts earned him the title of “Saxophone
King,”3 and he was highly praised as a man “born with a
mission to bring his instrument into favor.”4 In 1915,
contemporaries of Lefebre posthumously referred to him as
“the Paganini of the saxophone,”5 a title Sigurd Raschèr
would earn decades later! Edward A. Lefebre, whose
legacy is only now being fully realized, was a true
visionary whose impact helped shape the evolution of the
3
Paul E. Bierley, John Philip Sousa, American Phenominon, Revised
Edition, (Columbus: Integrity Press, 1973), 177.
4
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Music Hall, Cleveland, OH, 8
December 1888, Library of Performing Arts, New York Public Library,
New York.
5
G. E. Holmes and Clay Smith, “The Saxophone is Coming Fast,”
(Buescher) True Tone X, no. 2, (1915): 4.
3
saxophone in the nineteenth century, setting the stage
for mass appeal in the twentieth century.
4
CHAPTER II
ADOLPHE SAX AND THE BIRTH OF THE SAXOPHONE
c.1840-1857
When Adolphe Sax invented his saxophone c.1840, he
appeared destined to have success with his new
instrument. Even before he was granted a French patent
(1846), Sax had numerous supporters of his invention and
it was not long before the saxophone was first heard in
public, at the Salle Herz in Paris in February of 1844.
Hector Berlioz arranged and conducted his choral piece
Chant Sacré1 for the debut of a sextet of mixed wind
instruments (2 trumpets, bugle, bass saxophone, 2
clarinets), all of which were manufactured by Adolphe
Sax, in which the inventor himself played the bass
saxophone.2 Jean Georges Kastner was the first composer
to include the instrument in a major work, scoring for
bass saxophone in his opera, Le dernier Roi Juda, which
was performed in December 1844.3 From late 1844 through
1845, Kastner and Sax collaborated on the 142 page
Complete and Systematic Method for Saxophone.4 It is
significant to point out that along with the obligatory
1
Gee, Saxophone Soloists, 3.
2
Wally Horwood, Adolphe Sax 1814 - 1894: His Life and Legacy,
revised ed., (Herts, England: Egon Publishers, 1983), 52.
3
Ibid, 51.
5
exercises, etudes, and transcriptions of operatic and
orchestral literature, Kastner included a great number of
original duets and most importantly, the first original
solo and ensemble compositions for the saxophone:
Variations faciles et brillantes for alto saxophone and
piano, independently published in 1851 by Branous et
Cie., and Sextuor, written for an entire family of
saxophones: two soprani in C, one alto in F, two bassi in
C, and one contrabasso in F. (This work was adapted by
saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr to present-day instrumentation
on B-flat and E-flat instruments and published in 1982 by
Ethos Publications.) Both pieces were dedicated to
Adolphe Sax.5
By 1845, saxophones were incorporated into the
instrumentation of French military bands, and in 1846, a
saxophone patent was granted Sax by the French
government. Subsequently, Kastner’s Complete Method for
saxophone was published. For a brief time, from 1846 to
1850, saxophone instruction was offered at the Gymnase
Musical in Paris. Various regional French conservatories
also offered classes in saxophone as did conservatories
in Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy.6 It is
unclear whether institutionalized instruction was
4
Hemke, “The Early History...,” 267.
5
6
available in England at this time; however, certain
English military bands did have saxophonists as early as
1848, including Henry Rigby of the Royal Artillery Band,
who performed with this organization well into the next
decade.7 By 1850, conductor and impresario Louis Antoine
Jullien featured Mr. Souallé as saxophone soloist in a
London concert and again in Paris, 1851, among others.
In later years, Souallé went on to concertize throughout
Europe, India, and Australia. Beginning in 1852, Henri
Wuille was Jullien’s saxophone soloist, performing his
self-composed Fantasia for saxophone and piano.8
By the 1850s, more composers began to include
saxophones in their scores. In 1851 Limander de
Nieuwenhove, a student of François Fétis, scored for alto
saxophone in his Le Chateau de la barbe bleu.9 By this
time both Fétis and Hector Berlioz were publicly praising
the dramatic “new effects” which might be introduced into
the orchestra by utilizing multiple saxophones. Indeed,
a quartet of saxophones (S,A,A,Bs) was scored for the
first time by J. F. F. Halévy in his opera Le Juif errant
with Adolphe Sax once again performing on the bass
6
7
Gee, Saxophone Soloists, 13-4.
8
Hemke, “The Early History...,” 372-3.
9
Ibid, 306.
7
saxophone for the premier performance in Paris on 23
April 1852.10 According to Halévy:
This first try in music of an ensemble of the

new instruments, which are without analogy,
made us realize what, up to now unknown,
effects can be obtained from the symphony
orchestra.”11
The effect of this quartet of saxophones, found only in
the last few pages of Halevy’s score, was to describe the
ascent of the spirit into heaven.12 As the only use of
the instrument in the piece, this could be considered a
powerful statement as to how Halevy heard the timbre of
the saxophone. As Berlioz heard analogies to the cello,
Halevy heard a heavenly and celestial tonal quality.
In 1853-4, Jullien’s orchestra crossed the Atlantic
for a concert tour of the United States, performing
Philadelphian composer William Henry Fry’s Santa Claus
Symphony (1852) which made use of the soprano saxophone.
Fry employs the soprano and bass saxophone in his Hagar
in the Wilderness and the tenor saxophone in his
symphonic poem The Dying Soldier, both written and
performed in 1854.13 One of the earliest compositions for
10
Ibid, 295.
11
Ibid, 295.
12
As told to Paul Cohen by Sigurd Rascher.
13
Harry Hindson, “Aspects of the Saxophone in American Musical
Culture, 1850-1980” (Ph.D. diss., University of Wisconsin - Madison,
1992), 1-2.
8
solo saxophone and large instrumental accompaniment
(military band) dates from 1855, J. Garrouste’s Les
souvenirs de Paris.14 Solo saxophone notwithstanding,
France’s Garde Républicaine band included no less than
eight saxophones (2 soprano, 2 alto, 2 tenor, 2 baritone)
by 1856.15 Sax’s friend and supporter, Jean Georges
Kastner, who had been the first to compose for the
saxophone, did so again in 1856, scoring for two
saxophones in his Le voix de Paris.16
Within the course of its first decade, the saxophone
had made its presence known on both the European and
American continents, and prominent composers were taking
note. Berlioz, a champion of Sax and his instruments,
wrote many articles throughout the 1840s and 1850s in
support of the saxophone. In the revised edition of A
Treatise upon Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration,
published in 1855, Berlioz sums up Sax’s contribution to
the families of wind instruments:
M. Sax, whose work we will first discuss,

has perfected several old instruments, as I
have already indicated in the course of this
work. He has furthermore, filled several gaps
existing in the brass instrument family. His
principal merit, nonetheless, is the creation
of a new instrumental family completed only
14
15
Joseph Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction in American
Institutions” (D.M.A diss., Northwestern University 1994), 5.
16
9
several years ago, using a single reed,
clarinet mouthpiece, and constructed of brass.
These are the Saxophones. These new voices
given to the orchestra possess rare and
precious qualities. Soft and penetrating in
the high notes, full and mellow in the low,
their middle register is something profoundly
expressive. It is, in summary, a timbre sui
generis, offering vague analogies to the sound
of the cello, clarinet and English horn, and is
clothed in a somewhat brassy hue that gives it
its particular tone.
The body of the instrument is a parabolic
cone of brass provided with a system of keys.
Its agility makes it appropriate for turns with
a certain rapidity, almost as much as for
graceful cantilenas, and hymn-like pensive
effects. The Saxophone can be used to great
advantage in all genres of music, but above all
in slow, gentle pieces.
The timbre of the low Saxophone’s high notes
is something afflicting and mournful, while the
bass notes, on the contrary, have a grandiose
calm, or so to say, pontifical. All of them—
and chiefly the baritone and bass—possess the
capability to swell and die away in sound, with
the result in the lower extremity of scale of
effects unheard of until this day, which are
entirely appropriate to them, and somewhat akin
to the harmonium. The timbre of the sopranino
Saxophone is much more penetrating than that of
clarinets in Bb or C, without the shrill and
common harshness of the small clarinet in Eb.
As much can be said of the soprano. Talented
composers in the years ahead will reap a
marvelous advantage from the Saxophone combined
with the clarinet family, or introduced in
other combinations which would be rash to try
to predict.
The instrument is played with great
facility; the fingerings follow those of the
flute and oboe. Clarinetists already familiar
with the embouchure can become masters of its
mechanism within a very short time.17
17
Kenneth Deans, “A Comprehensive Performance Project in Saxophone
Literature with an Essay Consisting of Translated Source Readings in
the Life and Work of Adolphe Sax,” (D.M.A. diss., University of Iowa
1980), 104-5.
10
The saxophone seemed destined for greatness, yet despite
his high praise, Berlioz never wrote saxophones into an
original work. However, it is interesting (if not
regrettable) to note that the autograph score of
Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust includes two blank
staves at the beginning of the last movement “Ciel Scène”
intended for E-flat and B-flat saxophones!18 One can only
surmise why these instruments were not utilized. It is
also somewhat surprising to find that Franz Liszt is
noted as being quite enthusiastic about Adolphe Sax’s
creations as well. After visiting Sax in Paris, Liszt
wrote the following to Joseph Joachim:
...Sax produced for our benefit the next day,

his large family of saxophones, saxhorns,
saxotubas, etc. Several of these (especially
the alto and tenor saxophones) will be
exceedingly useful, even in our regular
orchestras and the ensemble has a really
magnificent effect.19
Despite his promising outlook on this new family of
instruments, Liszt never included saxophones in any of
his scores. This may have had something to do with the
fact that Germany’s musical establishment was strongly
allied with instrument maker Wilhelm Wieprecht, with whom
Sax had many bitter disagreements regarding patents.20
18
Horwood, Adolph Sax, 52.
19
20
Horwood, Adolphe Sax, 83-4.
11
It certainly did not hurt to have such prominent
composers as Berlioz and Liszt speaking on behalf of
Adolphe Sax and his new family of instruments, but had
these composers actually made use of the saxophone in
their scores, surely, its future as an accepted
orchestral instrument would have been made much more
secure. The composer, Gioacchino Rossini, was one who’s
actions helped to bring Sax’s instruments to Italy. On
hearing the saxophone for the first time he allegedly
claimed that it “was the most beautiful sound he had ever
heard.”21 Although he was virtually retired as a composer
by mid-century, Rossini’s convinced those at the
Conservatory at Bologna to adopt the instruments of
Adolphe Sax.22 Subsequently, saxophone lessons were added
to the curriculum there. Rossini did include saxophones
in his La Corona d’Italia, written for military band in
1868.23
Beginning c.1855, Adolphe Sax operated a small
publishing house in Paris, eventually publishing no less
than 36 compositions for saxophone (solo and ensembles).24
By the late 1850s, the saxophone was awarded a status in
France that previously had been reserved for instruments
21
Ibid, 51.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
12
with much more lengthy traditions. Special classes for
military students were finally created in the area of
saxophone at the prestigious Paris Conservatoire,
beginning in June of 1857. Adolphe Sax himself was
appointed professor of saxophone.25 This brought the
saxophone to the attention of more performers, composers,
and the general musical establishment. Up to this point,
only a handful of composers actually knew of the
saxophone’s existence and even fewer had dared to write
original music for it. All of this changed in 1857, for
if there was to be institutionalized saxophone
instruction at the highest level, there must be original
music written for the saxophone. Saxophonists performed
such works for examinations held at the end of each year
of study. (Many of these same compositions were published
by Sax). Jean Baptiste Singelée, a Belgian violinist,
conductor, and composer, was the first to write for
saxophones at the Paris Conservatoire, composing over
thirty solo and ensemble works for saxophones of all
sizes between 1857 and 1864.26 Singelée is credited with
composing the earliest saxophone concertos as well as the
earliest saxophone quartets. (Long out of print, his
24
Bruce Ronkin, “The Music for Saxophone and Piano Published by
Adolphe Sax,” (D.M.A. diss. University of Maryland, 1987), 8-9.
25
Hemke, “The Early History...,” 249-50.
13
Premier Quatour en 4 Parties, opus 53, written in 1857,
was reconstituted for modern instruments by the French
saxophonist, Jean-Marie Londeix in 1977.)27 Other
nineteenth-century European composers credited with
writing works for saxophone solo (and saxophone quartet)
include Europeans Joseph Arban, Friedrich Baumann, Léon
Chic, Jules Demmersseman, Hyacinthe Klosé, Louis-Adolphe
Mayeur, Raymond Moulaert, Jean-Nicholas Savari, Jérôme
Savari, and Jean-Baptiste-Victor Mohr. The American
composer Caryl Florio contributed at least two saxophone
quartets, a quintet for piano and four saxophones, and a
saxophone solo with orchestral accompaniment.28
The saxophone enjoyed relative acceptance in a span
of less than two decades. Even before its patent in
1846, a method book, original repertoire, and orchestral
parts had been written for the saxophone. It is perhaps
unprecedented in music history that an instrument, in
existence for such a short time, would have been adopted
so quickly by the military bands and conservatories of
Western Europe. In addition, highly regarded nineteenth-
century composers praised Adolphe Sax and his saxophones,
favoring their use in symphonic literature. Yet for such
26
Jean-Marie Londeix, Musique pour Saxophone, vol. II, (Cherry Hill,
NJ: Roncorp Publications, 1985), 258-9.
27
14
an auspicious beginning, the saxophone never became a
regular member of the symphony orchestra.
For the saxophone to survive, and ultimately thrive
as a “classical” instrument, there was then (and even
now) a need for virtuoso performers to widely present and
prove the musical merits of the saxophone. Composers,
conductors, performers, and listeners exposed to high
artistic expression as performed on saxophones would
begin to hear the instrument as a desirable and essential
member of the woodwind family within the larger musical
framework. Virtuoso saxophonist Edward A. Lefebre took
it upon himself in the mid-1850s to provide such an
exemplary model for the world, in an effort to “bring his
instrument into favor.”29 His efforts would prove nothing
less than astounding.
28
Paul Cohen, “Vintage Saxophones Revisited - The New York Saxophone
Quartette Club of 1879,” Saxophone Journal 15 (May/June 1991), 9-10.
29
Gilmore Band program (uncatalogued), Music Hall, Cleveland, OH, 8
December 1888, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public
Library, New York.
15
CHAPTER III
LEFEBRE’S MISSION BEGINS, c.1855-1873
Edward Abraham Lefèbre1 was born 16

8 September 1835
in Leeuwarden, Holland.2 While little information exists
regarding his early musical training, it is known that he
was part of a musical family. His father, Louis J.
Lefèbre, was the proprietor of Weygand and Company, a
large firm with a musical subdivision in The Hague.3 It
is likely that Louis Lefèbre, a Frenchman, had some
connections with Adolphe Sax in Paris, since it is known
that Edward A. Lefebre met the saxophone’s inventor,
after which time he “promised to devote himself to the
1
Originally E. A. Lefèbre, he became widely known as E. A. Lefebre
after moving to the United States. Most press clippings, concert
programs, and other published materials post-1873 indicate this
Americanized spelling. In his personal correspondence with Caryl
Florio (1902), however, he signs E. A. Lefèbre. Carl Fischer’s
publications of the 1890s and 1900s indicate E. A. Léfèbre. For
this document, the Americanized surname, Lefebre, will be used.
2
SEE POST-ADDENDUM, page 288. [Original source, indicating 15
December 1834 in The Hague was the] Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “Saxophone
Soloist Dead,” 23 February 1911. Key pieces of evidence point to
1834 as Lefebre’s year of birth, which contradicts the stated year
of birth in his obituary (1838). Had Lefebre actually been born in
1838, he would have been only 72 when he died. According to
Lefebre’s death certificate, he was 76 years old when he died, thus
corroborating 1834. In a letter to Caryl Florio, dated 16 November
1902, Lefebre writes “a man of my age 67...” which leaves no doubt
he was born in 1834. An undated article published in the Asbury
Park Press (New Jersey), which states, “[Lefebre] has now reached
the age of 74...” offers further proof that 1838 is erroneous.
Numerous articles from C. G. Conn’s Truth indicate Lefebre was 77 at
the time of his demise, a figure easily arrived at by subtracting
1834 from 1911, although off by one year due to his birthday being
on 15 December and his date of death being February 22.
3
“Edward A. Lefebre,” American Art Journal XXXIX no. 1 (April 28,
1883): 3.
16
study of the [saxophone] and to promote its use.”4 A
posthumous account of this meeting between Lefebre and
Sax was printed in a Conn Saxophone Catalog c.1919:
Mons. Lefebre was the most enthusiastic

lover of the saxophone the writer has ever
known. He has often told of how he met Antoine
Sax who was struggling to obtain recognition of
the saxophone by the musicians and of how he,
Lefebre, vowed he would take up the saxophone
and give up the clarinet of which he was
master, and try to prove to the world that the
saxophone was a serious and most worthy
instrument. He kept his word.5
In an interview published in 1892, Lefebre mentions
nothing of meeting Adolphe Sax but that he had “engaged
in the manufacture of the ‘phones’ in Paris for many
years.”6 It is not known when Lefebre worked in Paris,
but one can assume it was in the 1850s (his career from
1859-1911 is well documented). During this time, Lefebre
may have heard performances of the early saxophone
soloists, Mr. Souallé or Henri Wuille, members of Antoine
Jullien’s famous touring orchestra in the 1850s.
Souallé’s extensive solo tours through Europe and the Far
East may have served as an inspiration for Lefebre. By
all accounts, Lefebre was an accomplished clarinetist who
later began serious study of the saxophone.
4
5
Conn Saxophone Catalog, c.1919.
6
New York Tribune, 10 January 1892, 16.
17
South Africa
E. A. Lefebre traveled to Cape Town, South Africa in
1859. Here he was appointed musical director of the
Liedertafel Germania, a German singing society.7 He also
ran a sizable music store, presumably supplied by his
father’s business, while in Cape Town.8 During his
tenure in South Africa, Lefebre introduced the saxophone
as a solo instrument to admiring audiences that included
numerous South African dignitaries.9 It is reasonable to
assume that Lefebre’s solo performances in South Africa
included both Fantasie sur un thème suisse by Jean-
Baptiste Singelee and Fantasie sur des motifs du
Freyschutz by Jean-Nicholas Savari. Both compositions
were published by Adolphe Sax and available before 185910
and both works were regularly performed by Lefebre
throughout his career.
F. J. Weygand and Company
After several successful concert seasons, Lefebre
returned to Holland in 1863 and was married. His wife,
Johanah, gave birth to their first son, Charles, in
1864.11 For the next six years, Lefebre worked in the
7
1883): 3.
8
Ibid.
9
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 February 1911.
10
Ronkin, “The Music for Saxophone...,” 23.
11
1880 Census Records, National Archives, New York, New York.
18
musical establishment of Weygand.12 From 1863 to 1866, F.
J. Weygand and Company published the biweekly Euterpe, a
musical yearbook edited by Louis J. Lefèbre, which
included coverage of national and international musical
events. E. A. Lefebre’s performing activities are cited
in Euterpe on at least two separate occasions. The first
came in the spring of 1863:
Brief (National) Announcements
On April 17 the National Voice Institute for

(manual) Laborers, under the direction of Mr.
Marinus, held its previously announced musical
soirée, for the benefit of the “Fund for widows
and orphans of perished fisherman of
Scheveningen.” The members were supported in
their performance for this noble occasion with
the help of the founder, Mr. L. J. Lefèbre, as
well as some other prominent artists:
C. L. W. Wirtz, Piano, E. Uschmann, Oboe, C. J.

Becht, Clarinet, A. Berendes, Bassoon, L. J.
van der Velden, Horn en L. A. Lefèbre [sic],
Saxophone.13
The program from this “musical evening” (soirée) included
numerous vocal works by Beethoven, Mozart, and various
Dutch composers, as well as instrumental quintets for
piano, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn. E. A. Lefebre
performed two works: Air varié uit Lucie de Lammermoor,
for saxophone and piano, by L. J. Lefèbre; and,
Méditation [sur le premier prèlude de S. Bach] for Piano,
12
1883): 3.
19
Organ, and Saxophone, by Charles Gounod.14 While not
prolific, Louis J. Lefèbre did compose a number of
original works for various instruments with piano
accompaniment, including Chant de Marie, Nocturne pour
Cornet avec Piano, Opus 23, published in the United
States by L. E. Whipple, Boston.15 (E. A. Lefebre later
performed his father’s Chant de Marie on 2 September
1886, with the Gilmore Band.16) It is unknown if the
above Air varié, possibly an original work for saxophone,
was ever published. Edward A. Lefebre, following his
father’s model, eventually composed a number of original
works for saxophone and published a vast array of solo
arrangements, transcriptions, duets, and quartets near
the turn of the century. Meditation (1853) was the first
of Bach’s 48 preludes with an added counterpoint melody
by Gounod.17 Originally scored for piano, violin or
violoncello, with organ or cello ad lib, Lefebre
substituted the saxophone for the violin/cello part.18
Considering Berlioz’s comments comparing the timbre of
the saxophone to that of the cello, and the tradition of
13
Louis J. Lefèbre, ed., “Brief (National) Announcements,” Euterpe.
Muzikaal Jaarboek, trans. Marcel P. van Rootselaar, (1863): 79.
14
Ibid.
15
L. J. Lefèbre, “Chant de Marie,” (Boston: L. E. Whipple, 1883).
16
Gilmore Band Program, Manhattan Beach, 2 September 1886, Library
for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
17
Michael Kennedy, “Gounod, Charles,” in Oxford Dictionary of Music,
2nd ed.
18
Ibid.
20
performing Bach on virtually any instrument, Lefebre’s
substitution was highly appropriate. The natural blend
between saxophone and organ also made this an excellent
choice of repertoire. Meditation was eventually
published as “Ave Maria,” arranged by H. Wagner for alto
saxophone and piano, in Carl Fischer’s Saxophonist’s
Concert Album in 1903.
Further activities of E. A. Lefebre, as cited in the
musical yearbook, came in the winter of 1866:
Brief (National) Announcements
On Saturday January 13, De Curses, a club of

non-commissioned officers of the local armory,
held a soirèe under the direction of Sergeant
E. A. Lefèbre with the following program…19
Again, various vocal and instrumental works were
performed, including two by Lefebre: Aria van Stradella,
for tenor voice, saxophone, and piano; and, An das
Bildniss einer abwesenden Mutter, a trio for cornet,
saxophone, and piano, by André.20 One further entry of
interest appeared late in 1866:
The saxophones are no longer alone; they have

got competition from the sarrusophones. These
are new brass instruments for which Mr. Gautrot
is registered as the inventor.21
Euterpe was discontinued at the end of 1866, but one can
be certain that Edward Lefebre continued to perform
19
L. J. Lefèbre, ed., Euterpe, (1866): 14.
20
Ibid.
21
further soirèes, while pursuing higher profile
engagements, gaining an impressive reputation as one of
the earliest saxophone specialists in the world.
Parepa Rosa English Opera Company
Lefebre left Weygand in 1869 and secured a position
in London as saxophonist in the sixty-two-piece orchestra
at the Royal Alhambra Palace in Leicester Square.22 Other
performances while in London included promenade concerts
at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in 1871, where
he was complimented by Charles Gounod, who gave Lefebre
“several friendly taps of approbation on the shoulder,
exclaiming, ‘Bravo - saxophone!’”23 In 1871 he was
offered a position with the Parepa Rosa English Opera
Company as first clarinetist.24 Subsequently, Lefebre
traveled to America with the company. As part of their
tour, Rosa was engaged for two weeks at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, 5-17 February 1872.25 Their repertoire
included, among others, La Nozze di Figaro and Don
Giovanni by Mozart, Un Ballo in Maschera by Verdi, and La
Gazza Ladra by Rossini. Performing to capacity crowds,
the Parepa Rosa English Opera Company aroused “a genuine
21
L. J. Lefèbre, ed., Euterpe. (1866): 182.
22
1883): 3.
23
“Death of E.A. Lefebre,” The Metronome XXVII #4 (April 1911): 16.
24
25
Watson’s Art Journal, 10 February 1872, 3.
22
excitement,” with its “remarkably strong leading artists”
and an orchestra, which, under the direction of Carl
Rosa, had achieved “a degree of excellence not often
attained by that branch of the operatic organization.”26
A review of the 7 February 1872 performance of The
Marriage of Figaro gave a rather stunning account:
On Wednesday evening Mozart’s delightful

opera, La Nozze di Figaro, was produced with a
truly brilliant cast, combining nearly all the
strengths of the company...
It is in such music as that allotted to
“Susanna,” that Mme. Parepa-Rosa shines to the
highest advantage. In it the purity of her
style, the exquisite qualities and the
performance education of her voice make
themselves felt. It would seem impossible to
imagine anything more beautiful than her
singing of that music. Every phrase had been
carefully studied, and the result was a
rendering so purely classic, so refined,
tender, and touching, that nothing was left to
wish for. The charm of Madame Rosa’s voice is
simply irresistible; it is the very essence of
melody, pure unadulterated tone, that touches
the heart at its simple loveliness, and
completely satisfies the most refined sense of
hearing, by its unbroken chain of golden
melody. It is a wonderful gift and it has not
been neglected; for study has molded it, and
the perfection of art has enriched it and
doubled its value. It would be useless to
individualize the beauties of her “Susanna,” as
her vocal personation was without blemish. She
also acted the part with grace and spirit.
...Musically, the whole opera was a rare
feast for the ear and intellect; and not the
least part of the musical banquet, was the
instrumentation so beautifully interpreted
through Mr. Carl Rosa, by the orchestra. The
Marriage of Figaro is unquestionably one of the
most carefully prepared works of the whole of
26
Ibid.
23
the Rosa repertoire, and Mr. Carl Rosa deserves
the thanks of every lover of pure music for the
loving care he has devoted to its production.27
Lefebre remained in the New World once his obligations
with Rosa had been fulfilled. He soon became known as
the leading saxophone soloist in the United States
performing throughout the East, Midwest, and South.28 In
the summer of 1872, Lefebre was hired to perform as a
member of the clarinet section in the great Festival
orchestra at the World Peace Jubilee and International
Music Festival in Boston, an event organized by
bandleader Patrick Gilmore.29 Gilmore was renown in
America for presenting grand concerts, some of which were
of mammoth proportions.30 The World Peace Jubilee and
International Music Festival of 1872 ran for three weeks
and included over 20,000 performers from throughout
America and Europe.31 None of the bands Gilmore conducted
at this time included saxophones. However, one of the
finest bands of Europe, the Garde Républicaine of France,
which had a large saxophone section, performed at the
27
Ibid, 3-4.
28
1883): 3.
29
30
Frank J. Cipolla, “Gilmore, Patrick S.,” in The New Grove
Dictionary of American Music, eds. H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley
Sadie, 1986.
31
Ibid.
24
1872 Peace Jubilee as part of their first American tour.32
In 1856, the Garde Républicaine included an eight-piece
saxophone section (2 soprano, 2 alto, 2 tenor, 2
baritone), while by 1889 this instrumentation had changed
slightly to (1 soprano, 2 alto, 3 tenor, 2 baritone).33
The significance of this six-city tour made by the Garde
Républicaine was highlighted in the December 1901 issue
of Piano Music Magazine:
Apart from all else which Gilmore’s band did

for itself were the extraordinary pains which
he took to teach his players object lessons by
procuring, to play beside them the three
foremost military bands of Europe. The
diplomacy, the patience and the zeal which
Gilmore displayed in securing the attendance of
these, the accredited band representatives of
France, England and Germany, during the summer
of 1872 constituted an achievment [sic] before
which many of his other musical labors will
seem to lose their just proportions. If Mr.
Gilmore had merely succeeded in permitting the
three largest of our eastern cities to hear for
a series of performances the Garde Republicaine
band of Paris unquestionably the best that has
ever been heard in America, his enterprise and
enthusiasm deserve to be remembered with most
sincere respect.34
During the summer of 1873, Lefebre was contracted as
saxophonist at Simon Hassler’s Concert Garden in
Philadelphia.35 The 16 June 1873 edition of the
32
Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction...,” 5.
33
Ibid.
34
Ibid, 6.
35
1883): 3.
25
Philadelphia Inquirer announced the beginning of the
concert season at the “Aquarial Gardens”:
Under this style the establishment in Eighth

street, between Race and Vine, known last
summer as Hassler’s Garden, will be opened to-
night with a grand promenade concert under the
direction of the well-known leader, Mr. Mark
Hassler, whose name is a sufficient guarantee
for the character of the musical performance.
The distinguishing, and, to our citizens, novel
feature, however, will be a fine collection of
aquariums, in the style of the aquarial gardens
of London and Paris. The enterprise is
eminently worthy of success, which it will
doubtless achieve by the unusual attractions it
presents. On Saturday a matinee concert will
be given, and on Saturday evening a grand
exhibition of fireworks at nine o’clock.36
In the fall of 1873, Lefebre returned to New York City
for a brief engagement as clarinetist with Henry
Wolfsohn’s orchestra.37 Wolfsohn ran an entertainment
bureau and management agency for many decades until his
death in 1909. Lefebre’s interest in making a living as
a professional clarinetist was fading, however. He soon
decided to make the saxophone his primary instrument, and
such concentrated efforts eventually earned him the title
of “Saxophone King.”38
36
Philadelphia Inquirer, 16 June 1873.
37
“Edward A. Lefebre,” American Art Journal XXXIX no. 1 (28 April
1883): 3.
38
Bierley, John Philip Sousa, 177.
26
CHAPTER IV
LEFEBRE THE “SAXOPHONE KING,” 1873-1894
Gilmore
Having built a brief, yet solid reputation as a
saxophonist in the United States, Lefebre was asked in
the fall of 1873 to join the newly reorganized Twenty-
second Regiment National Guard Band, based in New York
City, under its new director, Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore.
The addition of an entire SATB saxophone section (Lefebre
was the alto saxophonist and soloist), indicates Gilmore
had learned about military band instrumentation from the
Garde Républicaine. While Gilmore’s band wore the
uniform of the Twenty-second Regiment, it was organized
much like that of a professional civilian outfit, with
few restrictions placed on its operations by the
military.1 Here was an opportunity for which Lefebre had
been waiting. He could now make the saxophone “a more
especial study, if possible, than ever before,” all but
giving up the clarinet as a source of income.2 When one
considers Lefebre’s motivation to perform the saxophone
whenever and wherever he could, and his dedication to
1
Harry Wayne Schwartz, Bands of America, (Garden City, New York:
Doubleday and Co. Inc., 1957): 96.
2
“Edward A. Lefebre,” American Art Journal XXXIX no. 1 (28 April
1883): 3.
27
only the highest musical standards, he and Gilmore made a
perfect match:
Playing with Gilmore was not a soft job, for he

drove his men as he drove himself. He was a
perfectionist when it came to musical
performance, and every man in the band knew he
had to be on his toes if he was to keep his
position. Gilmore attempted the most difficult
music and he made his players sweat to play it
as he wanted it played. Arrangements of the
classics for use by the band were kept as near
like the original as possible and he refused to
sacrifice the composer’s intent by dishing up
an easy version. He paid his men for their
full time, and he never spared them when
rehearsals were necessary to smooth out
difficulties.3
The “eminent saxophone player, E. A. Lefebre” was a
soloist with the Twenty-second Regiment Band for their
first concert on 18 November 1873 at the Academy of
Music, Brooklyn,4 where he performed Jean-Baptiste
Singelee’s Fantasie Air Suisse.5 According to the New
York Times, “Mr. Lefebre rendered a solo on the saxophone
- a new instrument resembling the cello in tone.”6 One
is reminded of Berlioz’s description in his A Treatise
upon Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration, published
in 1848, where he believes saxophones to present “vague
analogies to the sound of the cello...”7
3
Schwartz, Bands of America, 104-5.
4
5
Gilmore Band Program, Academy of Music (Brooklyn), 18 November
1873, Frank Cipolla collection, Buffalo, New York.
6
7
Deans, “A Comprehensive Performance Project...,” 104.
28
New York Saxophone Quartette Club
Two months later, on 15 January 1874, Gilmore’s
Twenty-second Regiment Band once again performed at the
Academy of Music8 as part of the evening’s entertainment
for the ninth annual ball of the Cercle Francais de
L’Harmonie.9 According to the New York Times:
When the floor was fairly covered with long

lines of promenaders the band stationed at the
end struck up a march of the most lively
description, being indeed, a pot-pourri
containing choice bits from “Les Bragands,” “La
Perichole” and “Le Petit Faust.” Some of the
members of the French Society began singing
very agreeably in a sort of chorus, and then
the grand march of the conspirators was fairly
organized.
This description surely refers to Grand Divertimento on
the Airs of All Nations, by the French bandmaster, Louis
Jullien. This work, which included national anthems and
“a great variety of national and popular melodies,” was
the last piece on “Part I” of the concert that evening.
As evinced by the program, Gilmore “realized the
brilliant possibilities of the saxophone and as the
first, introduced the Saxophone Quartette in his
concerts...”10 That Gilmore would feature saxophones at a
8
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Academy of Music (Brooklyn),
15 Jaunuary 1874, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public
Library, New York.
9
New York Times, 16 January 1874.
10
F.E. Burgstaller, “Sixty Years a Saxophone Soloist,” (Buescher)
True Tone (October 1927): 3.
29
ball sponsored by a French music society seems highly
appropriate. In fact, he exploited the use of the
saxophone to the fullest, featuring the Frenchman Lefebre
performing his own solo composition, Swiss Air, with
Variations, and a variation in the Grand Divertimento, as
well as two movements, “Andante and Allegro,” from one of
the four quartets composed by Jean-Baptiste Singelee.11
Brilliant possibilities, indeed! Lefebre, seeking
respect for the saxophone, was intent on presenting
original music of high quality, thus a composition of his
own, performed with effortless mastery, and a work for
saxophone quartet, skillfully written for the students of
Adolphe Sax at the Paris Conservatoire. Singelee’s
Fantasie sur un thème Suisse, written c.1858, and whose
title bears a striking resemblance to that which Lefebre
is credited, must have been the inspiration for Lefebre’s
original variations and not the same composition. Both
pieces featuring saxophonists, presented that evening,
were written exclusively for the saxophone and were not
transcriptions. Lefebre understood the critical nature
of having original repertoire for saxophonists to
perform. Without such a body of compositions, the
saxophone held little chance of gaining acceptance from
11
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Academy of Music (Brooklyn),
15 January 1874, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public
30
the musical establishment. The four saxophonists
performing on the 15 January 1874 concert were:
Franz Wallrabe soprano saxophone
Edward A. Lefebre alto saxophone
Henry Steckelberg tenor saxophone
F. William Schultze baritone saxophone12
Collectively known as New York Saxophone Quartette Club,13
these men were Gilmore’s saxophone section.
Predating the New York Saxophone Quartette Club by a
few years, “The First Saxophone Quartette” as it was
known, was formed in Philadelphia (Lefebre’s former
residence) in 1869, by saxophonist Eustach Strasser.14
Strasser, a pioneering saxophonist in his own right, had
in 1868, “first played saxophone with the Mendelsohn
Quintet in Philadelphia in a concert hall on the site now
occupied by the Wanamakers store.”15 After moving to
Boston in 1878, Strasser’s “Saxophone Quartette” became
“particularly popular” in Boston Church circles, under
the patronage of Montgomery Sears.16 The St. Louis
Library, New York.

12
Ibid.
13
Paul Cohen, “Vintage Saxophones Revisited – The New York Saxophone
Quartette Club,” Saxophone Journal 15, no. 6 (May/June 1991): 8.
14
Harry B. Hindson, “Aspects of the Saxophone in American Musical
Culture, 1850-1980” (D.M.A. diss., University of Wisconsin, 1992):
27.
15
Burgstaller, “Sixty Years...,” 3.
16
Hindson, “Aspects of the Saxophone...,” 27.
31
Saxophone Quartet, another early saxophone group, was
probably organized in the 1870s and performed regularly
as “an agreeable feature in the concerts of the Knights
of Pythias Band at Schnaider’s Garden” until disbanding
in the summer of 1880.17
The saxophone section of the 22nd Regiment was a
regular feature on Gilmore Band concerts throughout the
1870s. A reviewer for the New York Times commented on a
series of summer concerts from 1875:
Friday evenings are usually set apart for

thorough changes of programme, and day before
yesterday a very interesting quartet for
saxophones—instruments which ought to be in
more general use than they are... made up the
list of selections. It would be exacting to
ask for fresher compositions, and when we
observe that their interpretation, whether by
soloist or the orchestra, was uniformly good,
it will be admitted that disappointment with
the entertainment is hardly possible.18
In May of 1877, Wallrabe, Lefebre, Steckelberg, and
Schultze performed “Quartet for Saxophones” by Savori on
another of Gilmore’s concerts.19 This composition can be
none other than Quatuor, an original saxophone quartet
composition written by Jean-Nicholas Savari (1786-1850).
One of the few nineteenth-century composers who wrote
17
Musical Courier (New York), 13 August 1880, 406.
18
New York Times, 2 July 1875, 6.
19
Ibid, 27 May 1877, 11.
32
extensively for the saxophone, Savari, chief musical
officer of the Thirty-fourth Regiment Infantry in the
French military, composed nearly a dozen works for
saxophones, including four solos (each a thematic
Fantaisie) as well as a Duo, Trio, Quatuor, Quintetto,
Sextuor, Septuor, and Octuor, all of which were published
by Adolphe Sax.20
Emma Thursby, a twenty-nine year old coloratura
soprano soloist who had “attracted considerable
attention” having appeared with the Brooklyn Philharmonic
Society, conducted by Theodore Thomas, scheduled a
recital sponsored by the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn on
27 November 1874.21 Gilmore agreed to conduct his full
band, which made for a less-than-ordinary church recital.
Edward A. Lefebre and Matthew Arbuckle, Gilmore’s cornet
soloist, served as assisting artists at Miss Thursby’s
request, accompanying her on certain solos.22 Lefebre,
Arbuckle and Thursby were soloists with Gilmore during a
tour of 1875 where the band played in Washington,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Boston, as well as touring
further west to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago,
20
Ronkin, “The Music for Saxophone...,” 36-7.
21
Schwartz, Bands of America, 86.
22
33
St. Louis, Cincinnati and Louisville.23 The band
performed its final concert in aid of the Free Library of
Kentucky.24 On 30 January 1875, while the Gilmore Band
was in Boston, Lefebre performed another composition of
his own, entitled simply, Fantasie Originale, at the
Tremont Temple, while on the following day, at the Boston
Theatre, he performed Norma Fantasie by Bellini.25 An
account of a Gilmore Band concert appeared in Benham’s
Musical Review, where special mention was made of
Lefebre:
The concert by this excellent organization,

in the [Brooklyn] Academy of Music, on Monday
evening, March 1st [1875], is considered by many
as one of the very best ever given in our
city...
The solo for Saxophone, “Air from Norma,”
with variations, by Mr. E. A. Lefebre, was a
novelty, and a treat, both from the excellence
with which the music was rendered, and from the
fact that the instrument was previously unknown
among us. Its tone is extremely pleasing in
quality, differing from all other brass
instruments. It will doubtless come into
general use and be an important accession to
Brass Band resources.26
As stated above, the saxophone was still a virtually
unknown instrument in this country at this time. Printed
23
Ibid.
24
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Tremont Temple/Boston
Theatre, 30-31 January 1875, Library for the Performing Arts, New
York Public Library, New York.
25
Ibid.
26
Benham’s Musical Review, vol. 10, no. 3, March 1875.
34
on a music hall program dated 4 December 1875, Lefebre’s
instrument was incorrectly identified as “Saxhorne,” a
valved brass instrument found in many bands. Audience
members certainly must have been surprised when E. A.
Lefebre appeared with his saxophone to perform Bellini’s
Norma Fantasie just before the final number.27 By April
1876, the Twenty-second Regiment Band reached the Pacific
coast, performing concerts in Salt Lake City and San
Francisco, where Lefebre’s solo performances again
included the Variations on “Casta Diva” of Bellini.28
In the summer of 1876, the Gilmore Band was a
featured attraction at the Centennial Exhibition in
Philadelphia. Cornetist Hi Henry, Conn & Dupont's agent
at the exhibition made the following observations
regarding certain members “whose renditions are wonderful
yet whose names are unknown to their listeners.”29
Arbuckle and LeFebre [sic] have each given a

variety of solos rendered with highest style of
excellence. Their beauty of tone and inspired
sympathy is beyond the jurisdiction of
tuition[,] it is talent. Added to their rare
excellence as artists they are gentlemen of
tempered refinement, always courteous and
plebeian (as true gentlemen always are)
offering a marked contrast to those infestuous
braggadocios that pervade the musical
27
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Franklin Lyceum, 4 December
1875, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New
York.
28
29
Hi Henry, "Centennial Correspondence," Trumpet Notes, Vol. 2, No. 2
(July 1876): 3.
35
fraternity, beings of no culture who wear their
meager ability with a bombast and an audacity
which is only excusable through an exercise of
pity for ther lamentable ignorance. ...It is
such men as Arbuckle and LeFebre [sic] that
while they add worthy membership to the
beautiful interpretation of music also
contribute by their personal deportment to
elevate music from envious compeers and make it
a pursuit worthy of laboring to attain.30
Lefebre’s solo performances on the Centennial Grounds in
May of 1876 included “Air [sur un thème] Original” by
Savari and “Aria Somnambula” by Bellini.31 The second of
these compositions was certainly Fantaisie sur La
Somnambule, Op. 49 by J. B. Singelée. Originally written
for B-flat saxophone (and piano), Lefebre transcribed
Somnambule for alto saxophone. This adaptation was
eventually published as “La Somnabule” Fantasia, by Carl
Fisher in 1898. Thus, Lefebre’s “beautiful
interpretations” were once again performances of original
saxophone repertoire. Both pieces were published by
Adolphe Sax in the late 1850s and 1860s.32 Other solo
works, “Norma Fantasie” and “Variations of Casta Diva,”
were possibly Lefebre’s own adaptations of Singelée’s
violin works based on opera themes of Bellini. Knowing
30
Ibid.
31
Gilmore Band Programs, Centennial Grounds, Philadelphia, 25 and 26
May 1876, private collection of Barry Furrer, Bound Brook, New
Jersey.
32
Ronkin, “The Music for Saxophone...,” 23-4.
36
Singelée to have written much for the saxophone, Lefebre
would have been confident the composer would likely have
sanctioned such transcriptions. It is also not
altogether unlikely for Lefebre and Singelée to have been
acquainted with one another, although none of Singelée’s
works was dedicated to Lefebre.
Vocalist Lillian Norton, “Madame Nordica,” made an
“impressive debut” with the Gilmore Band at “Gilmore’s
Concert Garden” [Madison Square Garden] in September 1876
and sang with the band for two years, including the
European tour of 1878.33 Lefebre provided saxophone
accompaniment as an assisting artist to Nordica,34 best
known for her Wagnerian roles during her years at the
Metropolitan Opera (1893-1909).35
Besides featuring the saxophone quartet in his
concerts, Gilmore showcased quartets of other
instruments, as listed in a program printed in the 24 May
1877 issue of the New York Times:
Grand Concert Air & Variations Riviere
Introducing variations for quartet of flutes in

unison, quartet of clarionets [sic], quartet of
trumpets, quartet of piccolos, quartet of
33
William Lichtenwanger, “Nordica [Norton], Lillian,” in The New
Grove Dictionary of American Music, eds. H. Wiley Hitchcock and
Stanley Sadie, 1986.
34
35
Lichtenwanger, “Nordica.”
37
baritones, quartet of French horns, quartet of
cornets, quartet of oboes, quartet of bassoons,
variations for saxophone (Mr. E. A. Lefebre),
double quartet of trombones/tubas, with grand
finale for full band.36
It is curious to note that Lefebre was the only
saxophonist featured in the above composition. Perhaps
this was due to the fact there weren’t four of the same
instrument in the saxophone section.
European Tour
The Twenty-second Regiment Band began its European
tour in May of 1878, including stops in Dublin,
Liverpool, Glasgow, Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and
The Hague (Lefebre’s place of birth).37 Gilmore had four38
saxophonists with his sixty-five piece outfit.39 Two
separate accounts indicate the instrumentation was
soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.40,41 Another description
indicates baritone instead of bass.42 At this time it was
not uncommon to refer to the baritone as an E-flat bass
saxophone,43 therefore it must be concluded that the
instrumentation of the saxophone section for Gilmore’s
36
New York Times, 24 May 1877, 7.
37
Schwartz, 105.
38
According to Horwood, Gilmore had three saxophonists (SAB) with
him on the European tour. At least three other sources (below)
indicate four saxophonists (SATB).
39
Musical World (London), 25 May 1878, 345.
40
Ibid.
41
42
Hindson, “Aspects of the Saxopone...,” 5.
43
J. A. Kappey, Military Music: History of Wind-Instrumental Bands,
(London: Boosey and Co., [1894]), 91-2.
38
European tour was the same as it had been from 1873-7
(SATB). According to an interview published in 1927:
[Eustach Strasser] joined the Gilmore Band

(1875 [sic?] the New York 26th [sic] Regiment
Band) as a member of the saxophone section,
touring with Gilmore’s Band in it’s far-
circuled concert travels, including Europe.44
Strasser was not listed as a member of Gilmore’s
saxophone section in May of 1877,45 therefore, it is
reasonable to assume Strasser joined Gilmore in 1878 (and
not in 1875) for the European tour only. It was common
for some tenured band members to opt out of such a
lengthy engagement (as evinced by many of Sousa’s
European tours). Thus, the Gilmore saxophone section in
Europe comprised the following performers:
Eustach Strasser soprano saxophone
F. William Schultze baritone saxophone
In London, Lefebre soloed with Gilmore at the Crystal
Palace, where three thousand vocalists and three hundred
instrumentalists had been assembled for the
performances.46
44
Burgstaller, “Sixty Years...,” 4.
45
New York Times, 24 May 1877, 7.
46
39
Response to Gilmore’s European tour was
enthusiastic. According to the Manchester Examiner:
Though rumor had led us to expect great things

from this celebrated orchestra, the
performances last night surpassed the most
brilliant descriptions. Such wonderfully
finished playing indeed could only be secured
by the aid of clever artists, accustomed to
rehearse constantly under the guidance of a
competent and experienced conductor, and those
who went to the concert last night anticipating
sensational effect, depending chiefly on
violent contrasts and rhythmical efforts, were
agreeably surprised by hearing performances,
the refinement and delicate expressions of
which could not be surpassed by the finest
French or Viennese military orchestras.47
Gilmore’s soloists also received high praise, with
Emerson on cornet, DeCarlo on piccolo, Lefebre on
saxophone, and Bracht on flute eliciting “the heartiest
applause.” Each “displayed special skill, either in
separate solo performances or incidental passages in
concerted pieces.”48 The Gilmore Band also performed
during the World’s Exposition at the Trocadéro in Paris,
where:
The soli of the saxophone, Mr. Lefebvre [sic],

and of the first flute, Mr. Bracht, were
universally pronounced to be faultless, and the
general sonority was well balanced.49
47
48
Musical World (London), 25 May 1878, 345.
49
40
The band toured throughout Germany in August and
September of 1878, while “urgent invitations” to visit
Russia were declined.50 Concert appearances for the
entire European trip totaled more than one-hundred fifty,
averaging one performance per day. Gilmore’s band
returned to New York City on 29 September 1878.51 Lefebre
stayed in Europe to pursue further freelance engagements.
While in Germany, Lefebre received “marked attention”
from Richard Wagner:
...Lefebre was playing at the Schutzen House,

Leipzig, where the musical instructors of the
Gewand House advised him to play for the great
Rich’d Wagner, who was there striving to invent
some brass instrument for special use in
certain of his grand operas. The soft and
sympathetic tone of the Saxophone together with
its almost unlimited power, proved to them to
be the very instrument the great Wagner had
been searching for so long. With this royal
stamp of approval Lefebre at once sprang into
popularity, and he was booked for special
engagements as saxophone soloist at many of the
musical centers of Europe—as Hanover, Berlin,
Hamburg, Dresden, Wiesbaden, Denmark,
Stockholm, Leipzig and other places. It was
while playing as solist [sic] at one of these
formal musical festivals, where only the
highest grade of music was played and none but
artists performed, that Mr. Lefebre experienced
his first and only fit of nervousness or stage
fright. The audience was highly critical and
not given to applauding; but when Lefebre
finished playing, the audience forgot itself
50
Ibid, 4 September 1878, 5.
51
Schwartz, Bands of America, 105.
41
and gave him a spontaneous and enthusiastic
encore.52
Wagner never scored for the saxophone in any of his
operas. Other cities on Lefebre’s German and
Scandinavian tour included Bremen, Königsberg, and
Copenhagen.53 Lefebre was contracted for four more weeks
in Berlin, at Kroll’s Garden, as well as a four month
engagement in Moscow, Russia, which was presumably
Lefebre’s attempt to follow through on the aforementioned
“urgent invitations” to the Gilmore Band.54
Unfortunately, Lefebre was unable to fulfill these
contract obligations due to “important business [which]
necessitated his return to New York City.”55 This
“important business” was most likely a series of winter
concert engagements for Gilmore’s band at the Grand Opera
House in New York, late in 1878.56 His immediate
departure for America leaves one wondering what might
have been if Tchaikovsky had heard Lefebre; or Rimsky-
Korsakov, who, as Inspector of the Imperial Russian Navy
Bands (1873-84), wrote three works for solo instruments
and military band at this time: Concerto for Trombone
52
C. D. Phillips, “32 Years of Musical Triumphs,” Edward A. Lefebre
promotional brochure, (c.1903), private collection of Carole
Lefebre, St. Petersburg, Florida.
53
1883): 3.
54
Ibid.
55
Ibid.
56
Horwood, Adolphe Sax, 169.
42
(1877), Variations for Oboe on a Theme of Glinka (1878),
and Concertstück for Clarinet (1878).57 It is entirely
possible Rimsky-Korsakov, the Russian master of
orchestration, upon hearing Lefebre would have seen much
value in utilizing the saxophone’s unique tone color in
the band and orchestra. Might he have written a
saxophone concerto for the visiting soloist? Indeed,
this was an opportunity missed for an instrument
struggling for acceptance.
Caryl Florio
As the door to Europe and Russia closed for Lefebre,
others in America opened. Encouraged by the popular
support and artistic success of his European tour, with
Gilmore and without, Lefebre forged ahead, expanding the
scope of saxophone performance. On his trip to Europe,
the first since moving to the United States, Lefebre must
have been reminded of a number of original works written
for saxophone, including some saxophone ensembles,
published almost exclusively by Adolphe Sax in Paris. He
returned to America with an interest in cultivating more
original repertoire for his instrument. At the same
time, composer Caryl Florio (pseudonym of William James
Robjohn, 1843-1920) was actively searching for musicians
57
Gerald Abraham, “Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolay Andreyevich,” The New
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanly Sadie, 1980.
43
interested in performing his original material.58
According to the New York Times:
Mr. Florio, who has been all his life

identified with the performance of music in New
York, has modestly and conscientiously worked
at his profession, and has shown a constant
development...he is a writer of ability, with
good ideas and a poetical fancy which finds
expression in graceful musical forms. His
characteristics as a composer are more those of
a quiet student than the bold and original
thinker...Mr. Florio is a musician of culture
and ability, known...as an industrious student
and musician for the past 10 years in this
City.59
The New York Daily Tribune elaborated further on Florio’s
talents:
He has many of the gifts and accomplishments of

a writer of music. On the technical side, he
possesses knowledge and dexterity; on the
intellectual side he is to be credited with a
delicate taste, a poetic fancy, a love of
whatever is elegant and dainty, and a natural
aptitude for graceful expression both in melody
and in words...60
Florio and Lefebre had growing reputations and both were
looking to further enhance their careers. Thus, a
composer looking for musicians to perform his works and a
performer looking to promote himself and his instrument
made a perfect match. These two men joined forces in the
late 1870s, presumably after Lefebre returned from
58
59
New York Times, 31 April 1880, 5.
60
New York Daily Tribune, 30 April 1880, 5.
44
Europe. Their collaboration was a fruitful one, with no
fewer than four works for saxophone composed by Florio
between 1879-85: Introduction, Theme and Variation (1879)
for saxophone and small orchestra;61 Allegro de Concert
(1879) and Menuet and Scherzo (1885) for saxophone
quartet; and Concertante Quintet (1879/80) for piano and
four saxophones.62 Introduction, Theme and Variation for
Eb (Alto) Saxophone and Small Orchestra (scored for alto
saxophone solo, flute, clarinet, bassoon, two cornets,
trombone, timpani, and strings) may very well be the
first solo for saxophone and orchestra ever written.63
Likened to the Weber Concertino, the work is considered
more substantive than many of the band solos of the
period.64
Lefebre was also interested in cultivating original
works for the New York Saxophone Quartette Club, which
had been together since late 1873. In the last months of
1878, after Strasser left Gilmore and moved to Boston,
the New York Saxophone Quartette Club of Wallrabe,
Lefebre, Steckelberg, and Schultze was reunited as the
61
Paul Cohen, “Vintage Saxophones Revisited – The New 19th-Century
Saxophone Part II,” Saxophone Journal 16, no. 5 (March/April 1992):
11.
62
Cohen, “The New York Saxophone Quartette Club,” 9.
63
Cohen, “The New 19th-Century Saxophone Part II,” 11.
64
Ibid.
45
saxophone section of the Twenty-second Regiment Band.
The quartet was featured once again at a series of
concerts given at New York’s Grand Opera House in
December 1878.65 The American Art Journal, referring to
the New York Saxophone Quartette Club, made an acute
observation:
...One serious obstacle was the comparatively

small number of compositions existing for such
a quartet, but good fortune brought the club to
the notice of Caryl Florio, a most talented
musician well known as a pianist and organist
of great merit and a charming composer, and he
being struck with the beautiful tone produced
by the novel combination, composed and arranged
a large and fine repertoire for it. Among the
attractions of this repertoire may be mentioned
a Concertante Quintet for pianoforte and four
saxophones, an absolute novelty, there being no
other such composition in existence.66
A landmark performance of the New York Saxophone
Quartette Club was on 30 April 1880, as part of a concert
presented by Caryl Florio.67 Florio was a well-known and
respected figure in New York City at this time, having
begun his career as the first boy soloist at New York’s
Trinity Church, and by the time of this “concert for the
production of his own works” in 1880, he had composed for
numerous genres including church anthems and hymns, a
65
Horwood, Adolphe Sax, 169.
66
67
New York Times, 31 April 1880.
46
piano trio, a string quartet, and two operas.68 “Mr.
Florio’s Concert” was an evening made up entirely of
Florio’s instrumental and vocal compositions. Of the
eight pieces performed, two featured the New York
Saxophone Quartette Club: the Allegro de Concert and
Concertante Quintet.69 Lefebre also played a clarinet
accompaniment on one of the vocal pieces, receiving an
encore.70 Regarding the works for saxophones, the
reviewer of the New York Times appears to have been
distracted by such a rare concert appearance:
A quartet for saxophones, “Allegro de Concert”

was so unusual in the fact that it was written
for these instruments that its departure from
ordinary forms made it difficult to judge of it
at a single hearing. It was, however, not
specially interesting, though exceedingly well
performed...The other instrumental number was a
quintet for saxophones and piano, (an odd and
original combination of instruments,) which was
not, perhaps, fully appreciated, as it was the
final piece on the programme.71
Differing assessments of the evening’s events came from
The Musical Courier:
...The most successful pieces were the

“Mother’s Lullaby,” nicely rendered by Miss
Beebe, and the Quintet for piano and four
saxophones. The grand Chickering piano blended
well with the tone of the wind instruments.72
68
Richard Jackson, “Caryl Florio,” Edition Peters 67225, (New York:
C. F. Peters Corporation, 1988).
69
70
New York Times, 31 April 1880, 5.
71
Ibid.
72
Musical Courier (New York), 15 May 1880.
47
and New York Daily Tribune:
There was a quartet for saxophones, however, a

spirited “Allegro de Concert,” which attracted
the liveliest attention, and at the end of the
programme was added a quintet for the same
instruments with the addition of a piano; this
made an excellent combination. The rich full
tone of the saxophones—soprano, alto, tenor,
and baritone—came out superbly in Mr. Florio’s
graceful and well harmonized phrases, but the
pleasure which these instruments are capable of
giving in the concert-room must always be
fleeting because they have little power of
expression.73
A detailed and favorable account of Florio’s concert from
the 6 May 1880 issue of the Musical Review, highlights
the saxophone compositions as well as the contributions
of the saxophonists:
Mr. Caryl Florio gave his “First concert

for the production of his own works” at
Chickering Hall last Thursday evening; when,
notwithstanding the pouring rain, there was a
respectable number of highly appreciative
listeners present. Mr. Florio made a daring
attempt in presenting a programme consisting
entirely of his own compositions. But it can
not be said that the result did not justify his
boldness. He is a good performer; has long
lived in a musical atmosphere, is an excellent
reader at sight of pianoforte and organ music
(a gift which he has not neglected in the study
of much music written for those instruments),
and besides has before now appeared acceptably
as a composer of vocal music. Last Thursday
evening Mr. Florio was assisted in the
interpretation of his programme by a saxophone
quartette: Messrs. Franz Wallarabe, E. A.
Lefebre, Henry Steckelberg, and Wm. F. [sic]
Schultze; by the well known string quartette of
the New York Philharmonic Club; by Messrs.
Baird and Aiken of the English Glee Club, and
73
New York Daily Tribune, 30 April 1880, 5.
48
Dr. Hills; and by the following lady soloists:
Miss Maria Brainerd, Miss Henriette Beebe, and
Mrs. C. V. Lassar-Studwell (soprano), and Mrs.
S. Barron-Anderson (contralto). The novelties
in form on the programme were a quartette for
saxophones, Allegro de Concert; a scena for
soprano, with obligato of clarinet and cello
and a quintette for pianoforte and saxophones.
This last was a fine composition, too good
to put at the end of the programme, and it was
notable as a proof that at least a quartette of
instruments has been found which even a wide
open piano cannot drown into insignificance.
Mr. Florio, who played the immensely
difficult piano part, was justified in opening
the lid wide, with the effect of producing an
admirable balance of tone between the piano and
the saxophones. So that instead of calling Mr.
Florio’s “new form” a mistake, it were well to
advise certain self-assertive pianists either
to confine themselves to solos and to concertos
with orchestral accompaniment, or else to allow
saxophonists to replace the strings in familiar
chamber music of masters who wrote when the
pianoforte was “more piano than forte.” In Mr.
Florio’s quintette the piano part is so
important, that the work might well be called a
pianoforte concerto with quartette
accompaniment of saxophones. Of course,
saxophones cannot take the place of the string
quartette. But, for a change, the combination
is quite pleasing to the ear, and the quaint
jollity of rapid passages, especially when
performed in the almost percussive tones of the
bass saxophone, is quite delightful. The most
prominent tone was that of the alto instrument,
played by Mr. Lefebre, who was known last
summer as the solo saxophonist of Mr. Adolphe
Neuendorff’s band at Coney Island.
The Allegro de Concert was a brisk and
refreshing introduction to the concert and was
greeted with enthusiastic applause.74
The Allegro de Concert remained unknown to modern
saxophonists until Richard Jackson of the New York Public
74
49
Library discovered the original manuscript. Jackson
subsequently included this historically significant work
in his Democratic Souvenir: An Anthology of 19th Century
American Music, published by Editions Peters. Florio’s
quartet was later published separately from the anthology
in 1988. The Allegro de Concert features an opening
chorale followed by a spirited stretto fuguetta. The
written range is consistently two octaves, with soprano
spanning two octaves and a fourth (low B to high E).
Understanding the “key range” of the soprano to be high
Eb, Florio wrote these highest passages (bars 213-5 and
220-2) in two octaves, with the top octave being
preferred, and presumably, played.75 The whereabouts of
Florio’s Concertante Quintet for piano and four
saxophones is discussed in further detail in Chapter V.
The Menuet and Scherzo was probably in Lefebre’s
possession when he died. Since most of his belongings
were sold for pawn,76 Florio’s Menuet and Scherzo is
presumed lost.
The New York Saxophone Quartette Club continued to
play through 1885. Gilmore’s tenor saxophonists at this
time included Henry Steckelberg to c.1882, Fred ter
75
Caryl Florio, “Quartette,” soprano saxophone part, [1879], William
James Robjohn Collection, Library for the Performing Arts, New York
Public Library, New York.
50
Linden c.1883-4, and E. Schaap from c.1885-92. It is
logical to assume Linden and Schaap played tenor
saxophone in the New York Saxophone Quartette Club during
the group’s final years. Commenting on Gilmore’s band
and personnel, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated:
The Saxophone Quartet is composed of Franz

Wallrabe, soprano; Lefevre [sic], alto; Schapp
[sic], tenor, and Schultze, baritone. Wallrabe
and Lefebre divide the honors as soloists, and
Schultze has the honor of being the best
arranger of classical music in the country. He
handles the different themes with great skill,
and his instrumentation is absolutely perfect.77
As the only known reference to Franz Wallrabe as a
soloist, this review was probably regarding the quartet
setting (and not the Gilmore Band), where soprano and
alto saxophone often share the leading role. However,
it is unclear if the discussion of Schultze “being the
best arranger of classical music in the country” was in
connection with the 22nd Regiment Band, the saxophone
quartet, or both.
The last known engagement of the New York Saxophone
Quartette Club was a Musical Soirèe, “Zeumon of Artists,”
hosted by Charles Kunkels, on 19 October 1885. On this
occasion, they programmed Florio’s Concertante Quintet
and presumably performed his newly written Menuet and
76
Edward John Lefebre of West Islip, New York, interviewed by
author, August 1999.
51
Scherzo.78 It appears the New York Saxophone Quartette
Club disbanded shortly after this performance, possibly
due to the death of soprano saxophonist Franz Wallrabe.79
Lefebre and Florio lost contact after 1885 and did not
correspond again until 1902.80 A subsequent “concert for
the production of his own works” presented by Caryl
Florio in March 1888, included two symphonies, a piano
concerto, and a number of vocal works; regrettably, no
new compositions for saxophones were programmed for this
occasion.81
Lyceum Concert Club
Lefebre held a high profile in the New York music
scene of the early 1880s. His professional card was
first seen in the 1 May 1880 issue of the Musical
Courier, and subsequently for many months, as “EDWARD
LEFEBRE, Saxophone, 129 Tenth st., South Brooklyn.”82
(In July of 1880 his address switched to “901 Dean st.,
Brooklyn, NY.”)83 By 31 March 1883, Lefebre’s
professional card was listed in the American Art Journal,
as “E. A. LEFEBRE, SAXOPHONE SOLOIST, (from the Hague,
77
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, c.September or October 1885, as reprinted
in C. G. Conn’s Trumpet Notes, vol. VII, no. 2, (November 1885).
78
Edward A. Lefebre, Brooklyn, to Carl [sic] Florio, New York, 16
November 1902, William James Robjohn Collection, Library for the
Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
79
Ibid, 26 November 1902.
80
Ibid, 6, 16, and 26 November 1902.
81
Musical Courier (New York), 4 April 1887, 5.
82
Ibid, 1 May 1880, 172.
52
Holland.) FOR CONCERT ENGAGEMENTS, Address care of
American Art Journal.”84 Both the Musical Courier and
American Art Journal included generous coverage of
Lefebre’s activities during this time.
Besides his work with Caryl Florio and the New York
Saxophone Quartette Club, Lefebre continued to perform as
soloist with Gilmore’s Twenty-second Regiment Band. By
now, there was said to be a corps of five saxophonists
(SATBBs) in Gilmore’s fifty-five piece outfit.85 It is
likely either Fred ter Linden or C. Lunyack, members of
the Lyceum Concert Club, discussed below, was hired to
play bass saxophone. The saxophone was still considered
a novelty by audiences, thus, the Musical Courier’s
inclusion of this thoughtfully written discussion of the
saxophone in the 8 May 1880 issue:
The saxophone is simply a modified brass

clarinet, or a bugle and ophicleide played with
a clarinet mouthpiece. The keys are on the
Boehm principle. Its register is as the
oboe’s, so that it assimilates to that
instrument in scale more than the
clarinet...These instruments are made in
families, of different sizes-treble, alto,
tenor, baritone, bass, &c. Little can be said
as to their orchestral power, as they are yet
so young in practice, and await their true
development by the artist. Their binding power
of tone, for the little heard so far, would
seem to promise great things for the open air
orchestra or military band, as it is
83
Ibid, 9 July 1880, 368.
84
American Art Journal XXXVIII No. 23 (March 31, 1883): 449.
85
53
called...the instruments are yet in their
infancy, and we shall know more of them when we
have uniform military band scores and
permanency of organization.86
This last statement was indeed prophetic. In July of
1880, a curious article appeared in the Musical Courier:
W. Ronnberg, a flute maker, of this city, has

invented an instrument which he calls the
xylophone. It looks like and oboe, but sounds
like a saxophone. Mr. Ronnberg claims that
this instrument is superior to the saxophone
because its tone can be modulated at the will
of the performer and because the notes are
clearer and more distinct throughout the
register. Its compass is from B natural below
the lines to F above the lines. It is expected
that Lefebre, the saxophone soloist of
Gilmore's Band, will shortly give an indoor
exhibition of the possibilities of the
xylophone.87
Whether or not this invention (not to be confused with
the mallet percussion instrument) ever existed remains to
be investigated and there are no further reports of
Lefebre’s involvement with the “xylophone.” With the
close of the summer band season on at Manhattan Beach in
1880, Gilmore’s band performed less frequently, allowing
Lefebre many freelance opportunities. For seven weeks in
September and October he was the saxophone soloist with
the “band at the exhibition building” during the Chicago
Exposition.88 One can begin to appreciate Lefebre’s
86
Ibid, 8 May 1880, 197.
87
Ibid, 9 July 1880, 337.
88
54
passion for the saxophone, and his sheer determination
for finding ways in which to make his living on this
instrument, by recognizing the nature of his next
undertaking: the Lyceum Concert Club. This group was
organized in mid-October of 1880, following Lefebre’s
return from the Midwest, “for the purpose of presenting a
combination of instruments entirely new and original.”89
This is no understatement, as indicated by the personnel
of the Lyceum Concert Club below:
E. A. Lefebre saxophone soloist
J. Norrito flute soloist
Benj. B. Dale Flügelhorn (manager)
J. Hausknecht contra fagotto
F. Wallrabe soprano saxophone
Fred. ter Linden alto saxophone
H. Steckelberg tenor saxophone
C. Lunyack baritone saxophone90
It would be difficult to argue the originality of such an
octet in 1880! The term “lyceum” refers to a movement
which originated in 1826, as a network of local groups
committed to mutual education, by presenting single
lecture programs during the winter months in indoor
locations such as schools, churches, opera houses, or
89
Ibid, 22 October 1880, 573.
90
Ibid.
55
meeting halls in cities and towns throughout the country.
By the 1860s, professional speakers generally replaced
local presenters, and from that time into the twentieth
century, music began to play an increasingly larger role
in lyceum programs as well.91 A “concert club” or
“concert company” was generally comprised of any
combination of vocal and instrumental soloists,
accompanists, multi-instrumentalists, as well as readers
who recited poetry, literary or dramatic excerpts, or
monologues.92 One cannot deny the fundamentally profound
reasons for organizing the Lyceum Concert Club:
recognition and acceptance from the musical
establishment. Here were eight musicians united by a
shared belief in the virtues and inherent merits of these
woodwind and brass instruments. Of course, each of these
instruments eventually found favor within established
musical genres of the twentieth century. For all but the
flute, however, acceptance was slow in coming. The
Lyceum Concert Club appears to have been made up Gilmore
Band members (it is unclear if all were Gilmore men).
Besides Wallrabe, Lefebre, and Steckelberg, Fred ter
Linden was with Gilmore by the summer of 1883, and J.
91
Thomas W. Smialek, Jr, “Clay Smith and G.E. Holmes: Their Role in
the Development of Saxophone Performance and Padagogy n the United
States, 1905-1930” (D.M.A. diss., University of Georgia, 1991: 2-3.
92
Ibid, 3.
56
Norrito was known to be Gilmore’s flute soloist. One may
assume Dale and Hausknecht were likely members of the
Twenty-second Regiment Band.
Evidence suggests the Lyceum Concert Club probably
performed, since an octet of similar instrumentation was
found performing on some of Gilmore’s Grand Concerts at
Manhattan Beach later in the decade. An Octette for
saxophones, sarusophones, bassoons, and contra fagotti by
Foster was programmed for Sunday, 19 August 1883. The
octet was comprised of the following players:
Wallrabe soprano saxophone
Lefebre alto saxophone
ter Linden tenor saxophone
Schultze baritone saxophone
Mundwyler sarusophone
Sauer bassoon
Rupp bassoon
Kavanagh contra bassoon93
This octet performed on a part of the program that
featured other, more traditional instrumental
combinations including a trombone quartet and a duet for
cornets. Ten days later, this woodwind octet performed a
93
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Manhattan Beach, 19 August
1883, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New
York.
57
rendition of Nearer, my God, to Thee, arranged by
Foster.94 Colored Camp-Meeting, performed on 10 July
1886, was written by tenor saxophonist Fred ter Linden,
and was a solo feature for Lefebre with accompaniment of
“saxophones, sarusophones, bassoons, and contra fagotta,”
presumably an octet of the same instrumentation.95 One
can greatly admire the noble intentions behind the
formation of such chamber ensembles! The men of the
Lyceum Concert Club and the woodwind octet of the Twenty-
second Regiment Band epitomized the spirit of musical
innovation and are to be commended for their collective
efforts to heighten awareness of these new and
underrepresented musical instruments.
The career of saxophonist Johann Gottlieb Friederich
“Fred” ter Linden warrants special mention. By some
accounts he was “the first to play the saxophone in
America.”96 However, it is probably more accurate to say
he was one of the earliest saxophonists in the United
States. Linden was formerly from Portland, Maine, having
94
Ibid, 29 August 1883.
95
96
George Thornton Edwards, Music and Musicians of Maine, (Portland:
Southworth Press, 1928), 158.
58
been the director of the Portland Band (1870s)97, as well
as the musical director of that city’s Orpheus Symphony
Club (c.1876—80), a group of 20 instrumental amateurs,
all of whom were Linden’s students.98 Upon moving to New
York City (c.1880), Linden became the bandmaster of the
U. S. Army Principal Depot Band.99 The early saxophonists
Linden and Lefebre had apparently met years earlier,
possibly at Gilmore’s 1872 Peace Jubilee, since Linden, a
bandmaster, would very likely have attended or
participated in the grand event. A rather prolific
composer of instrumental music (including “Waiting,” an
instrumental romance for B-flat cornet or B-flat
saxophone, published in 1882)100 and popular music
(including collaborations with numerous librettists),
Linden dedicated nearly every composition to a friend,
relative, or associate. One such work, “That Sweet
Little Face in the Window,” for tenor voice and chorus,
published in 1873, indicated the following: “Dedicated to
my friend, Edwin Lefebre, Philadelphia, (Pa.).”101 Here,
97
Fred. ter Linden, “Mollie, Dear,” (Portland, ME: C. K. Hawes,
1873), title page.
98
Edwards, Music and Musicians of Maine, 158.
99
U.S. Army Principal Depot Band program, found with uncatalogued
Gilmore Band programs, Library of the Performing Arts, New York City
100
L. J. Lefebre, “Chant de Marie,” (Boston: L. E. Whipple, 1883),
cover page.
101
Fred. ter Linden, “That Sweet Little Face at the Window,” words by
F. C. Filley, (Portland, ME: Hawes & Cragin, 1873), title page.
59
it is reasonable to believe that Edwin Lefebre was none
other than Edward Lefebre, since E. A. Lefebre was living
in Philadelphia at this time. Another song, “Little
Mollie Brown!” published in 1878, carries a rather
curious dedication: “Inscribed to Louise Linden, N.Y.
America’s great Saxophone Soloist.”102 Such a designation
given to Louise Linden would appear to go beyond a mere
term of endearment. Fred ter Linden “instructed his
charming blonde niece, Louisa [sic], on [saxophone] so
that she made an early sensation as the first woman
saxophonist in the United States.”103 In fact, the
following article, from 1881, provides proof of Miss
Linden’s stature as a soloist:
Ad. Neuendorff recently returned from Europe to

conduct the concerts at Koster & Bial’s Concert
Hall, which he opened last Thursday night with
his orchestra of thirty pieces, comprising the
following soloists: Walter Emerson, cornet;
William Muller, ‘cello; Joseph Eller, oboe; C.
Rothemund, violin; Miss B. [sic] Linden,
saxophone; J. Davis, organ, and the Distin
cornet quartet.104
Adolphe Neuendorff, an “American Wagnerian,” conducted
the first productions in this country of Lohengrin and
Die Walküre. He was also the conductor of the New York
Philharmonic Society in the late 1870s and associate
102
Fred ter Linden, “Little Mollie Brown!” words by Arthur W. French,
(New York: E. H. Harding, 1878), title page.
103
Edwards, Music and Musicians of Maine, 158.
104
The Musical Courier (New York), 22 June 1881, 447.
60
conductor of the Metropolitan orchestra in the late
1890s.105 That Miss Linden was under the baton of such an
eminent conductor, on a bill with such prominent artists
as Emerson and the Distins, indicates she had a solid
reputation. (Lefebre was soloist with Neuendorff’s band
at Coney Island in 1879, above.) Perhaps even more
remarkable, is that Linden’s success as an instrumental
wind soloist came at a time when military men controlled
this field. Her career predates by ten years that of
Bessie Mecklem (a.k.a. Bessie Meeklens).106 Mecklem, a
pupil of Lefebre,107 was the first saxophonist to record,
producing twelve Edison cylinders on 23 April 1892.108
During the 1893-4 season, the Star Lyceum Bureau
advertised “Mecklam [sic] Harp and Saxophone Recitals.”109
The following engagement, as mentioned in the 3 January
1894 issue of the Musical Courier, was probably part of
the Star Lyceum concert series:
An interesting musical and literary programme

was furnished by Mabel Stillman’s New York
Stars and the New York Ladies’ Quartette
assisted by Miss Bessie Mecklam [sic],
saxophonist, Mr. H. C. Mecklam [sic], harpist,
105
Adolphe Neuendorff, “Clippings,” Library for the Performing Arts,
New York Public Library, New York.
106
Betsy G. Miller, "Two Early Lady Saxophonists," unpublished
article, Columbia, South Carolina, 2000. Here, the last name of
“Mecklem” is confirmed, as opposed to “Meeklens,” the name cited in
Allen Koenisberg’s Edison Cylinder Records, 1889-1912.
107
For further information on Mecklem and Lefebre, see Addendum.
108
109
Star Lyceum Bureau promotional brochure, 1893-4, Landauer
Collection, New York Historical Society, New York.
61
and George E. Appel, pianist, at the Madison
Square Concert Hall on the afternoon of
December 26, [1893].110
“The Mecklams [sic], Harp and Saxophone,” were one of the
“Musical Attractions” with the Alert Entertainment Bureau
during 1894 and 1895.111 Henry Clay Mecklem and Bessie
Mecklem were a father/daughter team who began performing
together in 1889. It is entirely possible that Bessie
Mecklem was inspired by the career of Louise Linden, who
was performing earlier in the decade. (It is now known
that Lefebre and Mecklem performed together in 1890. See
the Addendum on page 239.)
Edward A. Lefebre continued to freelance, performing
at the Metropolitan Concert Hall in New York City on 12
January 12 1881. The program also featured pianist
Teresa Carreno, Signor Tagliapietra, and vocalist Rudolph
Aronson.112 During the summer, Lefebre was committed to
the Twenty-second Regiment Band. Gilmore’s band featured
Lefebre performing a Fantasie for saxophone by French
composer Jean-Nicolas Savari (1786-1850).113 A reviewer
in the Musical Courier makes special mention of Lefebre’s
110
Musical Courier (New York), 3 January 1894, 10.
111
Alert Entertainment Bureau promotional brochure, 1894-5, Landauer
112
Musical and Dramatic Courier (New York), 15 January 1881, 42.
62
13 July 1881 performance (featuring more original music
written for saxophone) at Manhattan Beach:
...E. A. Lefebre performed a solo on the

saxophone, by Savari. The portion of the piece
played served to prove the soloist an artist on
his instrument. The qualities displayed were
varied expression, beauty of tone, and a rare
artistic finish.114
Lefebre arranged appearances outside of New York City
after the close of Gilmore’s summer season in early
September. It was reported that Lefebre was contracted
by “the popular music dealer,” Ernest Lavigne, to perform
at the Montreal Exhibition later that same month.115
These exhibitions, with crowds numbering in the tens of
thousands, were ideal for Lefebre’s purpose of
introducing audiences to the saxophone. One can only
speculate on how many people were influenced to begin
playing the saxophone upon hearing Lefebre’s “rare
artistic finish.” Certainly, Lefebre was the first to
cultivate such a wide audience of saxophone enthusiasts.
Canada was now added to the growing list of countries
visited during his international career.
In the spring of 1882, Lefebre was back performing
in New York City as an “assisting artist” to pianist
113
Ibid, 23 July 1881, 54.
114
Ibid.
115
63
Sophia Priestly in Chickering Hall.116 On 19 November
1882, Lefebre was engaged with the Seventh Regiment Band
of New York City, under the direction of Carlo A. Cappa,
for its first in a series of promenade concerts.117 This
was a rare concert appearance for Lefebre for a number of
reasons. First of all, as soloist with Gilmore’s Twenty-
second Regiment Band, it seems likely Lefebre, as well as
other soloists with Gilmore, would generally avoid
concertizing with another band in the same city. One
need only refer to the situation surrounding Gilmore’s
death in 1892 and subsequent hiring of Lefebre and
numerous other “Gilmore men” by Sousa in 1893.118 There
was much gnashing of teeth by the Gilmore loyalists
regarding these defections to Sousa’s outfit. Secondly,
Cappa was an outspoken critic of innovations and was
specifically against using the saxophone in the wind
band.119 Thirdly, the piece performed was actually a
duet for saxophone and cornet with Lefebre sharing the
stage with cornetist R. Ward. Lefebre undoubtedly gave
it his best effort, but this single performance with
Cappa’s band apparently wasn’t enough to change the
bandleader’s dismal view of the saxophone!
116
Ibid, 9 March 1882, 116.
117
Ibid, 23 November 1882, 246.
118
See below.
119
64
Lefebre Benefit Concert of 1883
“A vocal and instrumental concert...for the benefit
of the well-known saxophone player, E. A. Lefebre,” was
given on 3 February 1883, at Steinway Hall.120
Contrasting accounts of the event were offered by two
leading music journals of the day. According to the
Musical Courier:
A rather motley crowd assembled in Steinway

Hall on Saturday evening last, to hear E. A.
Lefebre’s benefit concert. It is impossible to
speak seriously of any of the performers other
than Mr. Lefebre himself. The selections were
rendered in the most melancholy style, and
considerably depressed cultivated listeners.
Moreover, as is always the case with poor
performers, long pieces were selected, some of
them be being badly sung, appearing
interminable. Mr. Lefebre’s selections were,
on the contrary, well interpreted and of only
average length, by which he placed himself in
exact contrast to the rest of the performers.
It is hard to conceive how Mr. Lefebre could
have surrounded himself with such incompetent
drawbacks.121
The American Art Journal offered a more thoughtful
recounting of events:
The eminent saxophonist, M. E. A. Lefebre, was

tendered a benefit concert at Steinway Hall
last Saturday evening, which was not as well
patronized as it should have been, considering
the rarity of the opportunity afforded to hear
this beautiful instrument in solos, and the
excellent reputation of the performer. Mr.
Lefebre stands foremost in the ranks of
saxophone players, and his delightful solo
120
121
Ibid, 7 February 1883, 63.
65
performances in conjunction with P. S.
Gilmore’s matchless band won him no little
fame. The saxophone has a remarkably
sympathetic and singing quality of tone, and is
even preferred to the flute as being more
mellow and possessing more richness. Operatic
airs and ballads are given by Mr. Lefebre with
all the feeling and sentiment of the human
voice, and the purity of tone heightens the
illusion until one seems to hear an exquisitely
rounded contralto or mezzo-soprano warbling
those difficult fioriture with perfect ease.
An Andante pastorale by Mr. Lefebre was as
beautiful as it was well rendered. The usual
number of encores were insisted upon as a
matter of course. As is customary at benefit
concerts, the assistance was plentiful, the
pieces overwhelmingly low and the programme
endless. Up to ten o’clock, when human
endurance gave out and we were compelled to
beat a retreat, only one half the programme was
finished. The features of the evening were, in
addition to Mr. Lefebre, Mr. August Kessels,
pianist, and Miss M. Singer.
Mr. Kessels played Liszt’s “Am Meer” (“On
the Ocean”), and Tausig’s arrangement of
Weber’s “Invitation to the Dance,” admirably,
showing a command of technique that few attain.
The perfection of his left-hand playing in the
Liszt selection, and the rapidity of his
execution of the most intricate details of the
last piece can hardly be commended too highly.
Mr. Kessels is an excellent musician and a
graduate of the Cologne Conservatory, and is
heard too seldom in concerts. Miss M. Singer
was heard in Liszt’s beautiful song “Mignon,”
and a piece by Vincento entitled “Il Canario.”
In the first song she sang well, but does not
seem to have fulfilled the splendid
possibilities of her voice as heard some months
ago, when she astonished everybody by her
dramatic talent and lovely voice. The other
selection was a mass of trills and flourishes
unsuited to a voice so little developed and
finished. An arrangement of Bach’s well-known
song “My Heart Ever Faithful,” with saxophone
obligato, sung by Miss Singer, was very
effective, and closed the first part. Other
66
assistants were Mrs. Marie Schenk, Mr. Charles
Barthin, and a string quartet.122
It is worth repeating the fact that Lefebre’s “remarkably
sympathetic and singing quality of tone” was embraced as
wholly desirable, “even being preferred to the flute.”
Such comparisons clearly indicate Lefebre was presenting
the saxophone as an orchestral instrument capable of
great flexibility of color and expression. One must not
forget Lefebre was a seasoned orchestral performer as
clarinet soloist, including the orchestra with the Parepa
Rosa Opera Company. The choice to perform Bach’s “My
Heart Ever Faithful” was most appropriate for two
reasons. First, analogies between violoncello and
saxophone were once again present, for the obligato was
originally written for violoncello piccolo, an instrument
in the same range as the alto saxophone. This analogy was
further corroborated by the American Music Journal:
[The saxophone] reproduces on a magnified

scale, something of the violoncello quality,
and gives great sustaining power to the full
chorus of brass instruments, by introducing a
mass of harmonic overtones...123
Second, Lefebre’s “exquisitely rounded contralto or
mezzo-soprano” tone quality provided an excellent blend
with the soprano.
122
“Complimentary Concert to M. Lefebre, the Saxophonist,” American
Art Journal XXXVIII no. 16 (February 10, 1883): 304-5.
123
American Music Journal (New York), 1 April 1885.
67
A profile on the “widely known virtuoso,” E. A.
Lefebre, was presented in the American Art Journal in
1883:
The saxophone has long been one of the

favorite instruments of Europe, and is fast
becoming so in America. It gives that
exquisitely pure, full, soft tone so pleasing
to the true musician. It is an instrument that
speaks to the heart as well as the ear. Mons.
Lefebre ranks among the first artists of the
times, being a natural as well as educated
musician, and presenting to the public only
standard music.
...Mons. Lefebre is still in active practice
in his profession, gaining new laurels
constantly. The musically cultivated portion
of the press speak in the highest terms of his
performances. (Italics are included in the
original article).124
Throughout the summer of 1883 (and for the rest of his
career), Lefebre performed Der Freischütz by Carl Maria
von Weber.125 Perhaps a transcription, this was most
likely “[Jean-Nicholas] Savari at his best,” in his
original composition Fantasie sur des motifs du
Freyschutz, written in the late 1840s.126 Both Lefebre
and the New York Saxophone Quartette Club performed other
works of Savari, therefore, it is logical to conclude
this was also an original composition, particularly
considering the caliber of writing:
124
1883): 3.
125
Gilmore Band Programs (uncatalogued), Manhattan Beach, 13, 18, and
27 August 1883, Library for the Performing Arts, New York City
68
In his Freischütz Fantasy, Savari utilized the
entire conventional range of the extant alto
saxophone—b to f3. His range and velocity
requirements will certainly challenge today’s
saxophonist. When these technical challenges
are combined with the innate beauty of Weber’s
melodies, this work certainly stands out as a
significant member of the early saxophone
repertoire. It is a work that should continue
to be performed today.127
Of Lefebre’s known solo performances, Der Freischütz was
by far the most frequently programmed solo work (greater
than 10% of performances, see Appendix A), lending
further support this was indeed Savari’s “stand out” of
the early saxophone repertoire.
Deafness
According to Lefebre’s obituary in the Brooklyn
Daily Eagle, it was “while with Gilmore he lost his
hearing, because of the firing of the guns in the ‘Anvil
Chorus.’”128 Giussepi Verdi composed his opera Il
trovatore in 1851-2 (revised in 1857), scoring for real
anvils in the percussion section, which is how this
famous chorus got its name. Gilmore added live artillery
to his adaptation for band. Gilmore’s season-ending
three-day jubilee at Manhattan Beach on 30, 31, August
and 1 September 1883, was presented:
126
Ronkin, “The Music for Saxophone...,” 38.
127
Ibid, 78-9.
128
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “Saxophone Soloist Dead,” 23 February 1911.
69
...on a grand scale, and from the first concert
to the last piece played, there was a
succession of solos, choruses, fireworks, &c.
...The ‘Anvil Chorus’ was a success, the ten
guns fired by electricity from the conductor’s
stand, caused a veritable sensation.129
The September 1 date marked Gilmore’s 1000th concert on
Manhattan Beach as a bandleader130 and the anvils and
guns, props in Gilmore’s arsenal as early as 1864, appear
to have been used here frequently. Programs from the
1885 season on Manhattan Beach make special mention of:
...the ‘Anvil Chorus’ with the accompaniment of

twenty-four anvil beaters in picturesque
costume, and two batteries of artillery, fired
by electricity in exact time with the music.”131
The Blacksmith in the Woods, by Michaelis was another in
the Gilmore Band repertoire which used two-dozen anvil
beaters plus artillery.132 For those unfortunate band
members nearest to the guns, a few blasts at close range
would have been enough to cause permanent hearing loss on
even a single occasion, let alone hundreds of concerts
over many years. Other Gilmore men must have suffered
the same fate as Lefebre who by this time had been with
the Twenty-second Regiment Band for over a decade.
129
Musical Courier (New York), 5 September 1883, 135.
130
Ibid, 22 August 1883, 113.
131
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Manhattan Beach, 9 September
1885, Library for the Performing Arts, New York City Public Library,
New York.
132
Ibid.
70
By the end of his career, Lefebre’s deafness was
total:
The last two years that this noble old musical

gladiator did solo work, he was so deaf that he
couldn’t hear a sound, and he played his
numbers, leaning with one arm on the piano, so
in this way he could detect the vibrations of
the piano enough to keep fairly well in tune
with it.133
Gilmore’s guns of the “Anvil Chorus” took a terrible
toll, yet Lefebre played on.
On 4 August 1884, Edward Abraham Lefebre was granted
U.S. citizenship.134 Two months later, Lefebre’s portrait
was featured on the cover of the Musical Courier. A
brief biographical article included the following:
Edward A. Lefebre, the great saxophonist, is

recognized as one of the most distinguished
soloists on his instrument, and his reputation
as a gentleman and musical artist extends over
portions of both hemispheres. His polished
manners and wonderful execution on the
saxophone have won for him the highest
encomiums from press and people wherever he has
been seen and known.135
In 1885, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated Lefebre
“...was soloist to the King of Holland when Gilmore
secured him, twelve years ago.”136 This is the only
133
Holmes and Smith, “The Saxophone is Coming Fast,” 4.
134
Lefebre’s Naturalization Papers, National Archives, New York, New
York.
135
Musical Courier (New York), 15 October 1884, 244.
136
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, c.September or October 1885, as reprinted
in C. G. Conn’s Trumpet Notes, vol. VII, no. 32, (November 1885).
71
reference to Lefebre’s association with the King of
Holland and appears spurious considering Lefebre was with
Rosa from 1871 and based in England from 1869. Lefebre
may have performed for the King of Holland while living
in the Hague between 1863-9.
The Musical Courier gave notice of a performance in
May 1885, a concert with a rather progressive program:
The T. P. M. S. of the Church of the Puritans

gave their last entertainment of this season on
May 14. Compositions were played and sung of
Rovanizzi, Homer N. Barlett [sic], Molloy,
Donizetti, and Sullivan, by Mrs. C. E. Rich,
contralto; E. A. Lefebre, saxophonist; and the
Tipaldi Brothers, mandolinists. The
accompanists were Mr. L. H. Bogart, and Signor
C. Gnarro. Miss Mary L. Runyon and Mr. J. W.
Currier recited.137
This event was most likely a singular occurrence in the
nineteenth-century: an engagement that included both a
saxophone soloist and a mandolin duo! Lefebre may have
performed an original work for saxophone composed by
Homer N. Bartlett. Two years later, in 1887, a concert
announcement in the September 7 issue of the Musical
Courier suggests a connection:
Gilmore will devote an entire evening to

American composers early next week at
Manhattan. Among the works to be performed are
compositions by Brandeis, Goldbeck, Mills,
Homer Bartlett and others.138
137
Musical Courier (New York), 20 May 1885, 308.
138
72
Gilmore performed Bartlett’s Grand March Militaire in
1890,139 therefore, a case could be made for the Bartlett-
Lefebre connection. Homer Newton Bartlett (1845-1920)
was well-known in New York City as 31 years the organist
at the Madison Avenue Baptist Church, a founding member
of the American Guild of Organists and a one-time
president of the National Association of Organists.140
Bartlett “was sympathetic to all progressive tendencies
in music” and “one for whom composition was not merely an
absorbing interest but virtually a dominant passion.”141
Lefebre was also a passionate and progressive musician.
Considering Bartlett’s remarkable output of nearly three
hundred works, further investigation into a possible work
for saxophone is warranted.
In September of 1889, Harper’s Weekly published a
feature article on military bands, highlighting Gilmore’s
saxophone section:
In Gilmore’s band there is a sextet of these

instruments, pitched as follows: 1 soprano, 1
alto, 2 tenors, 1 baritone and 1 contrabass in
Bb. In connection with the bassoons
particularly, they seem to bind in string-like
manner, the reeds with the brass. The alto is
139
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Manhattan Beach, 26 July
New York.
140
Salter, Sumner. Dictionary of American Biography, vol. 1, part 2.
141
Ibid.
73
considered the solo instrument of the sextet,
and in the hands of Mr. Lefebre it is a
wonderful adjunct to the band.142
While mentioning a sextet of saxophones, the accompanying
photograph was of a “quintette of saxophones,” from the
Twenty-second Regiment band. A Gilmore roster from 1890
listed five saxophonists (presumably those pictured in
Harper’s) and the number of years each had served: M.
Davidson (soprano saxophone – 5 years), E. A. Lefebre
(alto saxophone – 16 years), E. Schaap (tenor saxophone –
5 years), F. W. Schultze (baritone saxophone – 16 years),
and T. F. Shannon (bass saxophone – 3 years).143 As was
the case with most early saxophonists, Shannon was also a
clarinetist.
It was then [1888] Mr. Shannon changed the

clarinet for the saxophone and was one of the
famous saxophone quartet that so delighted the
thousands who daily thronged to hear Gilmore’s
band at Manhattan Beach. Mr. Shannon’s
performance so pleased Mr. Gilmore that he made
special arrangements with Mr. Carl Fischer to
have a double Bb-bass saxophone imported for
Mr. Shannon.144
A portrait of the Gilmore Band from this time,145 and the
picture in Harper’s Weekly both confirm this “double Bb”
instrument to be a standard bass saxophone.
142
Hemke, “The Early History...,”409.
143
144
Ibid.
74
Patrick Gilmore continued to incorporate chamber
music performances within the larger program of his
concerts. During the 1887 Manhattan Beach series,
Gilmore featured Lefebre and other soloists with the
intimate accompaniment of a horn quartet. According to
Harper’s Weekly:
Gilmore is greatly attached to [the French

horn], and employs it extensively. At the
church service held every Sunday morning in the
amphitheatre at Manhattan Beach the French
horns take the place of an organ. The
rendition of four-part songs has been for years
quite a feature in Gilmore’s programmes. A
charming effect is produced by a solo
instrument accompanied by the quartet of horns,
among which Harry Weston is an incomparable
performer.146
Between the years 1887-92, Lefebre performed four
different solos in this context: Rolling Bark by Kucken,
Elegie by Vivian, as well Image of the Rose and Moonlight
on the Lake by Reichardt. Image of the Rose was the most
successful of these pieces as it was programmed twice as
often as the other three combined.147 One program on
which Lefebre performed Image of the Rose included the
following discussion of the eminent saxophonist:
The saxophone is a comparatively modern

instrument. Mr. Lefebre was the first
145
Gilmore Band Portrait c.1889, Barry Furrer collection, Bound
Brook, New Jersey.
146
Leon Mead, “The Military Bands of the United States,” Supplement
to Harper’s Weekly, 28 September 1889, 788.
147
Gilmore Band Programs (uncatalogued), 1887-92, Library for the
Performing Arts, New York City Public Library, New York.
75
performer to bring it into prominent notice in
France, Holland, Belgium, England, and Germany,
where he stood, and now stands, without a
rival. He was also the first to introduce it
in this country where there are now hundreds of
Saxophone players, but as yet no one has
arrived at or near the point of excellence
which he has attained.148
The work, as performed by Lefebre with horns, was also
included in the Musical Yearbook of 1892.149
By 1888, the soloists of the Twenty-second Regiment
Band, including Lefebre, were featured on Paganini’s Le
Carnival de Venice. Each soloist played “a variation of
his own composition of the above theme.”150 Such
performances of a theme with individualized variations
indicate there was a certain amount of creative license
given to the soloists. Certainly, these solos weren’t
spontaneous improvisations but rather carefully worked
out performances, practiced and perfected on a continual
basis. There must have been a competitive spirit among
the top players to come up with inspiring solos filled
with spontaneity and occasional flashes of brilliance.
To be sure, these performances differed little from one
concert to the next, yet over time, each soloist would
have honed his own “mini-concerto” made up of the best of
148
Ibid, Tremont Temple (Boston), 16 January 1888.
149
150
New York.
76
his abilities. Looking back on earlier performances of
the Gilmore Band, Lefebre often soloed using the theme
and variations format. One could surmise that
“variations of his own composition” were used often, even
as a matter of course under such circumstances,
especially regarding those pieces credited to Lefebre
himself. Other pieces performed by the Gilmore Band,
which featured separate variations from different
soloists were Souvenir des Alpes by Hartmann and Columbia
by Gilmore.151
On 8 December 1888, Lefebre performed a single
variation of Le Carnival de Venice at the Music Hall in
Cleveland. The program from this concert offers a brief,
yet more personal comment on Lefebre:
E. A. Lefebre, Gilmore’s solo saxophone player,

has no rival living. He was the first to bring
this comparatively modern instrument into
notice in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany,
England, and America. Lefebre seems to have
been born with a mission to bring his
instrument into favor. He has been with
Gilmore for seventeen years.152
Regarding his long service and tireless dedication to the
Gilmore Band, he was awarded gold medals over the years
by some of his “numerous musical admirers.”153 Three of
these medals can be seen pinned to his lapel from a
151
Ibid, 28 August 1888, and Boston Theater, 18 December 1892.
152
Ibid, Music Hall, Cleveland, 8 December 1888.
153
Phillips, “Thirty-two Years of Musical Triumphs.”
77
photograph taken c.1903. One cannot argue the statement
“born with a mission,” when referring to Edward A.
Lefebre. Indeed, after 40 years, he had popularized the
saxophone with audiences around the world. Soon, as a
consultant with the C. G. Conn Company, he would champion
American-made saxophones, so performers on this side of
the Atlantic could gain easier access to saxophones.
Lefebre’s mission continued unabated. The following
anecdote most likely occurred while Lefebre was with the
Gilmore Band during their tour of the South, including
Texas, in 1889.154 :
While playing in his room in the Warwick Hotel,

San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Lefebre was interrupted
by a rap at his door; on opening he met a lady
who told him that her husband in the next room
was a dying man. The artist taken by surprise
at the unexpected communication trembled with
nervous excitement. The lady however quickly
relieved him of his fears by assuring him that
he had made a wonderful effect of the patient
on whose face she had not seen a smile in two
years until the wonderful tones of his
saxophone produced such a change. Mr. Lefebre
played a few more melodies, such as “Nearer my
God to Thee,” “Sweet Spirit hear my Prayer,”
etc. and when he got through the lady returned
and handed him a bouquet to which a note was
attached dictated by the doomed man to one of
his relatives which read: “Please receive this
token of God’s Love as a slight testimonial of
a dying man for your sweet music which is the
greatest gift of God.” (Italics included in
original article).155
154
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Temple Opera House, Elizabeth
[NJ], 5 May 1890, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public
Library, New York.
155
C. G. Conn’s Truth 3, no. 2 (June 1895): 7.
78
While the above testimonial may have been an exceptional
reaction to Lefebre’s artistry, it was by no means
unprecedented. Throughout his career, Lefebre had been
customarily and enthusiastically embraced by audiences
and critics alike.
Lefebre continued to inspire composers to write solo
works for him. In the late 1880s, he began his
association with organist/composer Harry Rowe Shelly, who
wrote at least two works performed frequently by Lefebre:
Evening Prayer and Resurrection. Both pieces, one an
orchestral romanza, the other for voice, were performed
by Lefebre with Shelley at the organ in 1893, thus the
saxophone adaptations were likely written by the composer
himself. Each was first performed with the Gilmore Band
in September of 1888.156 A student of Stoeckel, Buck, and
Dvorák, Shelley was once a “household name,” and was
considered “one of the best melodists of his day.”157 On
2 February 1889, Lefebre performed as a freelance soloist
at a “private musicale” sponsored by the Mason & Hamlin
156
Gilmore Band Programs (uncatalogued), Manhattan Beach, 8 and 15
September 1888, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public
Library, New York.
157
William Osborne, “Shelley, Harry Rowe,” in The New Grove
Dictionary of American Music, eds. H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley
Sadie, 1986.
79
Organ and Piano Company.158 The program included
Shelley’s Resurrection for saxophone, violin, piano, and
organ, performed by Lefebre, Blay, Dulcken and Northrop
respectively. These men also performed an arrangement of
Gounod’s “The Light from Heaven.”159 Other works
performed here included numerous piano and organ
arrangements of Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, as well as
original compositions by Otto Floersheim, William Mason
and F. Q. Dulcken. In the summer of 1889, J. Norrito,
the flute soloist with Gilmore wrote a solo for Lefebre
premiered as Serenade Celestial, presumably renamed Angel
Serenade two years later.160 Lefebre Waltz was dedicated
to the saxophonist by Bellstedt, and performed on 18 July
1891.161 Lefebre’s mission to promote original
compositions for saxophone was truly commendable.
Through such promotion and performance, Edward Abraham
Lefebre was now “recognized as the greatest saxophone
player in the world,” having earned the title of
“Saxophone King” by 1890.162
158
Musical Courier (New York), 6 February 1889, 107.
159
Ibid.
160
1889 and 3 September 1891, Library for the Performing Arts, New York
161
Ibid, 18 July 1891.
162
Bierley, John Philip Sousa, 177.
80
Death of Gilmore
The final decade of the nineteenth century saw many
changes within the ranks of the wind band. John Philip
Sousa, who at the encouragement of David Blakely, a
former tour manager with Gilmore now contracting the
Marine Band tours, set about organizing his own
professional band after resigning from the U. S. Marine
Corps on 30 July 1892.163 In a letter to David Blakely,
dated 16 July 1892, Fred Scott of Chicago’s McVicker’s
Theatre gives his thoughts on players and instruments for
Sousa’s new band:
Enclosed is a partial list of names and

addresses of musicians playing the various
instruments you have named, and I have not
confined myself to Chicago in making the
list...
Now, on to business, and firstly, to those
instruments which are most difficult to obtain.
For a saxophone quartette, I should recommend
you to negotiate with Harry A. Hall, 188 E. 76th
St. NY City, who can get a quartet in better
shape, and cheaper, than any other man in the
U.S.164
Harry A. (A. C.) Hall was a soloist with the New York
Sixty-ninth Regiment band and also taught saxophone at
163
Michael E. Hester, “A Study of the Saxophone Soloists Performing
with the John Philip Sousa Band, 1893-1930,” (D.M.A. diss.,
University of Arizona, 1995), 17.
164
Fred Scott, Chicaco, to David Blakely, New York, 16 July 1892,
Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New
York.
81
the Grand Conservatory, New York City.165 Scott
continues:
Saxophones
Will not send any names, unless specifically

desired, as, upon later enquiry, find that
there is no Bb Soprano in Chicago, and the
Alto, Tenor and Bass are not quite up to the
mark.166
Here, one cannot be sure whether Scott was referring to
the saxophonists or the saxophones themselves! Blakely
received hundreds of letters from instrumentalists
interested in joining Sousa’s newly forming band. One
such letter, dated 15 July 1892, comes from saxophonist
Louis Knittel of St. Louis:
Dear Sir;
A few days ago an account was published in St.
Louis papers that you will take charge of a
Grand Military Band for the World’s Fair. To
be brief and to the point would consider it a
favor to be remembered as an applicant to
become a member of said Band as Saxophonist.
The instrument and performers on same are not
plentyfull [sic] —saxophonists with experience
are, I dare say, very few. I have been a
member of Liberati’s Band for 3 seasons and was
compelled to leave him on account of trouble
between himself and the National League [of
Musicians]. I play sax Alto Eb. I have lately
played as member of quartet here, Baritone Eb.
Very respectfully,
Louis Knittel
165
166
Fred Scott, Chicaco, to David Blakely, New York, 16 July 1892,
York.
82
P.S. There is a first class Saxophone Quartette
here in St. Louis.167
In a subsequent letter regarding an opening for tenor
saxophone, dated 22 July, Knittel states: “Bb Tenor
Saxophone is a rather small chance for an ambitious young
man.” As of July 23, Liberati’s former alto saxophonist
was listed as a possible Sousa tenor saxophonist,
salaried at $35 a week. Saxophonist [R. E.] Trognitz
(who would later become soloist with Arthur Pryor and
then with the City Guard Band of San Diego)168 was listed
as an alto player for $30 a week. Two other names, [F.
A.] Majinol (also of Liberati’s band) and E. S. Timmons
are found on another of Blakely’s lists without salary
indications.169 It appears none of the above saxophonists
were ever formally contracted to play with Sousa at this
time. However, Knittel was soon hired to play the bass
saxophone with Gilmore, and Timmons later became a
featured saxophonist at the 1893 Columbian World
Exposition in Chicago, performing with the Exposition
orchestra and a professional band.170 By the fall of
167
Louis Knittel, St. Louis, to David Blakely, New York, 15 July
1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library,
New York.
168
Joseph Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction...,” 28
169
Note Card of David Blakely, c.July 1892, Blakely Papers, Special
Collections, New York Public Library, New York.
170
83
1893, Edward Timmons was listed as the saxophone
instructor at the Chicago Conservatory of Music.171
Contemporaneously, Gilmore’s ranks had swelled to
100 musicians, including 36 “eminent soloists, the elite
of the musical profession.”172 The impetus behind
building such an outfit came directly from Gilmore’s
strong showing at the St. Louis Exposition in the fall of
1891. In a letter to David Blakely, dated 18 October
1891, Gilmore writes:
We had an enormous success here this year, so

much so that the President and Directors of the
Exposition have engaged us One Hundred Strong—
on my own terms for two years more. I will
give concerts in cities that can bear it, with
the full band one hundred members after we
finish here next year and I’ll bet you an even
$5000, I will make it pay big money.173
The “Gilmore 100” played Madison Square Garden, beginning
on 30 May 1892.174 By the fall, and billed as “The Famous
One Hundred Men,” the Gilmore Band performed at the St.
Louis Exposition in September 1892, supporting a ten-
piece saxophone section whose members included:
W. H. Eisen E-flat soprano saxophone
M. Davidson, M. J. Moreing B-flat soprano saxophone
E. A. Lefebre, E. Martinez E-flat alto saxophone
171
The Musical Courier (New York), 23 August 1893, 12.
172
New York Times, 21 August 1891, 17.
173
Patrick Gilmore, Saint Louis, to David Blakely, New York, 18
October 1891, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public
Library, New York.
84
E. Schaap, H. Wahle B-flat tenor saxophone
F. W. Schultze, J. Kneip E-flat baritone saxophone
L. Knittel B-flat bass saxophone175
This “perfect one hundred piece band,” organized at the
request of the administrators of the St. Louis
Exposition, had been together for only a few weeks when
Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore died suddenly in St. Louis on
24 September 1892. Gilmore’s career had spanned nearly
the entire second half of the nineteenth-century. On 26
September 1892, two days after Gilmore’s death, “Sousa’s
New Marine Band” gave its first performance at the
Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey, ushering
in the next and last great era of the professional
touring band.176
Three weeks following Gilmore’s death,177 while still
engaged in St. Louis, the Twenty-second Regiment Band
drafted the following letter of invitation:
St. Louis, October 12

Mr. D. W. Reeves:
At a meeting of the band you were
unanimously elected leader and conductor of
Gilmore’s Band. Knowing you to be the only man
in America worthy of keeping the band up to its
high standard, and following in the footsteps
of our lamented Mr. Gilmore, we extend to you,
174
Musical Courier (New York), 18 May 1892, 10.
175
176
Hester, “Saxophone Soloists with Sousa...,” 17.
177
F. William Schultze accompanied Gilmore’s body on its return to
New York and was a pallbearer at the funeral.
85
air, a hearty welcome and support, and beg you
to name a day when you can meet the band.
C. W. Freudenvoll,
E. A. Lefebre,
A. Bode,
Carl O. D. Chiara,
John Sheridan,
Committee appointed by the band.178
David Wallace Reeves was a likely choice to succeed
Gilmore. Since 1866 he had been the leader of the
American Band of Providence, Rhode Island, and was a
well-known and respected composer, having written over
one hundred marches. In fact, Sousa once referred to
Reeves as “the Father of American March Music.”179 Reeves
accepted the position, but even before he assumed his
post, many “Gilmore men” had already joined Sousa,
including Gilmore’s former bass saxophonist Thomas F.
Shannon. Samuel Schaich, an alto saxophone soloist
formerly with Simon Hassler’s band in Philadelphia,180
signed with Sousa in early September.181 Sousa’s
saxophone section, September 1892, was comprised of the
following performers:
178
Musical Courier (New York), October 26, 1892, p. 15.
179
Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction...,” 14-5.
180
Musical Courier (New York), 8 October 1892, 16.
181
Note Card, 4 September 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
86
Samuel Schaich Alto Saxophone
Thomas F. Shannon Tenor Saxophone182
Rudolphe Becker Baritone Saxophone183
By November, rumors circulated that Reeves would be
reorganizing the Twenty-second Regiment Band by cutting
personnel.184 Dissent among the ranks began to grow and
in December, the famed cornetist, Jules Levy announced
his candidacy to lead the Gilmore Band, stating:
Mr. Reeves is not, as many people suppose, the

leader of the Twenty-second Regiment Band but
was simply the choice of the members of the
band as the one who should fill out the
remainder of the season’s tour.185
It became clear that the Gilmore Band was faltering under
Reeves’s leadership. One account stated:
Ever since Reeves took the baton there has

been trouble. There was not a man in the
organization who did not know the band
repertoire better than Reeves. They had all
played it to the magic wand of the late
Gilmore, and, as no two men were ever known to
beat time in exactly the same way, they were a
trifle unfamiliar with Reeves’s leadership.
What wonder, then, that there should be an
occasional jangling discord? Instead of
marking Reeves’s time, some played as if
Gilmore were still there, and the result was
far from pleasing to the auditor.
A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION
Conservative musicians in this city, who

were at the Musical Exchange yesterday, say
182
183
184
Musical Courier (New York), 23 November 1892, 17.
185
Ibid, 14 December 1892.
87
that there is an explanation of all such
discordant incidents, and the reason for this
one was the individual opposition to Reeves by
men who purposely disregarded the leader’s
“tempo,” just to make things uncomfortable for
him. The German element, however, in letters
to their friends in this city, are unanimous in
their opinion of Reeves. He is an American
musician, and upon this they base their
assertion that he cannot beat time so that
Germans can comprehend him, and for this reason
they did not know “what they were at” half the
time.186
Reeves asked for the support of Gilmore’s widow in an
attempt to boost public relations. A program from the
Boston Theatre, dated 18 December 1892, announced:
Gilmore’s Famous Band,

Under the Direction and Management, by
unanimous vote of the Band and cordial
endorsement of Mrs. and Miss Gilmore, of
D. W. REEVES
The following Message from Mrs. P. S. Gilmore

tells its own story:
New York, N.Y., Dec. 10, 1892

My dear Mr. Reeves:
I wish to express to you, and through you to
the Band my esteem of the honor paid to the
memory of Mr. Gilmore by the retention of his
name in connection with his Band, and by the
preservation of the organization so dear to
him, virtually intact under your baton. Of you
Mr. Gilmore always spoke enthusiastically, and
prophesied great popularity for you in the
cosmopolitan field in which you have entered to
his honor, as well as to your own. The
delicate, generous and enterprising spirit you
have manifested is beyond praise; and my
grateful esteem finds but inadequate expression
in the sincere wish offered herewith, that, as
186
D. W. Reeves, unidentified newspaper clipping in P. S. Gilmore
Clippings File, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public
Library, New York.
88
leader of Gilmore’s Band, you, with the Band,
may drink long and deeply of the golden draught
of success which, at its sweetest, Mr.
Gilmore’s lips relinquished.
In his name, renewing my acknowledgements,
and earnestly hoping that under your able baton
Gilmore’s Band may live long and prosper, I am
Cordially yours, Mrs. E. J. GILMORE.187
On this concert, Lefebre performed one of the variations
of Columbia, written by the late P. S. Gilmore. Anther
variation included “the lower woodwinds,” (comprising the
saxophones, bass clarionet [sic], bassoons, sarusophone,
and contra fagotto all in unison)!188 This concert tour
to New England was in all likelihood Lefebre’s last
engagement as a member of the Twenty-second Regiment
Band.
Another “Lefebre Benefit Concert” took place on 9
January 1893, at Hardman Hall on Fifth Avenue and
Nineteenth Street, Manhattan.189 The saxophonist
performed Reverie by Kiehl, as well as two works by Harry
Rowe Shelley, Evening Prayer and Resurrection, the latter
performed as a saxophone solo, with cello obligato, by
Otto D. Binger, accompaniment of piano, by Richard Percy,
187
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Boston Theatre, Boston, 18
December 1892, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public
Library, New York.
188
Ibid.
189
“Lefebre’s Benefit Concert” Program (with uncatalogued Gilmore
programs), Hardman Hall (New York), 9 January 1893, Library for the
89
and with the composer at the organ.190 Others who
performed that evening were vocalists Ida Klein, soprano,
Victor Clodio, tenor, George H. Wiseman, baritone, and
the violinist, van Praag, who performed various works of
Mendelsohn, Handel, Meyerbeer, Goltermann, Wieniawski,
and Verdi.191
Sousa
On 11 January 1893 it was announced that the Sousa
Band had been engaged for the St. Louis Exhibition, with
a suggestion “that Sousa is today the most conspicuous
figure in the band world since the deaths of Gilmore and
Cappa.”192 Lefebre and other Gilmore men soon concurred.
On 15 February 1893, the Musical Courier announced more
defections from the Twenty-second Regiment Band:
The [Sousa] band begins its spring tour

April 10, and including its Beach and St. Louis
engagements, and its tours throughout the
country and California, will be continuously
engaged for nine months, thus giving its
musicians an uncommonly long and continuous
term of employment.
The band has just added to its original
strength such names from Gilmore’s Band as
Wadsworth, first flute; Bode, the first coronet
[sic]; Lefebre, the distinguished saxophone
soloist; Lecalle, Eb clarinet; Miller, the
popular manipulator of the snare drum, tympani,
and traps; Urbain, Bb clarinet, and others.
Raffayolo, the famous euphonium player;
Stengler, solo clarinet, and others of
190
Ibid.
191
Ibid.
192
90
Gilmore’s Band, had previously been enrolled
amongst the stars of the Sousa galaxy.193
While all of the performers listed above did eventually
sign on with Sousa, this article appears to have been a
few weeks premature in announcing Lefebre’s addition to
Sousa’s ranks. The following letter, from band manager
David Blakely to Lefebre, provides a more detailed
account of how and when Lefebre joined “the Band.”
February 28, 1893
E. A. Lefebre, Esq.,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dear Mr. Lefebre.-

I promised to inform you of my conclusion
regarding your going with the Band, and I do so
now. I have determined, that I could not,
under any circumstances, pay over $80. on the
road, and $50 at the Beach and Expositions. If
you will accept this sum, I should be glad to
have you as a member of the band. You will
find in it all the valuable members of the
Band, including Stengler, Stockigt, Raffayolo,
Bode, Wadsworth, Miller, Urbain, LaCalle,
Conrad, and others. I should be glad to enroll
with these, the name of the distinguished
saxophone, Lefebre; but I cannot do so except
upon the offer now made. And if this is
unsatisfactory, you will please consider the
matter closed. Regretting that I cannot reach
your views in the matter, I am,
Very cordially yours,

D. Blakely194
193
194
David Blakely, New York, to Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, 28 February
New York.
91
The tone of this letter clearly indicates there were
serious salary negotiations between the two men. One can
safely assume Lefebre asked for more than Blakely was
willing to offer. Of course, Blakely was interested in
signing the Saxophone King, and therefore took time to
come up with a counter offer with which Lefebre could
reasonably consider. Correspondence between Blakely and
Gilmore’s widow, dated 8 March 1893, provides added
insight into the awkward situation regarding the Gilmore
and Sousa bands, specifically mentioning saxophonists
Shannon and Lefebre. Blakely states:
I desire most emphatically to say, that I

never made an overture to any one of Gilmore’s
men before he died either directly or
indirectly, except upon the proviso of his own
consent. Mr. Shannon applied for the position
of Sergeant of the Band immediately when he
heard of its formation. I said to him that
under no circumstances would I take him into
the Band, unless he would secure Mr. Gilmore’s
willing consent to his release. He
subsequently came to me, and said that he
arranged with Mr. Gilmore to come with our
Band, provided he would leave his instrument
with Mr. Gilmore for some other musician to
use. It was upon this assurance, and this
alone, that I hired Mr. Shannon. Lefebre and
Lacalle also applied to me, and I declined to
employ either of them. Lefebre, I knew Mr.
Gilmore would not wish to lose, and I declined
him outright.195
195
David Blakely, New York, to Mrs. Patrick Gilmore, New York, 8
March 1893, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public
Library, New York.
92
Indeed, Lacalle had applied to join Sousa on 9 August
1892, later using his application as leverage with
Gilmore for an increase in salary.196 Judging from
Blakely’s comments Lefebre may also have applied to Sousa
around the same time, although no evidence exists of such
an overture. Blakely continues his letter to Mrs.
Gilmore:
Now then, when Mr. Gilmore died, and you

decided to have no pecuniary connections with
the Band, I felt that no man living was more
entitled to the goodwill of the organization
than I was myself. I felt that if those men
who had been so long in the joint employment of
Mr. Gilmore and myself, wished to follow me in
any like venture, that is was right and proper
that they should do so...
So far as the inducements held out by me to
Gilmore’s men are concerned, I have to say that
in no instance have I paid greater salaries
than the men were receiving, and in most cases,
considerably less. Lefebre finally came into
the office on Monday, and I closed a contract
with him at $50. a week for six months of the
engagement, and $60. a week for three weeks
only. Stengler received $5. a week less than
he did with Gilmore. Stockigt receives $50. a
week only. Bode has $5. per week less. Clark,
$20. less, if he tells the truth, and so on.197
It would appear that further negotiations had occurred
between Lefebre and Blakely, the result of which was a
substantially reduced salary of $60 per week, presumably
196
Note Card, 7 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New
197
David Blakely, New York, to Mrs. Patrick Gilmore, New York, 8
March 1893, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public
Library, New York.
93
for three weeks on the road, down from the previous $80
per week-on-the-road offer of 28 February. Lefebre
“closed the contract” on 6 March 1893.
The Gilmore Band, now severely depleted of many of
its high-profile soloists and first chair players, was a
mere skeleton of its former self. Reeves, commander of
what must have seemed like a sinking ship, was unable to
contain his anger. On 15 March, an open letter, having
been circulated some days earlier, appeared in the
Musical Courier, bitterly attacking the “fossiled and
worn-out members of Gilmore’s Band,” who had left that
organization for greener pastures. The letter, thought
to have been written by Reeves and signed as “Gilmore’s
Band,” does not mention Sousa specifically, but there was
resentment toward the latter for having obtained
exclusive playing engagements at the St. Louis Exposition
and Chicago World’s Fair, engagements, which had
traditionally been reserved for the Twenty-second
Regiment Band under Gilmore.198 The so-called “fossils,”
including Lefebre and Bode, both previously on the
committee that had invited Reeves to lead the Gilmore
Band, responded with the following:
94
A Card
The undersigned, late solo members of

Gilmore’s Band, but now members of Sousa’s
Band, have observed with amazement the circular
issued to the public, signed “Gilmore’s Band,”
attacking Sousa’s organization in general and
the undersigned in particular, and
characterizing us as “fossiled and worn out
members of Gilmore’s Band.” Perhaps no person
on earth, were he living, would be more
astounded and indignant than Mr. Gilmore
himself to see such an attack made upon the men
who occupied his first chairs when he died, and
whom he took pleasure in advertising as his
favorite soloists. Mr. Reeves, the present
leader of Gilmore’s Band, who has written this
circular and who claims to be Mr. Gilmore’s
friend, could hardly have inflicted a deadlier
insult to his memory than to stigmatize him as
having chosen and led, up to the time of his
death, what Mr. Reeves characterizes as
“fossiled and worn out men.” This is
sufficient to say of this part of Mr. Reeves’
circular.
The undersigned left Gilmore’s and took an
engagement with Mr. Sousa because his band had
been chosen to succeed Gilmore’s band for the
long engagements of St. Louis Exposition, the
Manhattan Beach and the World’s Fair, and in
addition, long tours of concerts, thus
affording his musicians a continuous and
extended engagement. It was also a great
pleasure for us to enroll ourselves under the
leadership of so thoroughly accomplished and
exceptionally successful leader as John Philip
Sousa, whose brilliant band it is an honor to
any musician to belong to.
It only remains to question the right of Mr.
Reeves to sign the name of “Gilmore’s Band” to
any circular, or in any connection, considering
the fact that the band is now not only
destitute of its late brilliant and lamented
leader, but most of the soloists who aided him
in making it famous, and of the engagements
which had been so long identified with his
successful career. These soloists and these
198
95
engagements being now in possession of Sousa’s
Band, and its management being the same as that
which piloted Gilmore so successfully through
the last five years of his great career,
itwould seem as if the question might be an
open one whether Sousa’s organization, if he
wished it, could not lay greater title to being
“Gilmore’s Band” than the organization whose
leader, by his wanton and gratuitious attack
upon the favorite musicians of Gilmore, has so
belied the latter’s character as a competent
judge of the qualifications of the musicians
whom it was his pleasure to employ.
M. Raffayolo, euphonium soloist.
E. A. Lefebre, solo saxophone.
A. Bode, first cornet.
H. L. Clark, cornet soloist.
F. W. Wadsworth, first flute.
A. P. Stengler, first clarinet.
F. Urbin, first clarinet.
J. Lacalle, first clarinet.
Thos. F. Shannon, bass saxophone.
Hermann Conrad, tuba-helicon.
Ernst Mueller, drum and tympani.199
The “Gilmore Band” continued to play engagements for a
few years to come, under the direction of Victor Herbert.
Lefebre’s replacement as saxophone soloist was
probably chosen from the saxophone section of Gilmore’s
previous one-hundred man band. Regarding the list of ten
saxophonists, one is struck by the name M. J. Moreing.
Is it possible this “M. J. Moreing” is actually Jean
Moeremans, Lefebre’s successor as soloist with the Sousa
Band? The similarity of these two names would appear
more than a coincidence. Further evidence that Moreing
199
Musical Courier (New York), 15 March 1893.
96
and Moeremans were possibly the same person came from a
Conn catalog of the 1920s:
Jean Moermans [sic]—Known by all the prominent

musicians of the day as a saxophonist of rare
ability, was for a number of years the soloist
of the Pat Gilmore and the Sousa Band.200
An earlier advertisement for Conn soprano saxophones was
even more explicit:
Jean Moeremans is one of the foremost Saxophone

Soloists of the world. He studied at the Royal
Conservatory of Music at Brussels, Belgium. He
was also a member of the Band of the Royal
Guards. As soloist with Gilmore’s famous band
he made a reputation as a Saxophone Artist
second to none. Later, he was soloist with
John Philip Sousa, during which period he
toured the world.201
Further evidence is needed to make a definitive
conclusion regarding Moreing and Moeremans. Another
post-Lefebre saxophone soloist with the 22nd Regiment Band
was Wallace Nimms.202 Before joining the Gilmore Band,
Nimms had been the E-flat clarinetist and saxophone
soloist of the Overman Wheel Company Band in Springfield,
Massachusetts.203
200
Conn Catalog, c. 1920, “The World’s Largest Manufacturer of Band
and Orchestral Instruments.”
201
Conn advertisement as reprinted in Michael Hester, “Saxophone
Soloists with the Sousa Band,” Saxophone Journal, March/April 1997,
66.
202
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth, vol. 9, no. 8, (April 1911): n.p.
203
Wallace Nimms, Springfield, Massachusetts, to David Blakely, New
York, c. July 1892, Blakeley Papers, Special Collections, New York
97
The Sousa Band set out on its “Grand Colombian
Tour,” with a concert appearance in New Jersey on 20
April 1893, and culminating with performances at the
Colombian Exposition at the Chicago World’s Fair in late
May and June. David Blakely indicated Thomas Shannon was
playing first clarinet at this time.204 Moving Shannon to
the clarinet section would allow for the following, a
likely configuration of the saxophone section in Sousa’s
Band at this time:
Samuel Schaich tenor saxophone
Rudolphe Becker baritone saxophone
A brochure of the Colombian Exposition included a
photograph of E. A. Lefebre, a soloist who endorsed Conn
saxophones.205 Conn’s “Wonder” saxophones were awarded a
diploma and gold medal at the 1893 Colombian
Exposition.206 Beginning in July 1893, Sousa and his men
performed for two months at Manhattan Beach. Lefebre
performed a “Saxophone Solo” by Elyne Renaud during the
3:30 matinee on 5 July. Subsequent solo appearances by
Lefebre include selections from Der Freischütz on 6 July,
Elégie by Reynaud (saxophone solo with French horn
204
David Blakely, New York, 17 March 1893, Blakely Papers, Special
205
206
98
quartet) on 15 July207 , Resurrection by Harry Rowe Shelley
on 19 July, and Chant Relegieux by Jules Demersseman on 2
August 1893.208
After a successful season at Manhattan Beach, the
Sousa Band traveled back to the Midwest for an engagement
at the St. Louis Exposition, which began on 6 September
1893. Lefebre performed an unknown solo with the band on
7 September, and no further records exist of his solo
appearances during the remainder of the two-month
exposition. The saxophone section of Sousa’s band at
this time consisted of:
Charles W. Kruger tenor saxophone
Thomas F. Shannon baritone saxophone209
It wasn’t until after the Europen tour of 1903, that
Sousa felt it necessary to have four saxophones (AATB) in
his band.210
Lefebre soloed with Sousa in Brooklyn on 3 December
1893, and again at a charity concert at the Metropolitan
Opera House, known as the “greatest popular concert ever
given in Brooklyn,” on 18 January 1894. On both
207
The Musical Courier (New York), 19 July 1893, 17.
208
209
Ibid.
210
Ibid, 35.
99
occasions, Lefebre performed Shelley’s Resurrection.211
Further Brooklyn dates included Sunday concerts on 21 and
28 January at Koch’s Railroad, as well as an occasion at
the Emerald Ball, Brooklyn, 31 January 1894.212 It seems
only fitting that Lefebre’s final appearances with Sousa
would be in his American “hometown” of Brooklyn, N. Y.
where he lived with his wife, Anna. It was here that Mr.
and Mrs. Lefebre raised four daughters and three sons.
Lefebre was also a Mason, a member of the Brooklyn Lodge
of Elks, and a member of the Musical Mutual Protective
Union.213
Lefebre’s successor as saxophone soloist with Sousa
was the Belgian-born saxophonist, Jean Moeremans. His
twelve-year association with Sousa presumably began on 14
February 1894214 with his first known solo appearance on
26 May, at Madison Square Garden, performing Fantasie
Brilliante by Demersseman.215 Jules Demersseman (1833-
1866) was a Belgian flute virtuoso and composer, who
wrote nearly a dozen works for saxophone, including the
aforementioned Chant Religieux played by Lefebre, during
211
Ibid, 23.
212
Blakely’s business ledger, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
213
214
Day after David Blakely, New York to Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, 13
February 1894, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public
Library, New York.
215
100
the years in which Adolphe Sax was the Professor of
Saxophone and Military Music at the Paris Conservatoire
(1857-70).216 Moeremans’ last months with Sousa, during
the spring of 1905 featured his solos accompanied by a
quartet of saxophones comprised of William Schensley,
alto saxophone, Fred Paul, alto saxophone, Samuel
Schaich, tenor saxophone, and Rudolph Becker, baritone
saxophone.217 Moeremans’ last performance with Sousa was
on 10 June 1905 at Willow Grove, near Philadelphia.218
Blakely Correspondence
Lefebre made the difficult decision to quit Sousa’s
Band due to unsatisfactory salary negotiations between
himself and Sousa’s manager David Blakely. In a letter
to trombonist Arthur Pryor, dated 10 February 1894,
Blakely summed up the situation:
…[Sousa and I] have agreed upon salaries we

should pay, and there is a decided reduction
all around. I am pleased to say that our men
have almost universally accepted the new
schedule, and all our soloists, with one
exception, that of Lefebre, will be with us.219
The entire process, in which Lefebre eventually resigned
his position with Sousa, is fully documented in four
handwritten letters from Lefebre to Blakely and one typed
216
Ibid.
217
C. G. Conn Co.’s Truth, vol. 5, no.12, (March 1905): 9.
218
219
David Blakely, New York, to Arthur Pryor, 6 February 1894, Blakely
Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New York.
101
letter of response from Blakely to Lefebre, spanning the
week of 6-13 February 1894. In each case, Lefebre’s
numerous spelling and grammatical errors (English was not
his native language) have been left intact:
42 Heart Street
Brooklyn febr. 6th/94
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
This Ev” on my return from Elizabeth [N.J.]

where I thought I had to stay untill to morrow
on account of a sale for a piano (and which was
settled this noon) I found your letter which
informs me about the new interprice
[enterprise], which does not require for my
benefit to think about, and I must kindly thank
you for the offer, this would be for me
impossible to accept.
My private resources are to benefishal to me to

leave the City of N. Y. under such condition
which would pay my hotel and accidental
expences. Besides my engagements with the
Itilian Opera I had to give up, prospects are
to glorious for me; and my present income of my
pupils for the piano and Saxophone are better
then what this new interprice offers me.
With Cordial Regards

I am Yours Resp.
E. A. Lefebre
P.S. When ever you wish to have a private

musical at your Rooms just inform me and I
would invite talent for the occasion, and I
102
have no doubt a lover of music as you are will
injoi it.220
One year earlier, Lefebre had negotiated somewhat
vigorously with Blakely before accepting a salary of
$50.00 per week ($60.00 for three weeks). From the tone
of this letter, Lefebre clearly felt the present offer
(c.$30 per week)221 , little more than half his previous
years’ salary (and perhaps a third of what he made with
Gilmore), did not dignify a counter-offer. In other
words, Lefebre was saying, “Who in their right mind would
accept such an offer that would only cover the cost of
lodging and incidental expenditures?” His mention of
piano and saxophone lessons can be seen as an attempt to
provide a stark contrast between teaching, an occupation
in which musicians of any ability can secure, and
concertizing as a soloist, a career in which only the
most talented and proficient of musicians are retained.
Lefebre appears confident Blakely will “come to his
senses” and provide him with a much more reasonable
offer. However, when this offer never materialized
Lefebre’s shock and amazement turns toward bitterness and
220
Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, to David Blakely, New York, 6 February
New York.
221
1894, (Blakely indicated $1300 for the season c.ten-months), Blakely
103
disgust. In a letter written four days later, Lefebre
looked to settle this unpleasant business with the Sousa
Band, but he was apparently unwilling to address Blakely
or anyone else in the organization in person.
42 Heart Street
Brooklyn febr. 10th 1894
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
Mr. Lion your Librarian has got my books,

and score and parts of The Resurection by
Shelley, If he will delivery the books at 44
East 12th Street N.Y. I will have the Saxophone
over there, and the same will be returned when
he delivers my music.
The Saxophone when I received there was no
case or bagg to it, and I would not risk to
express it this way, my friend who has his
store at 44 East he will take it along, so it
will come safe in hand.
Resp.
E. A. Lefebre222
One can easily understand Lefebre’s exasperation at what
he perceived to be unfair and wrongful treatment. In a
final attempt at reconciliation, Lefebre expressed his
true feelings to Blakely, providing thoughtful
explanations for why he had rejected the initial salary
offer outright (and why he hadn’t come in personally).
222
New York.
104
He even showed his sense of loyalty and desire to stay
with Sousa, by coming closer to Blakely’s terms. This
document offers deep insight into Lefebre the man, his
aspirations, his convictions, and his integrity.
42 Heart Street
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
According to what I heard from Mr. Shannon

that I expressed myself as I didn’t care to
play any more with Mr. Sousa’s Band. I must
say, was not my meaning. Contrairy, I always
had the greatest respect for you. I know all
the business was made by Mr. D. Blakely even at
the time when our Dear Patrick Gilmore was
alive, was always carried through succesfully
by the Blakely Bros as your brother knows I
made those speeches before the Band I work for
you and Mr. Sousa with the greatest respect and
pleasure. And will gladly continue but even
now, and for the time to come I wish you
financial success.
Also I wish this for my self at least so
much that I can exist over 23 years I work to
become a man of reputation by solo playing and
to make the Saxophone popular, this I have done
with success.
When ask to join Mr. Sousa’s Band I left
an organization which I had served for over 19
years.
Now after I served Mr. Sousa’s Band only
about 10 month, and already to cut my pay as
offered while others who never have made any
reputation where offered more this broke my
heart. I never come amongst the musicians at
the Union, but once I was there and they
informed me about the rumors etc.. and that you
had made different offers.
Will Mr. Blakely inform Sousa
105
1. I will say this if you pay me while on the
road $45.00 (anyways outsight of N.Y.) per week
at Manhattan $40.00 per week and if you play
for a long time at the Garden $30.00 per week I
should accept and continue with pleasure.
Hoping to hear from you
I am Yours Resp.
E. A. Lefebre
P.S. piano lessons I have to give during the

day time keep me away from N.Y. otherwise I
would have called personal.
P.S. If it does not take to much of your

valuable time just read this what I copied from
a Elizabeth paper Febr 4th/94 and for which
private soirèe I get always $25.00 and which
shows that I am able yet to hold my listeners
as any time whenever I play solo.
Elizabeth febr. 5th 1894

Superb Music [for Charity’s Sake.]
Editor Journal—the writer had the good

fortune of listening to an unusually fine
concert which was given last night at the
residence of Mr. George [T.] Meyer, by the
celebrated Saxophone Virtuoso Mr. E. A.
Lefebre, formerly principle Soloist of
Gilmore’s Band. Mr. Lefebre was asisted by Mr.
Rauchfuss flutist, Miss Meyer acting as
acc[ompani]st. The program was an excellent
one, consisting of Classical music, and
embracing many of the most beautifull and most
difficult pieces ever written for the
Saxophone.
The great virtuoso was in excellent
spirits, executing the most difficult passages
with ease, grace and artistic interpretation,
as only a Lefebre is capable of, and those who
to him will remember the great musical treat.
etc. etc..223
223
New York.
106
This article, printed in the 7 February 1894 issue of the
Elizabeth Daily Journal, continues:
During the short intermissions the writer

purposely drew the conversation to the present
hard times and to our excellent and well-
managed relief fund, incidentally remarking how
nice it would be if Mr. Lefebre could sacrifice
one evening for the benefit of our poor. He at
once took great interest in the idea and
assured me that he would give the subject his
serious consideration. “I am only too
willing,” he said, “to assist in such good
work. The only question is whether my
engagements will permit me to do so, but I will
try.” So the Elizabethans will probably have a
chance of listening before long to the great
artist, at the same time having the pleasure
and satisfaction of contributing to the comfort
of our poor.224
Blakely’s response to Lefebre makes similar mention of
the “present hard times,” stating, “The times are such
that sacrifices have to be made in all branches of
business,” thus, the reduction in salaries to band
members. In the early 1890s, U.S. government revenue
fell off sharply, spreading fears that gold and silver
certificates would no longer be redeemed in gold. Thus,
in the “Panic of 1893,” there was a rush to exchange
treasury certificates for hard currency, reducing the
nation’s gold reserve from $190 million in 1890 to $65
million by 1894.225 It appeared the U.S. would be forced
224
Elizabeth (New Jersey) Daily Journal, 7 February 1894.
225
Harry J. Carman and Harold C. Syrett, A History of the American
People, vol. II, since 1865, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955), 265-
7.
107
to abandon gold payments, which caused an international
collapse in U.S. currency, resulting in numerous business
failures, widespread unemployment, and severe personal
hardship.226 Indeed, the nation was in the throes of a
depression.
Blakely’s response to Lefebre can also be seen
through the eyes of a businessman tired of the constant
negotiations with each and every player, some fifty-five
total men. It appears Lefebre was the final holdout of
the entire group. Nonetheless, Blakely, somewhat
begrudgingly, came up with an extra $5.00 per week added
to his previous offer, extending a courtesy to Lefebre by
holding off on signing “the musician selected to take
[Lefebre’s] place.” The fact there was such a musician,
presumably Jean Moeremans, meant this was Blakely’s final
offer. A weeklong engagement at Madison Square Garden
beginning 26 February was fast approaching and the
subsequent tour to the west and the San Francisco
Exposition necessitated a quick conclusion of this
matter.
Feb. 13, [1894]
E. A. Lefebre Esq.
Brooklyn N.Y.
My dear Lefebre:-
226
Ibid.
108
Your note is received. Mr. Shannon had
agreed to give an answer to the musician
selected to take your place this morning. But
learning from him that you would come in to-
day, I requested him to wait before closing,
your visit here. Your letter, however, answers
the same purpose.
I cannot answer at further length this
morning, than to say that it is impossible for
me to accept your terms. To show my
disposition in your favor, and my desire is to
retain you, I will so far add to my proposition
made the other day, as to pay you $35 per week
for the entire time of our next engagement,
which is expected to begin Feb. 23, and end
about Dec. 8, and will constitute about 41
weeks. For this time, the amount will be $1435
instead of $1300 for the year which I offered
before, and which I did not entertain to
change. If you prefer to have this amount paid
at the rate of $30 for one-half the time, when
we shall be in New York and Manhattan Beach,
etc., and $40 for the other half, which will
comprise mainly the road half, it will be
equally agreeable to me. But I wish you to
understand that this is the outside figure that
I can, under any circumstances, offer.
I will therefore thank you the moment you
receive this to reply by wire, simply saying
“yes”, or “no”. Mr. Shannon has promised the
player who is to take your place in case you
decline that he shall positively have his
answer to-morrow. And I cannot any longer
postpone a decision.
I wish to add that no matter what anybody
says to you, no discrimination has been made
against you. The salaries have been re-
arranged throughout the Band, with the purpose
of making it self-supporting. This either had
to be done, or the enterprise abandoned
altogether and I am happy to say that all the
old members of but you have willingly accepted
the situation. The times are such that
sacrifices have to be made in all branches of
business. And the musicians of our Band have
reason to congratulate themselves that in spite
of existing conditions, they will have a longer
109
term of employment and in the end more money
than they had during the preceding year.
Should I receive no reply from you, by
noon to-morrow, I shall consider that you have
declined my proposition as I cannot ask your
successor to wait longer.
Hoping that Lefebre will continue to be
enrolled as a member of Sousa’s Band, I am, as
in any case I shall continue to be
[Very cordially yours,

D. Blakely]227
Considering Sousa’s trombone soloist, Arthur Pryor,
was offered $1500 per year,228 Blakely’s final offer
to Lefebre of $1435 was comparable. However, one
must remember Pryor, born in 1870, was less than
half the age of the seasoned saxophone soloist. To
be sure, Lefebre had a much wider reputation
throughout the world in 1894 than Pryor. According
to Lefebre’s own account, rumors of “different
offers” may have made him acutely aware of such
discrepancies, and thus, he felt he was being
treated unfairly and with disrespect. Lefebre had
worked years to build his reputation, but he would
no longer remain with Sousa.
227
New York.
228
David Blakely, New York, to Arthur Pryor, 6 February 1894, Blakely
110
42 Heart Street
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
Yours I received this Ev” at 1.35. but it

is impossible for me to accept your terms.
While on the road, I couldn’t very well
support my large family. Of course, from the
10 month and one week engagement you, offer,
the Band will be most the time on the road.
Whosoever you engage in my place, this man
hasn’t got the reputation I got all over the
N.A. and spasialy at the Beach and St. Louis,
where Lefebre has great number of admirers and
who are always glad to see me back again, the
late Gilmore’s Soloist are beloved at the
Manhattan Beach and St. Louis if you will
consider once more my conditions I stated in my
letter of the 12th inst. and will favor me with
accept I shall be pleased to continue with
Sousa’s Band.
And I remain Yours Resp.

E. A. Lefebre229
Lefebre’s quick exit from the Sousa Band and
Moeremans’ subsequent arrival has clouded the
circumstances surrounding Belle Mahone, the only solo
saxophone work ever written by John Philip Sousa.
Composed in 1885, Belle Mahone was a theme and variations
solo supposedly written for E. A. Lefebre.230 By all
accounts, however, this work was never performed by
229
New York.
230
Michael Hester, “The Saxophone Soloists with the Sousa Band,”
Saxophone Journal (March/April 1997): 64.
111
Lefebre, either with Gilmore or Sousa. The first known
performance of Belle Mahone was played by Moeremans on 30
July 1894, a mere six months after Lefebre’s departure.
Why Moeremans would have premiered a composition written
for Lefebre is truly puzzling. One anecdote, as told by
Harold Stephens (Sousa’s saxophone soloist during the
1925-26 season), alleges that Moeremans had purchased the
work from “someone in upstate New York” shortly after
joining the Sousa Band.231 For this to be true, Sousa
would have to have written Belle Mahone, given it to
Lefebre, who then somehow gave it or sold it to a third
party, who then sold it to Moeremans. This account is as
wholly unbelievable as Sousa’s statement (also alleged by
Stephens) that, “Lefebre died owing him [payment] for
[composing] the solo.”232 Clearly, these specious
recollections provide no clues as to what really
happened. The truth of the matter may never be known and
unfortunately Belle Mahone has been lost. However, had
Lefebre had the chance to showcase what eventually became
“the most popular and significant work performed by
Moeremans,”233 while still with Sousa, one can be assured
Lefebre would not have missed this grand opportunity.
231
Ibid.
232
Ibid.
233
Ibid.
112
For Lefebre, such a large opportunity lost left room
for new opportunities gained. Clues to Lefebre’s musical
directions after Sousa can be found in the February 1895
issue of C. G. Conn’s Truth, where he was mentioned in
connection with concert companies of the Entertainment
Bureaus.234 As mentioned before, “concert companies”
comprised any combination of vocal and instrumental
soloists, accompanists, multi-instrumentalists, and
readers. “Entertainment Bureaus” refers to the bureaus
of the lyceum, or lecture courses, as they were called,
as well as the bureaus of the evolving independent and
circuit Chautauqua, patterned after the yearly summer
programs held at Lake Chautauqua, New York, since 1874.235
While the lyceum usually employed only a single performer
or company on a particular program, the Chautauqua
included lecturers, dramatic readers, musical groups,
celebrities, politicians, and in later years, entire
theatrical and operatic companies.236 During the spring
and summer months of 1894, Lefebre busied himself with
performances in many of the “smaller cities” of North
America, which were tied into these touring circuits.
234
C. G. Conn’s Truth 3, no. 1 (February 1895): 7.
235
Smialek, “Clay Smith and G. E. Holmes...,” 2, 27.
236
Ibid, 28-32.
113
Lefebre seems never to have had any difficulty securing
engagements no matter where he traveled. Considering
Lefebre’s exposure to tens, indeed hundreds, of thousands
of listeners throughout the world, it was no
overstatement for Conn to report on Lefebre’s impact on
the musical establishment:
...the result [of Lefebre’s prominence] is,

that a goodly portion of the reed and brass
bands now include in their instrumentation one
or more Saxophones, and in the near future this
instrument will become as great a necesity
[sic] as the clarinet now is, for the correct
rendition of compositions arranged for a
military band.237
Of course, history has proven the saxophone to be a
necessity in the military band, but what of Lefebre’s
direct influence on bands in the late nineteenth-century?
In one of Lefebre’s many freelance engagements he “was
known...as the solo saxophonist of Mr. Adolphe
Neuendorff’s band at Coney Island” in the summer of
1879.238 Lefebre obviously had made a favorable
impression, for in the summer of 1880, Neuendorff
included four saxophones in his band of forty-three
men.239 Not to be outdone by Neuendorff’s well-respected
outfit, Gilmore signed a fifth saxophonist that summer.
Lefebre’s influence can be seen regarding Signor
237
238
239
114
Alessandro Liberati, who served as cornet soloist with
Gilmore’s band from 1878-80, and with the band of Harvey
Dodworth, in 1881.240 Liberati and Lefebre had performed
together as the featured soloists with a band at the
Chicago exposition in 1880.241 In 1883, Liberati formed
his own band and “in probable response to the success of
Gilmore’s E. A. Lefebre, Liberati featured F. A. Maginel
as a virtuoso saxophonist for his band.”242 A former
Gilmore trombonist, Frederick Innes, formed his own band
in 1887. Considering the success of Lefebre and
Gilmore’s five-piece saxophone section of that time,
Innes organized his “Great Band” with a quintet of
saxophones as well. These saxophonists were Fagotti,
Conway, Williams, Close and Trout.243 Later in 1890,
Innes had a saxophone section in his “Festival Band”
which included Henri Morin, alto saxophone, E. Schaap,
tenor saxophone, and Vincent Ragone, baritone
saxophone.244 Thomas Preston Brooke, a former trombonist
with Gilmore from 1878-80, organized the Chicago Marine
Band in 1893.245 Clarence Bartlett had been an alto
saxophonist with the Chicago Marine Band as early as
240
241
242
Hemke, “The Early History...,”411.
243
Ibid, 412.
244
Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction…,” 23.
245
Ibid, 25.
115
1894.246 According to Bartlett, Brooke engaged at least
two saxophonists in his band in 1894,247 the other was
most likely the soloist, Frank E. Reschke. Other
saxophonists who performed with Brooke until 1907, when
he filed for bankruptcy, were J. Paul Wait, Aaron
Traxler, and Joseph P. Burns.248 It is clear that
bandleaders respected Lefebre’s artistry and looked to
him as the paradigm of saxophone performance.
However, Lefebre’s mission was far from complete, as
evinced by the following discussion:
[The saxophone] combines somewhat of the tone

quality of the higher notes of the horn,
combined with the reed timbre of the clarinet.
As a military instrument it is of great value
when employed in a complete choir of soprano,
alt[o], tenor, and bass, as its tone forms an
admirable tonal link between reeds and brass.
But the difference is, that such addition would
render all the music hitherto accumulated, and
which is arranged according to the prescribed
regulation, useless. The loss of the large
repertoire of many years’ growth would far
outweigh any gain from the adoption of the
saxophone. As the compass of the saxophone is
not very great—two octaves and two or three
notes more—it is impossible to utilise it for
the clarinet parts, which all require larger
range. The addition of a “set” would
necessitate the great labour of writing parts
for every piece desired by the conductor. The
French bands have been using it, almost since
its introduction, by order of the government,
and it gives their bands a peculiar tone color,
distinct from that of the bands of other
nations. The Austrian bands, which are
246
247
Ibid.
248
116
undoubtedly the best in Europe, have always
excluded it, as have those of Germany.249
Lefebre’s influence on popularizing the saxophone
continued in spite of (or perhaps because of) such
negative attitudes well into the first decade of the
twentieth-century. He promoted American-made saxophones
and a large body of published repertoire, while
continuing to perform as a soloist and as leader of the
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette. Lefebre’s influence was
also heard through the emulation of his saxophone
students.
249
Kappey, Military Music, 42.
117
CHAPTER V
LEFEBRE’S MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED, 1888-1911
Carl Fischer
By the late 1880s, Edward A. Lefebre’s name became
associated with saxophone pedagogy. Otto Langey’s
Practical Tutor for the Saxophone, the first British
method book on the subject, was released in 1889.
Contained within, were two solos credited to E. A.
Lefebre: Cavatine [from “Bohemian Girl”] and Andante
Pastorale.1 The former was an arrangement (1888) from
Irish composer Michael Balfe’s most successful opera, The
Bohemian Girl (1843);2 the latter was Lefebre’s original.
Langey’s method was published the same year in the United
States as Carl Fisher’s New and Revised Edition of
Celebrated Tutors.3 Also included in the solo section,
were “Killarney,” and Si Tu Savais “If Thou Coulds’t
Know,” both by Balfe. These were probably Lefebre
arrangements, since Lefebre had performed renditions of
“The Rose of Killarney” and “Si Tu Savais” with the
1
Gail Beth Levinsky, “An Analysis and Comparison of Early Saxophone
Methods Published Between 1846-1946” (D.M.A. diss, Northwestern
University, 1997): 49-50.
2
Michael Kennedy, The Oxford Dictionary of Music, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1994).
3
Levinsky, “Early Saxophone Methods...,” 50.
118
Gilmore Band.4 The publication of original works and
arrangements by Lefebre on both sides of the Atlantic
reinforced Lefebre’s world-wide reputation. By 1898,
Fischer published at least 40 separate titles for solo
saxophone. These “celebrated solos” were advertised: “As
played, arranged and transcribed by E. A. Lefebre,
Soloist with P. S. Gilmore, 22nd Regt. Band.”5 Twenty of
the solos were sold separately, including “Pleasant
Companions,” an original duet, while the other twenty
comprised a collection, possibly sold as one volume, but
also available separately.6 The Saxophonist’s Concert
Album, “A Grand Collection of Solos by Renowned Authors,”
compiled and arranged for E-flat alto saxophone and piano
by H. Wagner, was published by Fischer in 1903. Of these
27 solos, E. A. Lefebre transcribed seven, arranged one,
and authored “The Tyrolean Maid,” an Alpine song with
playful dotted rhythms followed by a quick waltz.7 These
solos, standard opera arias, “light classics,” and period
pieces from the late 1800s and early 1900s, range from
low B to F above the staff (low B-flat was a relatively
recent modification, patented in 1887 by Evette and
4
Gilmore Band Programs (uncatalogued), 26 July 1888, 14 September
1888, and unknown date, Library for the Performing Arts, New York
5
C. Fisher’s Edition, “Celebrated Solos for the Saxophone,” 1898.
6
Ibid.
7
H. Wagner, arr., Saxophonist’s Concert Album, (New York: Carl
Fischer, 1903): 30.
119
Schaeffer).8 Wagner’s arrangement of Gounod’s “Ave
Marie” takes the saxophonist to an F# above the staff,
indicating awareness of the “altissimo” register (D is
indicated in small print for those who could not play
this pitch above the “key range”). Lefebre’s
transcriptions are filled with numerous chromatic and
arpeggiated cadenzas, with plenty of dynamic contrast and
rubato indicated.
By 1904, Lefebre was arranging for saxophone quartet
(see Appendix B).9 Paul DeVille’s Universal Method for
Saxophone, published in 1908 by Carl Fisher, included six
of Lefebre’s transcriptions and arrangements. Carl
Fischer’s Saxophonist’s Solo Repertoire, “A Collection of
Twenty Celebrated Solos,” published in 1909, included
thirteen transcriptions and arrangements of Lefebre.
These solos are decidedly cantabile (many being
adaptations of popular operatic melodies), ideally suited
to highlight the vocal tone color of the saxophone.
Others, such as Beethoven’s “Romance,” Gillet’s “Caprice-
Gavotte,” and Lefebre’s own variation on the “Carnival of
Venice” place greater demands on the saxophonist’s
technique.
8
9
H. Wagner, arr., Saxophonist’s Concert Album, (New York: Carl
Fischer, 1903): 21.
120
Carl Fischer would publish over 80 of Lefebre’s
transcriptions, arrangements, and original works through
1912.10 Even as late as 1926, Lefebre’s arrangement of
“Hunting Song” was incorporated into Sousa’s Saxophone
Band performances.11 By the late ‘teens and early 1920s
saxophonists Ben Vereecken and Rudy Wiedoeft had dozens
of new saxophone publications with Fischer, while only a
handful of Lefebre’s publications remained in print.
Within a decade, Lefebre’s name had all but faded from
the Carl Fischer catalog.
While publication was one way in which to popularize
the saxophone, an even greater medium was phonograph
records. The first documented Edison cylinder recording
was “Gilmore’s 22nd Reg’t March,” a piccolo solo performed
by F. Goede on 24 May 1889.12 Two and a half years later,
“Gilmore’s Band,” made up of a select twelve men,
recorded 19 cylinders for Edison.13 The personnel of this
10
For a complete listing, see Appendix B.
11
Sousa Band document, c. 1926, Barry Furrer collection, Bound
Brook, New Jersey.
12
Allen Koenigsberg, Edison Cylinder Recordings, 1889-1912, rev.
ed., (Brooklyn: APM Press, 1987), 111.
13
Ibid, 131.
121
ensemble was unlisted, however, Lefebre was probably
involved. The Gilmore Band (number, personnel, and
instrumentation unlisted) recorded six more selections in
early 1892.14 These marches, waltzes, opera selections,
college songs, and cornet solos (by Thomas Clark) from
1891 and 1892 have all been lost.15 Regrettably, these
were likely the only recordings in which the Saxophone
King may have played a part, for there are no references
to recordings made by Edward A. Lefebre between 1889, the
year recordings began, and 1911, the year Lefebre died.
There are no clues as to why Lefebre chose not to record.
The most likely explanation was that Lefebre saw
recordings as a threat to his livelihood (a sentiment
shared by Sousa and others), even if it were an excellent
way in which to further promote the saxophone. Thus,
modern ears will never hear the eminent Lefebre.
C. G. Conn
In the early 1890s, Lefebre began his association
with the band instrument manufacturer, Charles Gerard
Conn of Elkhart, Indiana. As the “most prominently known
Saxophone artist of America in 1880”16 and having “been
14
Ibid, 137.
15
Fred Williams, Philadelphia, PA, phone conversation with the
author.
16
Conn Saxophone Catalogue, c.1919.
122
engaged in the production of the ‘phones’ in Paris for
many years...,”17 Lefebre’s high profile and expertise was
valued by Conn. All saxophones were made in Europe at
this time, and it was Conn’s intention to begin domestic
production of a complete line of saxophones as soon as
possible. Trade literature from the late 1960s and 1970s
(Selmer and Conn) claim the first American saxophone
(based on an Adolphe Sax prototype) was built for E. A.
Lefebre in either 1885 or 1889.18 These dates appear to
be slightly early. One company source from 1915 (much
closer to the actual starting date of saxophone
production at Conn) states:
In about 1890, Mr. Conn entered upon his

experiments in saxophone making, and even as he
has surpassed all European makers in producing
perfect Cornets, Clarinets and Flutes, so he
has succeeded in putting foreign-made
Saxophones out of business.19
These “experiments in saxophone making” directly involved
Conn’s foreman, F. A. Buescher.
Ferdinand August Buescher, an employee at the Conn
factory from 1875-93, was credited with manufacturing the
C. G. Conn Company’s first saxophone. After leaving
17
18
Hemke, “The Early History...,” 106 and Paul Bro, “The Development
of the American-Made Saxophone: A Study of Saxophones Made by
Buescher, Conn, Holton, Martin, and H.N. White” (D.M.A. diss.,
Northwestern University, 1992): 22.
19
C. G. Conn's New Invention Saxophones, 1 September 1915.
123
Conn, Buescher founded the Buescher Manufacturing Company
in 1894,20 which was reorganized in 1904 as the Buescher
Band Instrument Company.21 Lefebre may have been a
consultant for Conn before Buescher’s departure.
According to a Conn saxophone catalog c.1919:
Mons. Lefebre entered the Conn Factories in

1890, where he took up serious experimental
work in the effort to improve the mechanism,
intonation and tone of the saxophone. The
results placed the Conn Saxophones on the
highest pinnacle of perfection reached at that
time and in consequence the Conn Saxophone
became world famous and the European Saxophone
artists were compelled to admit their
superiority over all saxophones built in their
own country.22
However, more reliable and concurrent accounts from the
mid-1890s (below) indicate Lefebre was not employed in
the Conn factory until 1895.23
On January 10, 1992, the following article, under
the heading, “TO MAKE SAXOPHONES IN THIS COUNTRY.”
appeared in the New York Tribune:
“A peculiar industry has just been started by

C. G. Conn, at Elkhart, Indiana,” said M.
Lefebre, the saxophone soloist of Gilmore’s
celebrated band, to a reporter at a meeting the
other night. “A prominent manufacturer of
brass band instruments,” continued the speaker,
20
Bro, “The Devopment of the American-Made Saxophone...,” 63.
21
Ibid, 65.
22
Conn Saxophone Catalogue, c.1919.
23
C. G. Conn’s Truth 3, no. 5 (January 1896): 7.
124
“has decided to manufacture saxophones there,
and has asked me to superintend the works and
to test the instruments. We bandmen are now
enjoying our annual vacation, which will last
until April 1. Let me introduce you to my
instrument,” said M. Lefebre, as he placed in
the reporter’s hands something that resembled a
huge Dutch pipe made of brass and provided with
keys and a reed. “Saxophone players are much
more common in the West than in the East, and
there is a big demand for them. My instrument,
like nearly all instruments of its class, was
made in Paris and cost over $150 here,
including the duty. The factory has over 100
men employed in the manufacture of these
instruments, and will be able to supply the
entire demand of this country. I was engaged
in the manufacture of the ‘phones’ in Paris for
many years and can say that we can get up a
better instrument here for $100 than can be
imported. Mr. Conn will make our instruments
of the best quality of brass and coat them with
silver. My new solo instrument, which is being
made at the factory will be heavily plated with
gold. I shall kiss its lips in a few days.”24
The words, “A peculiar industry has just been started...”
indicate Conn had probably begun experiments in design
and construction of saxophones c.1890, and was ready for
full-scale production and marketing at the start of 1892.
Regarding Lefebre’s statement, that Conn “has asked me to
superintend the works and to test the instruments,” one
is inclined to interpret this as an offer for the near
future, and not an activity in which Lefebre was already
engaged. Much of the above article was reprinted in the
13 January 1892 issue of the Musical Courier. Curiously,
24
125
there was no mention of Lefebre, but instead, an addendum
impugning the character of the Saxophone King:
This [partially reprinted article] is taken

from the “Tribune,” but that paper can be
assured that the man who made such statements
as the above is known as an incorrigible
prevaricator. Saxophones have been made here
without his aid.25
It is unclear as to the editors’ intent, regarding such a
statement. Clearly, an unfavorable relationship had
developed between Lefebre and those at the Musical
Courier. The assertion that saxophones were being
produced and marketed in this country prior to 1892,
perhaps on a very limited scale, is certainly worth
investigating. The March 1892 issue of C. G. Conn’s
Truth also included a reprint of the New York Tribune
article, adding:
Saxophone players are familiar and often

dismayed at the defects of the ordinary cheap
European saxophones and it is Mr. Conn’s
intention to place within the reach of
musicians a saxophone at a moderate price which
shall be a superior to the imported saxophones
as the Wonder Clarinets are to the French and
German clarinets and as it is well known the
Wonder Cornets are to all other cornets.26
Shortly after his interview with the New York Tribune,
Lefebre traveled to Elkhart, presumably to pick up the
25
26
C. G. Conn’s Truth 2, no. 1 (March 1892): 11.
126
aforementioned gold-plated instrument. According to the
25 February 1892 issue of The Elkhart Weekly Truth,
Mons. E. Lefebre, the distinguished saxophone

player of Gilmore's band, arrived in the city
this morning for the purpose of having Mr. C.
G. Conn make an instrument for him. Mons.
Lefebre has a world wide reputation, and on his
instrument is as celebrated a performer as Levy
or Liberati are as cornet soloists.27
The above story is corroborated in Conn literature from
1915:
The pure Cello-like voice of the Conn Saxophone

and its accurate intonation appealed to
Monsieur Lefebre, who for many years, in fact
since 1892, used a Conn Saxophone.28
Prior to Conn, Lefebre played Buffet and Sax instruments
(see below).
The first mention of Conn’s “Wonder” saxophones in
C. G. Conn’s own advertising publication, the October
1992 issue of C. G. Conn’s Truth announced, “The Wonder
Saxophones Guaranteed The Finest on Earth,” with the
following text:
As Levy, Liberati, Hoch and Emerson are

acknowledged to be the great cornet soloists of
the world, so are E. A. Lefebre and A. Maginel
[sic] regarded as the greatest saxophone
soloists the world has known. That the Wonder
saxophones are the finest that can be produced
is evidenced by the fact that the greatest
artists on that instrument have discarded their
European instruments which they believed to be
27
The Elkhart Weekly Truth (Indiana), 25 February 1892.
28
C. G. Conn’s New Invention Saxophones, 1 September 1915.
127
the best, in favor of the Wonder saxophone made
by C. G. Conn at Elkhart, Ind., and which is
pronounced by all those who have had an
opportunity to see them and are qualified to
judge of their merits, to be the only perfect
saxophone made.
Until recently the only saxophones used in
this country were made in Europe. They were
high priced, generally imported only to order,
and consequently very hard to get, and they
rarely proved satisfactory, the result being
that saxophones were almost unknown outside the
large military band organizations, but since
Mr. Conn has started the manufacture of these
instruments in America, and placed the price of
them within the reach of all musicians, it
seems destined to become a popular instrument.
Orders for them are literally pouring in
from both the professional and amateur
musicians, and no good band of fifteen or more
members can much longer afford to dispense with
that beautiful quality of tone which is
imparted to their music by the addition of the
saxophone.29
Two testimonials dated June 1892 mention only alto
saxophone. A reference to “testimonials previously
published” would indicate that Conn was filling orders
for saxophones in the spring of 1892.30 One such order
came from the Sousa Band. In a letter to C. G. Conn,
dated 10 August 1892, Howard Pew of the Blakely
Syndicate, discussed the matter: “The Band will start
with low pitch, and besides what the members already have
we shall need an alto, tenor and baritone saxophone, an
29
C. G. Conn’s Truth 2, no. 3 (October 1892): 15.
30
Ibid.
128
alto and bass clarinet.”31 Apparently, Conn was not
exaggerating that orders were “literally pouring in,” for
it would appear that in the case of the Sousa Band order,
Conn was unable to produce these saxophones fast enough
due to the ever-increasing demand. A subsequent letter
from Pew, dated 25 August 1892, states: “We are depending
on your trumpets, but the saxophones we could not wait
for. We found them in stock in Europe, and ordered them
by cable.”32
By February of 1895, Conn announced:
The Wonder Saxophone is now a Necessary

Instrument in the American Military Band.
Five years ago the Saxophone was almost an

unknown instrument in the United States, and
its beautiful voice could be heard only in the
very largest band organizations of metropolitan
cities.
The Saxophone, however, had a few very
earnest, enthusiastic and energetic champions,
through whom the adaptability and beauty of the
instrument was made known to musicians in the
smaller cities of America.
Among the great exponents of the Saxophone
in America, Mons. E. A. Lefebre is easily the
most prominent, during his long association
with Gilmore’s famous band as the principal
Saxophone soloist and his connection with the
concert companies of the Entertainment Bureaus,
he has played in all the important, and nearly
all the small cities in the United States and
Canada, and the result is, that a goodly
portion of the reed and brass bands now include
in their instrumentation one or more
31
Howard Pew, New York, to Charles Conn, Elkhart, 10 August 1892,
York.
32
129
Saxophones, and in the near future this
instrument will become as great a necesity
[sic] as the clarinet now is, for the correct
rendition of compositions arranged for a
military band.
One great obstacle to the adoption of the
Saxophone in America existed in the belief that
the instrument was a complicated one and
difficult to learn, but since it has been
demonstrated that it is no more complicated or
more difficult to play than the modern
clarinet, that obstacle is overcome when the
number of successful clarinetists is taken into
consideration.
Another obstacle and a more serious one was
the fact that until recently, all Saxophones
were imported from Europe and were constructed
on the old fogy principles characteristic of
nearly all European made instruments, the
mechanism was clumsy and unreliable, the tune
was indifferent, the finish was shabby and
withal, the cost of these instruments in
America was so enormous, as to make their use
in American bands with ordinary means almost
prohibitory.
A change has taken place however since Mr.
Conn has placed the Wonder Saxophone on the
market at a reasonable price, and we find this
instrument now used by the majority of reed
bands who make any pretense in keeping up with
the progressive spirit of the times. The Conn
Wonder Saxophone has displaced the foreign made
Saxophone in the hands of such artists as
Lefebre, Nimms, Dingle, Maginel [sic], and is
recommended by them as superior in tone,
mechanism, finish and reliability to any
European instrument they ever used. Their
letters have been published from time to time
in former issues of TRUTH, and we take pleasure
in calling attention to a few endorsements from
amateur and professional Saxophone players,
expressing their belief that Conn’s Wonder
Saxophones are really the best and are the
cheapest because they are the best.33
33
130
Elkhart, Indiana
After nearly four decades as a saxophone soloist, Lefebre
moved to Elkhart, Indiana in the fall of 1895 and began
working full-time at the Conn factory. Gus Buescher’s
departure from the Conn factory in 1893 meant Conn was in
need of Lefebre’s expertise in “the production of the
‘phones’34:
Mr. Lefebre assumed his duties at the Conn

factory on October 1st [1895], and has since
been working steadily with a view to make the
Wonder Saxophones still more desirable than
ever before, but he states the task is
equivalent to improving that which is already
perfect, and those who hear the beautiful
soulful tones that he produces from the
instrument, will readily believe that there is
no necessity for further improvement. As
remarked a visitor to the factory who heard him
testing a new saxophone, “Lefebre can make it
laugh or cry, inspire an inclination to dance
or pray, at will.”35
Just as E. A. Lefebre’s name had been linked with that of
Gilmore’s band for twenty years, so was his name
associated with Conn Wonder Saxophones for the nearly
twenty years following Gilmore. A poster from this era
included both a portrait and a testimonial letter:
34
35
131
E. A. Lefebre
The World-Famed Saxophone Virtuoso
Uses the Celebrated Wonder Alto Saxophone
Manufactured by C. G. Conn
Elkhart, Ind., Worcester, Mass.
Brooklyn New York
Mr. C. G. Conn
Elkhart, Ind.
It gives me much pleasure to express my

entire approval of the Wonder Saxophone, which
you made for me. I have used during my career,
Saxophones manufactured by the best European
instrument makers, and which were formerly
considered the best in the world. In your
Wonder Saxophones, however, I recognize a
triumph over the best products of European
manufacturers, for your instrument is
handsomer, has a better key system, is more
perfectly in tune, and has a most wonderful
tone. I shall never use any other Saxophone,
for I realize it is the only perfect one made,
and no manufacturer either in Europe or America
can improve upon it.
Yours Truly,
E. A. Lefebre36
Another endorsement for Wonder Saxophones appeared in
January 1896:
The Wonder Saxophones made by Mr. C. G. Conn I

firmly believe to be superior to all others,
and support my belief by using an instrument of
his make, which I certainly could not and would
not do unless I was sure that it is the best
Saxophone I have ever used.
E. A. LEFEBRE.37
36
Conn poster, c.1896, America’s Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion,
South Dakota.
37
132
The following open letter also appears in the same issue
of C. G. Conn’s Truth, beneath a prominent photograph of
Lefebre:
AN OPEN LETTER
To the Clarinet and Saxophone Players of America.
In accepting a position in the Saxophone

and Clarinet department of Mr. Conn’s Band
Instrument factory, I realize that persons
ordering will in a measure hold me responsible
for the musical quality of the instruments sent
to them. I beg to announce that I cheerfully
accept the responsibility. In future it will
be my business to carefully test and tune every
reed instrument sent from Mr. Conn’s factory,
and I will see that each is perfect in every
detail, fitted with mouthpiece with correct
facing and reeds necessary to produce the most
satisfactory results. Each Conn reed
instrument when shipped will be accompanied
with a letter written and signed by myself
certifying to the excellence of the instrument.
In making this stipulation I am fully confident
of maintaining my reputation as a reed
instrument expert and a conscientious musician,
for my signature will not be attached to any
certificate of excellence until I am thoroughly
satisfied that the quality of the instrument
warrants my indorsement [sic] and is adapted
for the use of professional musicians.
Fraternally yours, E. A. LEFEBRE.38
Lefebre was kept very busy at the factory according to
the following account:
Mr. E. A. Lefebre, the Saxophone and Clarinet

expert of the C. G. Conn factory does more
playing now than was required of him when
associated with Gilmore’s Band. He is on duty
every day and is required to thoroughly test
every Clarinet and Saxophone that is shipped.
To him is intrusted [sic] the important and
38
Ibid.
133
delicate task of adjusting the face of the
mouthpieces, selecting and fitting the reeds
that will produce the desired results, to
discover and remedy any defect in the mechanism
of the keys and springs, to ascertain that the
instrument is correct in pitch and perfect in
tune, and it is only after a thorough
examination, resulting in an entire approval of
the instrument, that he will consent to it
being shipped accompanied with his letter
certifying to the superior and perfect
qualities of the instrument.39
If one assumes Lefebre was the only person performing
such examinations on saxophones and clarinets at the Conn
factory at this time, by 1900, Lefebre would have play-
tested nearly 4,000 saxophones and clarinets!40 Needing a
break from such tedious work, Lefebre performed many
dates during the summer of 1896 with long-time associate,
Alessandro Liberati:
Sig. Liberati, assisted by E. A. Lefebre and a

company of select artists, have been giving a
series of “open air” concerts, through Missouri
and Kansas during their summer vacation.
During the spell of intense heat which
prevailed in July and August, the concerts were
attended by thousands who thoroughly
appreciated the efforts of the talented
artists, the record of their success was the
same wherever they played...41
The following account of one Missouri appearance was
published in the St. Joseph Daily Herald on 5 August
1896:
39
C. G. Conn’s Truth 3, no. 7 (July 1896): 7.
40
Paul Cohen, “Vintage Saxophones Revisited – A Conn Primer,”
Saxophone Journal 20, no. 2 (September/October 1995): 10.
41
134
Not less than 5,000 people thronged to Krug
Park last night to hear the concert given by
the famous cornet virtuoso, Sig. Liberati, and
the excellent musicians in his company, and
they were repaid many times over for making the
trip. Of the concert it may be said that it
was worthy of the large audience and of the
appreciation evinced in vigorous applause and
hearty encores. Sig. Liberati is a thorough
master of the cornet and can make it fairly
talk, while the celebrated E. A. Lefebre,
saxophone virtuoso, won equal approval in his
several numbers. Their duet from the opera “Il
Trovatore” was one of the finest features on
the programme.42
Conn Conservatory
By the fall of 1896, the scope of Lefebre’s duties
in Elkhart had been broadened to include instruction at
the Conn Conservatory of Music, a “spacious building,
containing ten class rooms, and a large recital hall.”43
Jules Levy, the preeminent cornet soloist of the late
nineteenth-century was hired as principal instructor of
“cornet and all other valved wind instruments,” while E.
A. Lefebre, who shared similar stature as a saxophone
soloist, was hired as the principal saxophone instructor.
Other classes were offered in flute, clarinet, voice,
piano, zither, and harmony.44 According to the January
1897 issue of C. G. Conn’s Truth:
42
St. Joseph Daily Herald (Missouri), 5 August 1896.
43
44
C. G. Conn’s Truth 3, no. 8 (September 1896): 29, 31.
135
The cost of tuition at the Conn Conservatory of
Music, under either Mr. Levy or Mr. Lefebre,
for a term of three months has been placed at
$60. Under the tuition of the instructors
Cornet and Clarinet in the preparatory or
beginners’ classes, the cost per term of the
three months is but $35. All students on Band
and Orchestral instruments will receive
instructions under Prof. Boyer, in harmony and
instrumentation, free of extra charge.45
The list of saxophone students who attended the Conn
Conservatory of Music during its first year (15 September
1896 to 30 July 1897) were as follows:
Will R. Yeaglea Lima, Indiana
Homer W. Dickenson Coldwater, Michigan
P. W. Waite46 Sturgis, Michigan
Yeaglea was the first of Lefebre’s students to
graduate from the Conn Conservatory on 30 July 1897. He
was awarded the “Silver Medal. Second Grade.” for both
clarinet, taught by Henry Geiss,47 and saxophone. As
indicated on his saxophone diploma, “The said Mr. Yeaglea
is pronounced duly qualified to perform the duties of
First Saxophonist and is eligible for admission to the
“Third” Class of the Conn Conservatory of Music.”48 At
the time of his “second grade” graduation, Yeaglea was
the Band Director at Howe Military School, Howe,
45
46
This is very likely J. Paul Wait, see below.
47
C. G. Conn’s Truth 3, no. 12 (October 1897): 7.
48
Ibid.
136
Indiana.49 For four years, Lefebre worked both as a
consultant for Conn, continuing to develop and improve
the line of Wonder saxophones, and as an instructor at
the Conn Conservatory of Music. Lefebre certainly
understood the importance of teaching a younger
generation of highly skilled saxophonists, who were
needed to continue on with his mission “to bring the
saxophone into favor.”50 J. Paul Wait began his studies
with Lefebre at the Conn Conservatory at age 13. He
later went on to perform with Brooke’s Chicago Marine
Band and Bellstedt’s Band in Denver.51 Other students of
E. A. Lefebre (not necessarily from the Conn
Conservatory) included Aaron Traxler, A. J. Prochaska,52,
and Paul Biese. Traxler graduated from the Dana Musical
Institute in Warren, Ohio, in 189853 and performed with
the bands of Innes and Pryor.54 He was also the author of
“Virtuoso Studies” for saxophone.55 Prochaska performed
with Sousa, Innes, Conway, and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra and taught saxophone at the Conn National
School of Music.56 Biese went on to direct a novelty
49
Ibid.
50
Gilmore Band program, Music Hall, Cleveland, OH, 8 December 1888,
Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
51
52
Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction...,” 89-90.
53
54
Ibid, 24, 29.
55
Ibid, 147.
56
Ibid, 113-4.
137
orchestra composed of banjos, brass instruments, and six
saxophones.57 Two of Lefebre’s female students, Florence
Mackay and Kathryne E. Thompson are discussed below.
Lefebre was not the only saxophonist teaching at an
institution before 1900. In fact, there were a number of
music schools in the United States offering instruction
in saxophone, some as early as 1882. Institutions and
their pre-1900 instructors are listed below:
Grand Conservatory (NY) 1882-88 [Harry] A.C. Hall

1898-1902 Steffano Porpora
New England Conservatory 1882-89 William Rietzel
1886-87 Eustach Strasser
Dana Musical Institute (OH) 1890-1941 J. D. Cook58
Broad Street Cons. (Phil.) 1891 M. F. Aledo59
Chicago Conservatory 1893 Edward Timmons60
Conn Conservatory 1896-1900 Edward A. Lefebre
Ithica Conservatory c.1900 Edwin Tichenor61
Freelance
Teaching duties kept the Saxophone King close to
Elkhart and the Middle West where he remained an active
freelancer. He was engaged on 5-6 November 1897 as
saxophonist in the orchestra for the local opera
production of “Dom Pedro,” written by Harry S. Chester
and James F. Boyer.62 Lefebre was also a featured soloist
57
58
59
60
61
62
Julius Stenberg, late 19th-century scrapbook, America’s Shrine to
Music Museum, Conn collection, Vermillion, South Dakota.
138
at the “Arion Club’s Feast of Music,” on 6 December 1897.
Yet another “Lefebre Benefit” was held, this time at the
Elkhart Opera House on 19 January 1898. Lefebre
performed as soloist and with the Conn Wonder Quartette
at other benefits including those for Vonna Bayley
Fitzgerald and for Company E 157th, Indiana, U.S.V. on 4
February and 7 October 1898 respectively.63 The Conn
Wonder Quartette was comprised of the following players:
Edward A. Lefebre
James F. Boyer
Hobart Davis
Henry Geiss64
While the instrumentation of this quartet is not known,
Boyer, an accomplished pianist and organist, was the
baritone saxophonist in the Lefebre Saxophone Quartette
(a.k.a Wonder Saxophone Quartette) organized in 1901.
Davis was the first alto saxophonist and leader of the
Wonder Saxophone Quartette of Elkhart, Indiana, c.1915,65
and Geiss, a clarinetist teaching at the Conn
Conservatory, later became the saxophone teacher at
Valparaiso University in Indiana.66 Thus, it is
reasonable to assume this group was a saxophone quartet.
63
Ibid.
64
Ibid.
65
66
139
Other freelance concerts during 1898 included the “Easter
Dance” of the Mongoquanong Club, 12 April, “Lefebre’s
Grand Vocal and Instrumental Concert,” 8 November, and
“The Saturday Evening Concert,” 5 December, sponsored by
the ladies of St. John’s Church.67 Engagements in 1899
included a Music Teachers Association concert on 29 June,
and “The Island Park Concert,” 30 July.68
While a member of the South Bend chapter of the Elks
Club (Lodge 235), he joined the “Original Elks Band” and
also performed solos at many Elks social functions.
Between 1897-9, Lefebre performed on at least three
different occasions held at various Elks lodges in the
area, including the “Our Ladies Social Session” and an
Elks memorial service. Here, he performed as a soloist
and with the Conn Wonder Quartet and the Elks Quartet,
whose members were one and the same.69
Lefebre was also a prominently featured member of
the “Trumpet Notes Band,” C. G. Conn’s factory band
(1890-1911). Lefebre performed with this band between
1896 and 1898, including performances in St. Joe, MI,
June 1896, the South Bend Elks Club in November 1897 and
67
Julius Stenberg, late 19th-century scrapbook, America’s Shrine to
Music Museum, Conn collection, Vermillion, South Dakota.
68
Ibid.
69
Ibid.
140
1898, and the Indiana State Fair in August 1898.70
Correspondence from the Trumpet Notes band manager at the
time, show Lefebre to be a strong “selling point” for the
ensemble, comprised of “only experienced musicians,
sober, well conducted and reliable.”71 One such letter,
dated 22 July 1897, is addressed to J. H. Zimmerman, of
Big Stone City, South Dakota:
The [Trumpet Notes] Band proper consists of

twenty-five members, and could be augmented to
thirty by the addition of some celebrated
artists, namely, Mons. E. A. Lefebre, the world
renowned Saxophone soloist...72
Another letter, dated 28 July 1897, is addressed to
the Secretary of the Fair Association in Hillsdale,
Michigan, mentions Lefebre prominently:
Dear Sir;-
I have just been informed that the annual
County Fair is to be held at Hillsdale, and as
it is very necessary to have good music on
those occasions, thought I would write you in
regard to securing the Celebrated Trumpet Notes
Band for this event...
I also wish to mention that if you decide
to engage the Band, we will have Mons. Lefebre,
the greatest living Saxophone Soloist accompany
the Band on this occasion, and book him for
some choice solos, and will send you a good
supply of his Lithographs.73
70
Trumpet Notes Band Archives, America’s Shrine to Music Museum,
Vermillion, South Dakota.
71
Trumpet Notes Band Manager, Elkhart, F. Zimmerman, Big Stone City,
22 July 1897, Trumpet Notes Band Archives, America’s Shrine to Music
Museum.
72
Ibid.
73
Trumpet Notes Band Manager, Elkhart, to Hillsdale Fair Secretary,
22 July 1897, Trumpet Notes Band Archives, America’s Shrine to Music
Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota.
141
Although a soloist with the Trumpet Notes Band, Lefebre
“made the same dividend as members of the band receive,”74
which was $5.00 per man.75 Lefebre continued to perform
with the Trumpet Notes Band at least through November
1898.76
A rather curious article appeared in C. G. Conn’s
Truth from December of 1899:
Relics of the Past
On the battlefield of El Caney, after the

enemy had fled, abandoning camp equipage, arms
and accoutrements, Uncle Sam’s boys naturally
examined the debris of war and appropriated
such of the spoils as might prove interesting
as trophies of conquest. It was the good
fortune of one of the musicians of the band of
a U. S. Regiment to capture and save from
further destruction a quartette of saxophones
bearing the name of Adolphe Sax as the maker
and also the inventor of the saxophone.
These instruments recently came into Mr.
Conn’s possession, and notwithstanding their
battle scarred condition they were soon placed
in playable condition, that the first
saxophones made by the inventor might be
compared with the modern, improved product of
the Conn Factories. Mons. Lefebre, now
employed at the Conn Factories as saxophone
expert, was contemporary with Adolph Sax, and
naturally has great respect and veneration for
the father and the inventor of his favorite
instrument. He regarded the genuine Sax
Saxophones with becoming reverence, and in
74
Minutes of Trumpet Notes Band Meeting, 10 June 1897, Trumpet Notes
Band Archive, America’s Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion, South
Dakota.
75
Letter, 20 August 1897, Trumpet Notes Band Archives, America’s
Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota.
76
Ibid, 29 October 1898.
142
anticipation of the pleasure of playing what he
really believed to be a masterpiece of the
master workman and inventor he prepared to pour
forth the fullness of his soul through the
tuneful tubes.
His picturesque chagrin and disappointment
over the result of his best efforts to get a
satisfactory tone from the instruments may be
better imagined than described. The tone was
cruel, the mechanism crude, the tone vile. It
is difficult to understand why the saxophone as
a musical instrument survived its baptism.
Lefebre was glad to drop the genuine Sax
Saxophone and console himself for the defects
so lately discovered in an heretofore cherished
idol, by floods of melody, full toned—true
toned—sweet voiced—well modulated melodies,
from the progeny of the Adolphe Sax Saxophone,
viz: the modern perfected New Wonder Saxophone,
an instrument without a musical rival in its
class, without a successful commercial
competitor.
But, Lefebre has been spoiled, hence it is
no wonder the Adolph Sax instrument was a
disappointment. Years ago, when he was the
soloist with Gilmore and used the Buffet
Saxophone, at that time the best obtainable, he
was always complaining—nearly every year he
required a new instrument, because of the
development of tonal or mechanical defects.
Lefebre was, and is extremely critical. Like
all other great artists he must, regardless of
cost, have the best instrument that is made.
Long before his association with the Conn
factories, while he was with Gilmore, he was
impressed with the surpassing excellence of the
Wonder Saxophone and used it exclusively in his
concerts. Since his retirement from public
life he has devoted all his talent, musical
knowledge and experience to the improvement of
his beloved instrument to such good purpose
that the new Wonder Saxophone is used by the
most successful and noted professional
saxophonists as well as by the most
discriminating amateur saxophonists throughout
the country.77
77
C. G. Conn’s Truth 4, no. 7 (December 1899): 7.
143
It is difficult to assess the accuracy of such story,
which clearly smacks of propaganda for both the United
States military and its campaigns in the Spanish-American
war, and the C. G. Conn Company. However, specific
mention of Buffet saxophones, and Lefebre’s use of this
brand prior to 1892, when Conn made an instrument for
him, must be taken at face value. Indeed, Lefebre did
play a Conn saxophone in his last year with Gilmore. One
posthumous account further stated:
...in 1880, or thereabouts, [Lefebre] had but a

crude instrument, one made by Adolphe Sax, the
inventor of the instrument. It was not long
however, before other European manufacturers
produced a better Saxophone than the inventor.
Lefebre, always on the lookout for the best,
used a Saxophone made in Belgium, believing
that it was a beautiful instrument, and up to
that time, it surely was the best that had been
produced.78
Lefebre’s complaints that “nearly every year he required
a new instrument, because of the development of tonal or
mechanical defects,” may not be overstated. According to
Adolphe Sax, writing in 1867, military band instruments
“last approximately six years,”79 an abysmal figure by
modern standards. Other noted soloists who endorsed Conn
78
79
Kenneth Deans, “A Comprehensive Performance Project in Saxophone
Literature...” (D.M.A. diss, University of Iowa, 1980), 147.
144
saxophones at this time, along with the band with which
they played are listed below:
Wallace Nimms Gilmore Band
J. S. Libornio Royal Hawaiian Band
Jean Moeremans Sousa Band
H. Morin Innes Band
E. Schaap Innes Band
Vincent Rangone Innes Band80
By August of 1900, Lefebre appears to have had an
extended engagement in Kansas City, where he wrote the
following endorsement for Barnie G. Young, a publisher of
band, orchestra and solo music.
Friend Young:-
I wish to say that I heard Mr.

Lenge’s band playing your composition,
“La Carina Mazurka de Concert.” It was
a pleasure to hear them play that
extremely pretty Mazurka which deserves
a large sale. I wish you success. I
remain
Yours very truly,
E. A. Lefebre,
Fairmount Park,
Kansas City, Mo.81
Lefebre’s relationship to Young is unclear.
80
81
Letterhead of Barnie G. Young, Trumpet Notes Band Archives,
America’s Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota.
145
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette
It is clear that these local and regional concert
engagements weren’t enough to satisfy a man who had grown
accustomed to the frequent and rigorous concert tours of
Gilmore and Sousa. Lefebre wished to return to a
position of prominence on the national stage and thus
“notified” Conn of his intent to resign his duties in
Elkhart in late 1900.82 According to a Conn catalog
published in the 1920s, “[Lefebre] remained at the Conn
factories until 1901, when he again took up his concert
work...”83 Indeed, the November 1901 issue of C. G.
Conn’s Truth stated:
Mr. E. A. Lefebre, the celebrated Saxophonist,

has been combining business and pleasure during
the past summer. After nearly four years
devotion to the Saxophone department of the C.
G. Conn Factories where he was employed as
expert he felt the need of relaxation. He
organized the Wonder Saxophone Quartette, the
members of which comprise the great artist
himself, Mr. Yeaglea, his favorite pupil, Mr.
Jas. Boyer, Baritone, and Mr. C. Bartlett,
Tenor. The Quartette is still entour and has
engagements booked several weeks ahead. It is
accorded the most enthusiastic reception in the
cities visited and the prospects are that the
organization will be permanent. Mr. Lefebre’s
opinion of the Wonder Saxophone has appeared in
a former issue of Truth. It is a good
convincing indorsement [sic] of the superior
tonal properties of the Conn Saxophones and as
good things bear repetition-here goes:
82
Edward A. Lefebre, Brooklyn, to Caryl Florio, New York, 6 November
1902, Robjohn Collection, Library for the Performing Arts, New York
83
Bro, “The Development of the American-Made Saxophone...,” 23.
146
Mons. Lefebre’s Opinion of the Wonder
Saxophone, Made by C. G. Conn, Elkhart,
Indiana,
I hereby wish to express my appreciation to the

Conn manufactured Saxophones. I can say the
same is a wonderful success, the tone is sweet
and full, they are in perfect tune, and no
other Saxophone has been manufactured where the
fingering is as easy as on the Conn Saxophone,
and the improvement of the keys is of great
importance. By manufacturing the instruments
shows you are a gentleman of great energy, and
will undoubtedly be appreciated by all who play
this instrument. During all my lifetime, I
played upon Saxophones which were manufactured
on the other side, but I can say that the Conn
Saxophone is the greatest success, and I have
decided to play upon your Saxophone
exclusively, as I have witnessed the
manufacturing of these instruments during my
stay at Elkhart. I can also say that I am
extremely pleased with the clever workmanship.
E. A. LEFEBRE, Saxophone Soloist.84
The Wonder Saxophone Quartette also toured as the Lefebre
Saxophone Quartette. The personnel was:
Edward A. Lefebre first alto saxophone
Will R. Yeaglea second alto saxophone
Clarence Bartlett tenor saxophone
James F. Boyer baritone saxophone85
Another “Wonder Saxophone Quartette,” not to be confused
with Lefebre’s group, was billed as “A great musical
84
C. G. Conn’s Truth 4, no. 12 (November 1901): 5.
85
Ibid.
147
vaudeville act, by Klein, Ott Bros. and Nickerson, using
a quartette of Conn Wonder saxophones,” and was active in
and around Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1901.86
Will R. Yeaglea studied with Lefebre at the Conn
Conservatory of Music and graduated with the silver medal
in July 1897. Clarence Bartlett had been an alto
saxophonist with the Chicago Marine Band as early as
1894.87 James Boyer, the baritone saxophonist with
Lefebre’s Wonder Saxophone Quartette, was a musician of
rare ability, performing professionally as an organist,
pianist, cornetist, saxophonist, vocalist, and conductor.
He also composed seven operas. A child prodigy, Boyer
was a church organist at age 7, leader of his own brass
band by age 12, and had accompanied such prominent
soloists as Levy, Liberati, Hoch, and Innes before age
14. Later, he was an accompanist for Lefebre.88 Boyer
co-founded the American Grand Opera Company in 1894,
touring to Japan, China, and India. Boyer began his
association with Conn in 1896 as Professor of Harmony at
the Conn Conservatory of Music, taking over as the
school’s Director in 1900.89 He joined Lefebre’s quartet
86
C. G. Conn’s Truth 5, no. 4, supplement, (December 1902): 3.
87
88
The Bandmaster (Minneapolis), April 1934.
89
The Elkhart Truth (Elkhart, Indiana), 6 April 1934.
148
in 1901 and was both baritone saxophonist and tour
manager until 1903.90 In 1905, he moved to New York City
and opened his own music store. For six years Boyer
directed the New York “millionaires’” band, “The
Amicitia,” a group comprised of Sousa and Liberati
alumni, among others.91 In 1915, Boyer became secretary
and director of C. G. Conn, Ltd.
According to Clay Smith of the Apollo Concert
Company, the Lefebre Quartette was “the first saxophone
quartette of note to make a transcontinental tour.”92
This tour, which included both the United States and
Canada,93 began with the group’s inception in 1901 and
continued through 1903.94 According to Lefebre’s
promotional brochure:
Two years ago [1901]95 Mr. Lefebre organized a

select quartet of saxophones, which made a
remarkable tour from ocean to ocean rendering
adaptations of popular and classical music for
the public and revealing conclusively the
90
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth 9, no. 17 (May 1915): 2.
91
Ibid.
92
93
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth 9, no. 20 (September 1916): 28.
94
Ibid, 9, no. 17 (May 1915): 2.
95
Lefebre’s brochure has the date 9 January 1905, although it is
likely the brochure was regularly updated to include Conn’s newest
advertisements. Evidence suggests it was probably first printed
c.1903. The brochure mentions “for thirty-two years he has been
charming Americans...” By adding 32 years to 1871, the year Lefebre
came to America (with Rosa), one arrives at 1903. It is also known
that his “Wonder Quartette” was first organized in 1901 (“two years
ago” from 1903).
149
possibilities of this musical instrument. This
brilliant ‘Quartet’ under the direction of such
a talented, worthy and painstaking artist, did
more to popularize the saxophone with the
profession and public in general than could be
done by the finest Saxophonist playing
exclusively as a soloist with the conventional
orchestra. The Saxophone quartet with its
mellow or soft and beautifully blending parts
appeal to the heart like a divine choir of
voices accompanied by a skillfully played grand
organ. America is proud to claim as one of her
citizens, such a talented musician and such an
enthusiastic and successful promoter of the
modern orchestra.96
Indeed, the following “notices from the American press,”
found in the same Lefebre promotional brochure, offer
dramatic proof of extensive touring, covering thousands
of miles from coast to coast during this period:
The Lefebre Saxophone Artists gave a

delightful entertainment and Mons. Lefebre
brings out such beauty of tone and effect in
his manipulation of this instrument as to argue
it an unknown quantity in the expression of
music, to those who have not heard its
possibilities realized by Mons. Lefebre and his
associates.—Washington Times.
A third instance may be cited in the Lefebre

Saxophone Quartette, an organization truly
brilliant and of a calibre seldom observed
outside of famous orchestras and bands. To a
vaudeville audience the playing of this
quartette is an extraordinary treat.—Boston
Post.
The Lefebre Saxophone Quartette, giving

selections of classical music, by the amount of
applause elicited, made the strongest hit of
the bill.—Cleveland Leader.
96
C. D. Phillips, “Thirty-two Years of Musical Triumphs,” E. A.
Lefebre promotional brochure c.1903, Lefebre family collection,
Saint Petersburg, Florida
150
Mr. E. A. Lefebre is not only demonstrating
that he is the greatest living Saxophone player
in America, but that his popularity in St.
Louis has never been on the wane. He and his
quartette received nightly ovations at Forest
Park Highlands this week. Such good Saxophone
music has not been heard since the days of
Gilmore and Sousa.—St. Louis Post Dispatch.
In spite of cool weather yesterday there

were plenty of people who were sufficiently
interested to go again to Electric Park and
enjoy a good program in the German Village.
The great Lefebre, the most distinguished of
all Saxophone players and his quartette, made a
tremendous hit. Lefebre plays with his old
time grace and finish and the men who make up
his quartette are all accomplished players.—
Kansas City Star.
The Lefebre Saxophone Quartette, which made

its first appearance here last night, is one of
the best musical numbers ever presented by the
local Orpheum management. Of the four pieces
played the Prison Scene duet from Il Trovatore
seemed to be the most popular.—Los Angeles
Express.97
A letter to the Editor of the Brooklyn Standard
Union, written in the late 1910s or 1920s, mentions
Lefebre with the Gilmore Band and includes another first-
hand account of the Lefebre Saxophone Quartette:
“N.Y. and M.B.” recently referred to the

saxophonist, Lefevre, as “Charles.” He was E.
A. Lefevre [sic], a Swiss, a most wonderful
master of the instrument now so familiar in
“jazz” orchestras. Lefevre featured a number
entitled, “The Image of the Rose.” I will
never forget its haunting melody.
I heard Lefevre long after the lamented
Gilmore’s death at the Novelty Theatre in
97
Ibid.
151
Williamsburg [Brooklyn] in a Sunday concert,
with three young men forming a saxophone
quartet. They “stopped” the show with their
playing, and it was not jazz stuff, either.
Lefevre died several years ago, a resident of
Brooklyn.
Manhattan Beach and Gilmore are to-day only
memories. What more beautiful sight than the
walk leading to the band shell and then to a
Pain’s fireworks spectacle enclosure, with
numerous tiny lamps flickering along the way,
best girl on your arm, a big black “segar” and
the pleasant ride home on the open car steam
road through Gravesend, Flatbush, and New Lots
farm and pasture land, leaving the ocean
breezes behind you. Sometimes Barren Island
let us know it was in the “offing.”
JABEZ.98
These accounts further bolstered Lefebre’s status as the
Saxophone King and proved him to be a tireless proponent
of the saxophone.
Florio Correspondence
In 1902, Lefebre contemplated retirement. His
desire was to give a farewell concert here in the United
States before embarking on a final tour of Europe. These
plans compelled Lefebre to contact Caryl Florio, with
whom he had not corresponded since c.1886 (misspellings
and grammatical errors remain intact):
98
Brooklyn Standard Union, date unknown, c.1920, “Lefebvre, E. A.”
[sic] clippings file, Library for the Performing Arts, New York
152
Nov. 6, 1902
Mr. Carl Florio,

Artist Musician New York City
Dear Friend Florio—

For several years I have been writing to my
friends at New York to find out were I could
reach you. This all happened while I was
living in Elkhart, Ind.
Two years ago I notified and since reside
again at New York I organised a Saxophone
Quartette, and have been travelling from ocean
to ocean.
Last week I returned from a western tour of
Ten Weeks with my quartette; I may go South in
about four from today. If not then I go to
Europe. Before leaving I intend to give a far
well concert and most likely to be my last
appearance before the American public. They
have heard me playing the Saxophone for over 30
years. Although I am very successful yet, I
believe my self to retire.
If I give my farwell concert, I have then an
Orchestre of 50, the quartette and I may
perform such as quartett Lucia, quartett
Riogoletto, Duet for Cornet and Sax. etc.
For my European programme, I would like to
have the quintette of yours; but how to get it
that is the great question. Years ago you
promised me a copy, but to copy it your self
your time I recognise to be valuable to devote
to copying, if you still have the idea to let
me have that valuable composition of yours? Let
me copy it. Give me again a chance to present
it before the public. I promise to have it
performed in good style so as to do justice to
the talented composer.
Yester day I met Mr. Kaltenborn he spoke
about you and then I went to Pond’s music house
were I got your address.
If this comes to hand, please drop me a line
informing me when I can see you at home to talk
this matter over about your quintett, with
which you will oblije.
153
Yours Very Truly
E. A. Lefèbre
475 Franklin Ave.
Brooklyn N. Y.99
Nov. 16th, 1902
Mr. Carl Florio New York City
Dear Sir
Few days ago I mailed a letter to you at
462 W. 22nd Str. You had just moved to 21st Str.
I called at your house and the lady informed
that [] at were not at home. Since I called I
have been confined to my house on account of a
terrible cold, which will keep me down for
several days yet.
Now I would like to hear from you in reagard
to the quartett you composed four saxophones
and piano. I am extremely anxious to perform
that beauty once more before death comes at the
door, of course a man my age 67 is a man of the
day dreads at all times. If you would charge
me a modest price for copying the work or sell
it to me I like to hear from you. I may be
able to get it published, you would get it
printed?
Kindest regards
Of yours Truly,
E. A. Lefèbre
P.S. You may remember we performed it first at

a concert of your own compositions at
Chickering Hall then we played at Musical
Soirèe Zeumon of Artists, Charles Kunkels Host
Oct. 19th 1885
I intend to give a farwell concert at N.Y.
Poor Amateur Orch. Of 50 will play for me.100
99
Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, to Caryl Florio, New York, 6 November
100
154
Nov. 26, 1902
Mr. Carl Florio
My Dear Friend Mr. Florio

Yours came to hand, in reply I am sorry to
say that I am not able to buy that master
composition of yours, although I must say, the
price of $100.00 is indeed moderate. I intend
to see a publisher about it, but at present I
have not been well for over two weeks the
doctor ordered me to stay in doors, however
later as when I go out I will see a good man to
publish it, but I am [afraid] that I wound
succeed. the Saxophone has become more
popular than it use to be at the time you
composed this beautiful quintet, since 1885 I
have worked hard and suffered in financial
business on account of making it more known, if
I had work my clarinet business up, I perhaps
would have been better offer; and in spite of
all this, I am still at it; I intended to give
a concert, but I had to give this idea up
untill a few month later then, I may give a
farwell concert before my departure to Europe
with my Quartet. Surely enough I would offer
you engagement to play that [quintette], of
course, if you are in the City by that time and
if you would accept at a moderate term.
I go on the road with my quartett for 6
weeks, and leave N.Y. Dec. 13th Before I leave
I would like to meet you and look over the
Soprano part, becourse, I should have to play
the Sopr. upon my alto, my quartett I have
organised contains 1st, 2nd alto tenor and
bariton. Frequently at musicals I have played
that Menuet and Scherzo you wrote for us (1885)
although hard for me to perform the Sopr. upon
the alto, but have done so with success.
The soprano I don’t use being such
messerable instrument to execute upon and it
has such a bad sounding tone. Our late friend
Wallrabe had an good tone, never heard one as
good, but was for me to mechanical in his
performance. Now would you inform me when I
can meet you and look over the soprano part? I
of course would come to N.Y. but if you should
happen to come to Brooklyn, you have my address
155
and by taking the Fulton Street Car this goes
right by Franklin only one block and 1/2 to
walk to the left hand.
Again coming back to publish it you will
understand that there is very little sale for
Sax—music. If the piano player would take it
in to perform something new and good, they
couldn’t do anything better, best they and
other look in their interest.
Well I shall be pleased to hear from you
with information when I can meet you and close
with kind regards to you and wishing you
success.
Yours very truly,

E. A. Lefèbre
475 Franklin Ave.
Brooklyn N. Y.101
Regrettably, Florio’s Quintette was never published and
it remained in the composer’s possession until his death
in 1920. Florio’s manuscripts were purchased by a Mr.
Barton Cantrell, New York, New York, in 1964 from a Mrs.
James K. Gorrell, Portsmouth, Virginia.102 Cantrell
subsequently donated these materials to the Library for
the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
In a letter to Ida Padelford, at the Pack Memorial Public
Library, Asheville, North Carolina, Cantrell writes:
[Florio’s] best music was written 1860 to about

1880...I have one quartet for 4 saxophones; if
he wrote another, there is no trace of it.
Mrs. Gorrell insisted on keeping the Quintet
for 4 saxophones and piano, as she had had an
inquiry from Washington about performing it in
101
102
Barton Cantrell, New York, to Ida Padelford, Asheville, 23 January
156
Mexico! And thought she might get some money
for that—tho [sic] the inquiry was 1957, she
never answered it—that is, Mr. Gorrell had not—
their repeated letters, which she showed me!103
Searching in the spring of 2000, James K. Gorrell IV was
unable to trace the Quintette to any surviving family
member, thus it may be lost forever.
Lefebre’s uncompromising commitment to popularizing
the saxophone led him to “suffer in financial business,”
yet he never gave up. That he would doubt his decision
to all but give up performing on clarinet and dedicate
his life to the saxophone was a natural and certainly
recurring thought for Lefebre, especially as he reflected
on his career in his waning years.
Lefebre implied that he played in the altissimo
register in his statement, “although hard for me to
perform the [soprano part] upon the alto, [I] have done
so with success.” He makes no mention of adapting the
soprano part in any way. Had Lefebre rewritten the
soprano part so as to fit it into the range of the alto,
this certainly would not have been “hard” [difficult],
nor would there have been any concern of “success” or
failure. Such concern for a successful performance is
synonymous with the altissimo register. Lefebre did not
103
Ibid.
157
shy away from the higher register of the saxophone, for a
great many of his transcriptions and arrangements
repeatedly reach up to E and F above the staff. As a
virtuoso clarinetist, Lefebre understood the mechanics of
“overblowing” to play above the “key range” of the
saxophone. The soprano part of Florio’s Allegro de
Concert regularly reaches written C above the staff and
twice to written E. These pitches would transpose to
altissimo G through B on the alto. Judging from his
negative attitude toward the soprano saxophone with
regard to its mechanism and tone quality, Lefebre
preferred the highest timbre of the alto, to the key
register of the “messerable” soprano.
It appeared Lefebre had a change in his retirement
plans. An interview given around this time (as published
in the January 1907104 issue of the Metronome) mentioned a
tour to the Far East with a company of women:
At present [1903] Mr. Lefebre is experiencing a

most successful concert season, and both the
press and the public pronounce him as great in
his particular field as ever. Among his
immediate plans for the future, however, is a
grand concert tour which will take him as far
104
While this feature was published in 1907, much of the text comes
from Lefebre’s promotional brochure. The brochure has the date 9
January 1905, although it is likely the brochure was regularly
updated to include Conn’s newest advertisements. The article also
mentions “for thirty-two years he has been charming Americans...”
By adding 32 years to 1871, the year Lefebre came to America (with
Rosa), one arrives at 1903. (See also above).
158
as Manila in the Philippine Islands. His
company on this tour will consist of a very
prominent American lady pianist, a lady
violinist and a soprano of high rank. These
three, together with his own Saxophone playing
will form a very powerful concert organization,
enabling the performance of the most effective
quartets, duos and solos.105
One source states Lefebre’s quartet “had traveled to
such frontiers as Alaska and the Philippines.”106
However, there is no evidence suggesting either a
tour of the Pacific or of Europe. While these
excursions probably never took place, Lefebre did
eventually tour with three women.
Lefebre’s c.1903 promotional brochure (the basis of
most of the 1907 Metronome article) included a lengthy
review of his life and career, written by Professor C. D.
Phillips, the principal of Amanial High Training School
in Kansas City:107
In the constellation of music there has been

shining for over thirty-two years, and still
shines, a solitaire of peculiar brilliancy,
with whom all the music loving Americans are
familiar, and whose musical career and triumphs
constitute the basis of this appreciative and
merited sketch.
The violin, piano, cornet, flute, and organ
have each had many artist-soloists, but it
remained for the Saxophone to have so far but
one grand-master of the technique and peculiar
powers of this unique instrument of the horn
105
“E. A. Lefebre,” The Metronome, January 1907, 17.
106
107
C. D. Phillips, “Thirty-two Years...,” E. A. Lefebre promotional
brochure c.1903.
159
and reed combination-and that is E. A.
Lefebre...
...He has greatly improved its power and
tone by his own inventive skill so that in his
hands it may still be distinguished clearly and
sonorously, holding its own above the combined
instrumentation of the largest orchestra and at
the same time, made to rival the more delicate
shading of a mother’s voice crooning a tender
lullaby to her restless babe. Indeed, so
human-like does Mr. Lefebre play this marvelous
instrument that he seems to sing through it-
now with the thundering detonations of a
Whitney, now with the clarion tones of a
Brignoli, or the delicate phrasing of the
divine Patti. Age seems only to enhance the
artistic quality of Lefebre’s playing as it
enriches the musical quality of a Cremona
violin.108
Once again, the vocal nature of Lefebre’s saxophone
playing is highlighted. In 1883, his tone quality was
considered more desirable than that of the flute, and
twenty years later, his beautiful sound was considered an
improvement on that of the finest violin! His brochure
also mentions several of Lefebre’s “pleasant
associations”:
...One of the best proofs of his rare

excellence as an artist, is the high regard in
which he has always been held by musical
masters and managers in both America and
Europe, having enjoyed long and pleasant
associations with such artists as Parepa Rosa
who first brought him to America as a
clarinetist, Whitney, Campanini, Mad’ll DeVene,
Miss Emma Thursby, Nordica, etc.109
108
Ibid.
109
Ibid.
160
Rosa, Thursby, and Nordica are discussed above. Myron
Whitney “had a smooth, rich, resonant bass, admirably
schooled, and delivered with refinement, dignity, and
classical repose. As an oratorio singer, indeed, he had
no equal of his time.”110 He was remembered for
performances at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of
1876.111 This was likely where Whitney and Lefebre became
associated with one another, probably performing together
at the Exposition and perhaps sharing the stage at other
engagements in later years. Cleofonte Campanini was an
Italian conductor and violinist, active in Italy, Spain,
South America, and the United States. He was assistant
conductor for the Metropolitan Opera in its inaugural
season (1883-4).112 His brother Italo Campanini sang many
leading opera roles, performing here in the United States
at the Academy of Music (first U. S. production of
Carmen, 1878), with Mapelson’s company (1878-82) and the
Metropolitan Opera (title role in first U. S. production
of Gounod’s Faust, 1883). The two brothers toured this
country with a concert troupe in 1887-8, presenting the
first American performance of Verdi’s Otello.113 As
110
William Lichtenwanger, “Whitney, Robert (Sutton),” in New Grove’s
Dictionary of American Music.
111
Ibid.
112
R. Allen Lott, “Campanini, Cleofonte,” in New Grove’s Dictionary
of American Music.
113
Ibid.
161
indicated above, Lefebre performed with one or both
Campanini brothers, most likely as a clarinetist in
certain opera productions. In a letter to David Blakely
in February 1894, Lefebre mentions his “engagements with
the Itilian [sic] Opera.”114 It is possible that such
engagements were under the direction of Cleofonte
Campanini. The reference to Lefebre’s association with
“Mad’ll DeVene” was unable to be traced.
Lefebre continued to teach students and perform
concert engagements. One such recital was given in
January 1903:
E. A. Lefebre, the far-famed Saxophone

Virtuoso, gave a delightful and very successful
Saxophone recital at the Academy of Music,
Kansas City, Jan. 29th. He was assisted by his
pupil, Miss Florence LaFolette Mackay, one of
the most accomplished saxophone soloists of the
gentler sex, and a choice company of musical
artists. Lefebre has accepted contracts which
occupy all the Summer season for his Saxophone
quartette, which consists of two altos, tenor
and baritone, but he is considering the
advisability of substituting the Contra Bb Bass
Giant Saxophone for one of the Altos. He
believes the general effect will be improved,
the big instrument, aside from being an
attractive novelty, has a richness in the lower
register that is incomparable.115
114
New York.
115
C. G. Conn’s Truth 5, no. 5 (May 1903): 9.
162
A picture of Florence LaFollette Mackay, of Kansas City,
appeared in a subsequent issue of C. G. Conn’s Truth.
According to the article accompanying her photograph:
Lefebre believes her to be the most

accomplished lady student that has ever
graduated under his instruction. She has
appeared with him in concert in New York,
Cleveland and Kansas City and he praises both
her tone and phrasing.116
Edward A. Lefebre continued his supervision of the
production of Conn Wonder saxophones:
Many very important improvements have been made

by Mr. Conn recently in the Wonder Alto
Saxophone, the soloist’s instrument, which the
illustrations do not perfectly show. For
instance, when desired, the G sharp key can be
dispensed with and the Pupeschi improvement
adopted. Instead of the sliding motion of the
little finger of the right hand in slurring
from C to Eb, the little finger remains on the
C key and Eb is made by simply raising the
second finger. The double register key is also
a feature, the upper octave key acting
automatically, thus obviating the awkward
straining of the left thumb in the effort to
shift from the middle to the upper register
keys. Another important improvement is the
addition of a key similar to, and operated like
the A, in the staff key on the clarinet, which
on the saxophone is used to produce upper F
without throwing the entire left hand out of
position. Monsieur E. A. Lefebre was attracted
by all these improvements, and as he is now
reorganizing his Wonder Saxophone quartette he
naturally desires to avail himself so every
point that improves the mechanism, tone and
tune of the instrument which he, more than any
other soloist, has succeeded in making famous
and popular. He recently received a new one,
in low pitch, gold plated, pearl finger pieces
116
163
and pearl rollers. He expresses his delight
with it in the following words:
C. G. CONN, Elkhart, Ind. May 27,1903
Dear Sir:-I can’t finish speaking about the

perfection of my new low pitch saxophone.
Yesterday I had another musicale at Doctor
Ayer’s house. There were professionals and
amateurs among the members in the orchestra and
one and all pronounced it a fine instrument in
quality of tone, tuning, and the most perfect
manufactured instrument they ever saw. The
more I play on it the better I like it.
Furthermore I converse a great deal about the
other instruments of your make. I am
exceedingly glad of the success you have made.
Yours very truly, E. A. LEFEBRE.117
A gold-plated Conn alto saxophone, with pearl finger
pieces and rollers, believed to be the instrument
described above was recently found in the possession of
E. A. Lefebre’s great, great grandson, Edward John
Lefebre.118 The serial number reads “L 8217.” Here, the
“L” represents “Low Pitch,” where the pitch A=440Hz, as
opposed to the “High Pitch” instruments of the pre-WWI
era, tuned at A=457Hz. The serial number dates the
instrument to the year 1903.119 This saxophone, however,
does not have the advertised improvements. Absent are
the C to Eb mechanism, double register key,120 and front F
key; only the “Pupeschi improvement” is integrated. The
117
118
See Lefebre Family History, Appendix E.
119
Martin Krivin, “A Century of Wind Instrument Manufacturing in the
United States: 1860-1960,” Ph.D. diss, University of Iowa, 1961, 81.
120
Literally, one key for two registers (D to G-sharp and A to F).
164
most likely explanation to account for this discrepancy
was that Lefebre, aged 68 and nearing the end of his
career, preferred playing an instrument with which he was
comfortable, thus he probably requested Conn build him a
saxophone with keywork similar to his previous
instruments. The instrument does match a poster of the
era.
Lefebre reorganized his saxophone quartet for the
summer of 1903. According to C. G. Conn’s Truth, “The
quartette has appeared in the principal cities of the
middle states and for the winter season a tour of Europe
is contemplated.”121 Lefebre’s letters to Caryl Florio in
1902 indicated Lefebre’s European interests.122 The
following is a probable configuration of the Lefebre
Saxophone Quartette in c.1903:
Edward A. Lefebre first alto saxophone
Homer Dickenson second alto saxophone
Mac H. Hall tenor saxophone
James F. Boyer baritone saxophone
The Lefebre Saxophone Quartette in 1902-3 included Mac H.
Hall, “an expert performer, having been for two seasons a
121
165
member of the great Lefebre Saxophone Quartette,”123
although it is uncertain on which instrument he
performed. Hall left Lefebre’s group in November 1903 to
join 9th U.S. Artillery band as alto saxophonist.124
Another member of the Lefebre Quartette 1902-3 was Homer
Dickenson, a former student of Lefebre at the Conn
Conservatory of Music.125 Dickenson had also been a
member of Sousa’s augmented saxophone section during the
band’s four-month tour of Europe in 1900. (This was
Sousa’s first tour of Europe and for the occasion he
doubled the alto and tenor saxophone parts, creating an
AATTB quintet.)126 Dickenson contributed much to the
legacy of the saxophone in this country as a member of
many famous bands, including those of Sousa, Brooke,
Liberati,127 the Chicago Marine Band, Phinney’s Band, and
others.128 He also was the leader of the Dickenson
Saxophone Quartette and Orchestra, a group of four
saxophonists with a trap drummer/bell soloist who
supplied music “for the elite dancing clubs of Michigan
and Indiana.”129 Dickenson was also the director of a
122
Letters from Lefebre to Florio, 6, 10, 22 November 1902.
123
124
Ibid.
125
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth 9, no. 10 (October 1911): 9.
126
Ibid, 35.
127
Ibid, 30
128
True Tone 9, no. 3, (1914): n.p.
129
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth, vol. 9, no. 10, (October 1911): 9.
166
saxophone band in Grand Junction, Colorado.130 A Lefebre
protégé, Dickenson continued in the tradition:
Mr. Dickenson produces a tone similar to that

of the artist, LeFebre [sic], and to those who
have heard the “King of the Saxophone,” it is
indeed a pleasure to hear the similarity of
tonal color in Mr. Dickenson’s renditions.131
The following posthumous account of Dickenson’s
performances on the saxophone reveals much about
Lefebre’s legacy:
...Mr. Dickenson was one of the foremost

saxophone artists of the day. In a recent
rendition of a solo in Elkhart, while visiting
one of the Conn factories, he played a perfect
scale above the register of the saxophone,
finishing on high F above the regular top F of
the instrument. Each tone was perfect and this
feat demonstrated the greatest scale ever
played on a saxophone. He had developed to the
highest point in his phrasing also, and
musicians who heard him marveled at his
masterly renditions.132
Dickenson may have learned such altissimo techniques from
his former teacher. Lefebre apparently knew and played
in the extended register of the saxophone beyond the
traditional “key range” of the instrument, as evinced by
his performances of soprano saxophone music on the alto
in certain quartet settings.133 As a soloist with Gilmore
and Sousa, and as a freelance performer, E. A. Lefebre
130
131
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth 9, no. 20 (September 1916): 28.
132
167
would also have had ample opportunities to execute
certain “top tones” on his instrument.
Such understanding of the altissimo register of the
saxophone was not unprecedented. One of Lefebre’s
contemporaries of the early twentieth-century, a
clarinetist-turned-saxophonist who had a well-developed
altissimo range was H. Benne Henton, a soloist with the
bands of Bohumir Kryl, Patrick Conway, and John Philip
Sousa.134 Henton, a former E-flat clarinetist, began his
studies of the saxophone in Chicago in 1903,135 and was
well known for his altissimo register, performing up to a
high D in a written cadenza for Eleven O’clock, a
composition he published in 1911.136 According to C. G.
Conn’s Musical Truth:
..[Henton] has become one of the leading band

instrument artists of America, and many of his
friends call him the “Saxophone Prince.” They
would no doubt call him the “Saxophone King,”
only that the famous Lefebre held that title
and will always be known as such.137
As part of their 1903 summer tour, the “La Febre
[sic] Saxaphone [sic] Quartette in Popular Selections”
133
Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, to Caryl Florio, New York, 26 November
Public Library, New York. (Discussed above).
134
Hester, “Saxophone Soloists with Sousa...,” 48-9.
135
Ibid.
136
Ibid, 50.
137
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth 9, no. 10 (January 1912): n.p.
168
performed at Ingersoll Park, Des Moines during the week
of 16-22 August 1903.138 Offering the “greatest
vaudeville ever offered in the western country,”
Ingersoll had secured all new acts, announcing “every act
a headliner” for the week of the Iowa State Fair. Others
on the program at Ingersoll for “The Big Week” were Eva
Mudge, “the Military Maid,” Hal. Davis & Inez McAuley,
“Post Graduates in Refined Comedy,” the Four Rianos, the
“World’s Greatest Comedy Acrobatic Sketch,” the Great
Laona, “Impersonation of Men Past and Present,” and Mr.
Frank Fox, singing “Illustrated Songs.”139 The timing of
the Lefebre Quartette’s engagement at Ingersoll Park is
significant. Surely, engagements during any given State
Fair Week were the most lucrative of the entire summer
season for any vaudeville act. This indicates Lefebre’s
name was considered a good draw for audiences. A quartet
of saxophones was still something of a novelty as well,
although slightly less so than when the New York
Saxophone Quartette Club made its debut nearly three
decades earlier.
An account of the Lefebre Saxophone Quartette’s
performance in Des Moines is as follows:
...When the quartette was in Des Moines Mr.

Carol B. Dotson of the Sioux Falls, S.D., Daily
138
Des Moines Register and Leader, 16 August 1903, advertisement.
139
Ibid.
169
Press, a talented amateur saxophonist availed
himself of the opportunity of meeting the great
master of the instrument. Mr. Dotson found in
Mons. Lefebre a genial artist and an
enthusiastic advocate of the Conn Wonder
Saxophones from whom he received some valuable
pointers.
Sioux Falls, South Dakota,

Sept. 24, 1903.
C. G. CONN, Elkhart, Ind.
Dear Sir:-I was in Des Moines last week and had
the pleasure of hearing the great Lefebre and
one of his quartets in one of their superb
concerts. I also had the extreme pleasure of
meeting personally Mr. Lefebre, and he kindly
gave me some very valuable pointers on the use
of the saxophone, conducting me to the theatre
and drilling me for several hours.
I am pleased to say that he expressed
himself as surprised at the quality of tone I
succeeded in getting with my Bb tenor
saxophone. He states that my progress is
largely due to the instrument. He tested it
and pronounced it of excellent tune and tone
and of very easy blowing qualities. I realized
more than ever the advantage of beginning with
a good instrument, and am disposed to view it
as a matter of congratulation that I started to
learn the saxophone on a “Wonder.”
I was lost in admiration for the set of
saxophones Mr. Lefebre has. The art of plating
and engraving has apparently made great
progress at your factories. Send me list of
prices for plating my brass instrument.
Very truly yours,
Carrol B. Dotson,
Advertising Manager140
Dotson subsequently studied and performed with the
Saxophone King on a brief tour of the Dakotas, likely
during the summer of 1904.141 Inspired by Lefebre’s
140
141
C. G. Conn’s Musical Truth 9, no. 10 (January 1912): n. p.
170
example, Dotson organized the Sioux Falls Saxophone
Quartette in late 1911.142
An announcement in the October 1897 issue of C. G.
Conn’s Truth stated, “The instrumentation of no
professional band is complete unless a quartette of
saxophones is included.”143 Indeed, nearing the turn of
the century, saxophone quartets comprised of domestically
produced Conn saxophones began to flourish. In 1895, an
SATB quartet of saxophones was formed in Galena,
Kansas.144 In 1896, Frank Willard Kimball of San Luis
Obispo, California, a saxophone soloist since 1883,145
formed the California Saxophone Quartette.146 Prior to
organizing his quartet, Kimball asserted:
The saxophone is certainly destined to find a

prominent, essential, yet never before
occupied, place in every musical organization
where wind instruments are used; and I look
forward to only five years to witness the
universal introduction of the complete
saxophone quartette in the progressive church
choirs of metropolitan cities. It is,
therefore, a pride I glory in as a patriotic
American citizen that the best development of
this instrument has been reached in
America...147
142
Ibid.
143
144
G. C. Conn’s Truth, vol. 3, no. 5, (January 1896): 7.
145
G. C. Conn’s Truth, vol. 3, no. 2, (June 1895): 7.
146
147
G. C. Conn’s Truth, vol. 3, no. 5, (January 1896): 7.
171
The announcement of the formation of the California
Saxophone Quartette is reproduced below:
The California Saxophone Quartette is the

name of a new musical organization which
possesses the proud distinction of being the
only organization of its kind in America, if
not in existence. It is composed of artists of
continent-wide reputation, as will be perceived
by the personnel which is as follows: Frank
Willard Kimball [soprano saxophone], Frank Wm.
Walden [tenor saxophone], John Albion Kimball
[alto saxophone], and Chas. Rothe [baritone
saxophone]...Mr. [Frank] Kimball is one of
about half a dozen Saxophone Virtuosos in the
United States who have achieved a national
reputation...
The Quartette which Mr. Kimball has had the
honor of organizing and is now managing, is
about to commence a concert tour of mammoth
proportions-one which will probably include all
the large cities in America, Canada and Mexico.
This initiatory tour will without doubt
establish the California Saxophone Quartette as
one of the most superb musical organizations
the music-loving people of the continent ever
heard render a concert program.
The repertoire of the quartette is a very
extensive as well as a valuable one--the reward
of ten years of painstaking study and labor by
Mr. Kimball, who claims it is the only
specially prepared Saxophone Quartette concert
repertoire ever produced in America, bar none.
May success reward the efforts of the
California Saxophone Quartette and its
enterprising manager.148
Saxophone quartets in existence at this time were located
at the Minnesota Training School;149 Terre Haute,
148
G. C. Conn’s Truth, vol.3, no. 7, (July 1896): 7.
149
G. C. Conn’s Truth, vol.3, no. 10, (April 1897): 7.
172
Indiana;150 Lebanon, Pennsylvania;151 Corydon, Iowa;152
Omemee, North Dakota;153 and Cleveland, Ohio.154 Others
included a saxophone quartet recorded by Berliner Records
in 1895; the American Saxophone Quartet, comprised of
W.F. Schensley, S. Schaich, F. Paul, and F.R. Becker (all
Sousa band members at one time), the Wayne Concert Band
saxophone quartet,155 Signor Maro’s Saxophone Quartette,156
the A. Lynn Shaw Saxophone Quartette,157 and the Apollo
Saxophone Quartette. While Frank Kimball had estimated
1900 as the year of “universal introduction” of the
saxophone quartet, his prediction had certainly become
closer to reality by 1905:
Saxophone Quartettes are becoming the fashion.

Even in the small towns where, perhaps, a band
has not been organized, the Saxophone Quartette
becomes a very popular musical organization,
always in demand.158
And even closer by 1910:
No question about the popularity of Saxophone

quartettes. They are springing up everywhere,
in connection with bands, orchestras, fraternal
societies, church choirs, and recently they
have been introduced as a substitute for the
ball room orchestra. They are graceful
150
Ibid, 21.
151
G. C. Conn’s Truth, vol.4, no. 2, (April 1898): 15.
152
G. C. Conn’s Truth, vol.5, no. 3, (September 1902): 7.
153
154
155
Ibid.
156
157
C. G. Conn’s Truth 5, no. 10 (September 1904): 9.
158
173
instruments, not hard to learn and always in
great demand.159
The following statement was made in 1912:
Saxophone Quartettes have proven to be the most

entertaining combination of reed instruments of
the entire reed family, and as a consequence
quartettes are now being organized throughout
the country, and in most every instance the
Conn Saxophones are being adopted.160
One cannot underestimate the impact of the Lefebre
Saxophone Quartette on creating such a “great demand” for
saxophone quartets.
Saxophone bands were a logical extension of the
quartet phenomenon. O. P. Thayer’s Saxophone Band of
Rock Springs, Wyoming was touted as “The Most Unique Band
of Wind Instruments in America.”161 Comprised of 18
saxophonists (SSSSAAAAAATTTTBBBBs), two clarinetists, two
drummers and one drum major, this band was perhaps the
first of its kind in North America, dating from 1902.162
The first bass saxophone manufactured by C. G. Conn was
made for Thayer’s Saxophone Band:
The new Saxophone Monster Grand Bass in

Contra Bb is a magnificent instrument of
heroic proportions, but is not at all hard
to blow or awkward to handle. It is
something new in America, where less than
a dozen are in use. The first Wonder
Contra Bass Saxophone was made for Mr.
Thayer’s Saxophone Band of Rock Springs,
159
G. C. Conn Co.’s Truth 9, no. 3 (October 1909): 9.
160
161
C. G. Conn’s Truth 5, no. 4, supplement (December 1902): 3.
162
Ibid.
174
Wyoming. It was a costly instrument, and
a good many must be sold before the
expense of making it will be fully
recovered.
The Rock Springs Press upon the arrival
of the instrument in town, commented on it
as follows:
The new bass Saxophone for the Thayer
Saxophone Band, arrived yesterday morning,
and more than meets the expectations of
the purchasers in its tone, tune,
workmanship and beauty. Conn, the maker,
assures Mr. Thayer that it is the largest
saxophone ever manufactured, and that the
cost to produce it was a thousand dollars.
The instrument, while very large, is
nicely proportioned and embodies graceful
curves, and Mr. Thayer is very much
pleased with its tone, and it will add
very greatly to the harmony of the band.
Patsy Lochren, who will groom the new
instrument, has gone into active training
and has already developed a lung power
that would blow the glass dial off a lung
testing machine.163
The above was compelling evidence Lefebre had, in no
small measure, begun to achieve his goal of mass
popularity for the saxophone!
During the summer of 1904, Lefebre again toured the
Midwest, but this time as a soloist. In September, he
made a trip to St. Louis for the World’s Fair. These
events are recounted in the December 1904 issue of C. G.
Conn’s Truth:
163
Ibid.
175
It is wonderful what an affection the
musicians have for Mr. E. A. Lefebre, the
revered pioneer of the Saxophone and the
greatest exponent of that beautiful instrument
the world has ever known. He recently bade
farewell for a time to the friends that he had
made at Sioux Falls, S. Dak., preparatory to
his visit to the World’s Fair, where he was
exceedingly energetic and very successful in
demonstrating the qualities of the Wonder
Saxophones at the Conn exhibit. There with
Prof. [James] Boyer and Mr. [Hobart] Davis,
such trios, duets and solos were never heard.
Before he left Sioux City, the 2nd Regiment
band gave him a testimonial concert which was
very successful and helped out Lefebre’s
exchequer considerably. He makes friends
wherever he goes, being a kind hearted, good
natured gentleman as well as a skillful
musician ever generous and ready to entertain
his friends.164
Lefebre apparently toured with a quartet comprised of
three women formed in early 1905. A possible
configuration of this quartet was:
Edward A. Lefebre
Florence Mackay
Katheryne Thompson
Ida Weber
Both Thompson and Weber were members of Lefebre’s
Quartette of 1909.165 Considering that past quartets
included some of his own students, it is likely that
164
165
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette Program, Ventura (California), 6 May
1909, Kathleen Maxwell collection, Valencia, California.
176
Florence Mckay and Katheryn Thompson, both students of
Lefebre, were members of this group. Thompson later
studied with H. Benne Henton.166 According to a published
testimonial, Thompson performed on a Buffet saxophone and
switched to Conn after playing first Lefebre’s instrument
and then Henton’s.167
In the 1920s, Thompson and saxophonist colleague
Lewis J. D’Ippolito founded the Thompson-D’Ippolito
School of Saxophone in Los Angeles, where enrollment
peaked at over 100 students. As an educator, she
authored no less than three method books (The Thompson
Progressive Method for the Saxophone, Practical Studies
in Bass Clef for Saxophone, and The Ragtime Saxophonist)
and composed four solos (“Barcarolle,” “Bubble and
Squeak,” “Carolyn—Melodie,” and “Valse Caprice”).168 She
was also the director of the Southern California
Saxophone Band, which performed often on KHT radio in Los
Angeles,169 and leader of the Melody Four, a group of
three saxophonists and a pianist.170 As a soloist with
the Navassar Ladies Band c.1911-12,171 Thompson had many
successes with such pieces as Felix Arndt’s Nola, Victor
166
167
Ibid.
168
Southern California Music Company advertisement, Los Angeles,
c.1926.
169
Gee, Saxophone Soloists, 160
170
171
177
Herbert’s A Kiss in the Dark, Seitz’s The World is
Waiting for the Sunrise172 and Love Sends a Little Gift of
Roses.173
The last published correspondence of Lefebre to
Charles Conn is found below:
Lefebre is happy in the possession of one of

the new model Soprano Saxophones. The alto is
his solo instrument, but the gem like beauty of
the new model soprano attracted him, and if his
saxophone quartette, composed of three ladies
and himself is organized he will take up the
soprano as the leading instrument.
In his letter of January 9th, upon receipt
of the new instrument, he writes discursively
of its fine tone, perfect tune and mechanism.
Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 9, 1905.
My Dear Mr. Conn: -First of all I wish to

express my thanks for the sending of the new
model Soprano Saxophone. I have devoted a few
days to study this little beauty and I can
freely say that it is far superior to the
French. The quality of tone is grand. Now
then, what makes our vocal artists like Melba,
Nordica, etc., so great. First of all for the
great volume of voice which is needed for Grand
Operas. I once had a conversation with some
renowned artists in New York about the great
Cellist Holman. I asked them to inform me why
Mr. Holman had made such a great hit at the
Seidl Concerts. “Why?” “Well, Lefebre,” they
answered, “this artist produced such a big tone
upon his cello that sometimes it sounded as
grand as if there were six cellos playing in
unison.” I get about the same result from the
new model Soprano Saxophone, besides it is so
well in tune which certainly shows the hand of
172
Gee, Saxophone Soloists, 160
173
178
master work of the manufacturer. This fact was
also expressed to me while I played a few
moments upon the new model saxophone at the St.
Louis World’s Fair before the French saxophone
artists who visited your display at the Fair.
The easiness of touch, the key mechanism was
first of all commended by the French artists of
the Garde Republicane Band who spoke about
being superior to all French makes. Now then
in regard to the Tenor and Baritone for my
quartette, I laid the matter before the ladies.
I am already promised that as soon as I am
ready to open the concert tour with a ladies’
quartette to come to Cleveland, where I am
assured of a profitable engagement.
Respectfully yours,
E. A. LEFEBRE.174
It is unknown whether or not this “profitable engagement”
in Cleveland ever came to fruition. Lefebre continued to
tour with women (as well as men) saxophonists until May
of 1909.175
A posthumous account of Lefebre’s final years came
from G. E. Holmes and Clay Smith, both members of the
Apollo Concert Company:
The real inspiration that set thousands of

youngsters to marching forward was given to the
profession when E. A. Lefevre [sic], the noted
French saxophone soloist, made several annual
triumphal, “Patti farewell” tours of this
country. The last two years that this noble
old musical gladiator did solo work, he was so
deaf that he couldn’t hear a sound, and he
played his numbers, leaning with one arm on the
174
C. G. Conn Co.’s Truth, vol. 5, no. 12, (March 1905): 9.
175
179
piano, so in this way he could detect the
vibrations of the piano enough to keep fairly
well in tune with it. Lefevre was not a great
soloist technically, but the beautiful quality
of tone, individual style of phrasing, and
unequaled interpretations, have never been
excelled by any modern performer. He was
unquestionably the Paganini of the saxophone.176
The statement Lefebre “was not a great soloist
technically,” was perhaps an accurate assessment of
Lefebre’s later years, and an analysis of the majority of
Lefebre’s published solos would appear to corroborate
this sentiment. However, it was unlikely for Lefebre to
have earned the title of “Saxophone King” without
technical mastery (to say nothing of being the solo
clarinetist in professional orchestras). Within the
standard and ubiquitous theme and variations solo format
of the era, at least one variation (usually the last) was
reserved for technical display. Lefebre would have
certainly engaged in thousands of such virtuoso passages
throughout his career, performing on an instrument
inherently suited for such flexibility. One is again
reminded of Berlioz’s early evaluation of the saxophone:
Its agility makes it appropriate for turns with

a certain rapidity, almost as much as for
graceful cantilenas, and hymn-like pensive
effects. The Saxophone can be used to great
advantage in all genres of music, but above all
in slow, gentle pieces.177 (emphasis added)
176
177
Deans, “A Comprehensive Performance Project...,” 104-5.
180
Indeed, Lefebre’s performances ideally reflected this
rather apposite assessment.
Clay Smith compared Lefebre’s performances with
those of his contemporaries:
It is this younger generation of saxophonists

that are doing the seemingly impossible things
on this instrument. They apparently have no
limitations. There is no question but that the
grand old Lefevre [sic] was a great artist on
the saxaphone [sic], and perhaps no one has
ever surpassed him in tone production.
However, when it comes to execution, Harry
Lewis, Ben Vereecken, Homer Dickenson, Tom
Brown, Benne Henton, and a score of others have
him tied to a post...I want to give Mr. Lefevre
all the credit that he has so justly earned,
for I believe he has done more for the
advancement of the saxophone than any other man
that ever lived; but he lived in a different
age, and there are today one hundred
saxophonists where there was one in his day—
consequently, more good ones. Especially this
is true technically...Not recognizing any
limitations or realizing any impossibilities to
the saxophone, they are ushering in a wonderful
new epoch and are daily broadening the field
for saxophones.178
It would appear that Lefebre emulated the nineteenth-
century paradigm, as expressed by François Gevaert in his
Traité général d’instrumentation from 1863, where he
states: “The saxophone must be considered an exclusively
melodic instrument.”179
178
Thomas Smialek, “Performance Practices of Early 20th-century
Concert Saxophonists in the United States,” World Saxophone
Congress, Montréal, 7 July 2000, 3-4.
179
181
Substantial evidence to support Holmes’s and Smith’s
view that Lefebre was “unquestionably the Paganini of the
saxophone,” comes from numerous press clippings from
newspapers throughout the country, published in E. A.
Lefebre’s c.1903 promotional brochure:
A solo for the Saxophone was remarkably given

by Lefebre, who is king on his rare
instrument.—New York Herald.
Edward A. Lefebre the great Saxophonist, is

recognized as one of the most distinguished
soloists in the world, his reputation as a
gentleman and musical artist extends throughout
the enlightened portions of both hemispheres.
His polished manners and wonderful execution on
the Saxophone have won for him the highest
enconiums from press and people wherever he has
been seen and heard. Monsieur Lefebre is a
gentleman of large and varied experience, both
as a traveller [sic] and musician.—Picayune,
New Orleans [majority of text here originally
found in the 15 October 1884 issue of Musical
Courier.]
Mr. E. A. Lefebre’s Saxophone solo was one of

the artistic successes of the evening.—Chicago
Herald.
Monsieur E. A. Lefebre, the world renowned

Saxophonist who delighted thousands at the
Louisville Exposition last fall is in
Cincinnati. In a letter to a Louisville friend
he says that of all the cities he has ever
visited, our city takes the lead for
cleanliness and hospitality, and that our
people’s taste for classical music is greater
than that of any place he has appeared in. He
is engaged for sixty days at the New Orleans
Exposition.—Louisville Press.
Mr. E. A. Lefebre is the greatest master of the

Saxophone in the world. He wears many
182
decorations and medals, and is justly proud of
them.—San Antonio, Texas, Daily Express.
At Lake View Club, Chicago, Lefebre’s rendering

of the “Gate of Heaven,” by Tours, was to use
the feminine expression, “grand and
bewildering.” He was recalled three times and
when the last note of his final selection was
dying away a heavy sigh left the breasts of
music lovers, for they realized the pleasure
had come to an end.—[Newspaper Unknown.]
As usual Mr. Lefebre’s Saxophone solo earned

for him an uproarious recall.—New York Daily
Tribune.
The concert at the Gray’s Armory yesterday was

one of the most successful of its kind this
season. There were 2,300 persons in
attendance. Monsieur Lefebre’s saxophone solo
was another star number on the program. It was
only by chance that he was obtained for
yesterday’s concert. He is considered one of
the best Saxophone soloists in the country, and
his appearance yesterday was watched with
interest by hundreds of musicians of the city.
He was compelled to respond with two encores.—
Cleveland Leader.180
These accounts are likely only a small sample of
Lefebre’s total press coverage throughout his long and
celebrated career, which included tens of thousands181 of
concert appearances spanning six decades. Lefebre’s
influence was often direct. According to Clay Smith, of
the Apollo Concert Company, whose primary instrument was
trombone:
180
E. A. Lefebre Promotional Brochure c.1903, Lefebre family
collection, Saint Petersburg, Florida.
181
A conservative estimate of 200 performances per year (solo,
chamber, and ensemble appearances), times 50 years, equals 20,000,
not an unreasonable figure.
183
The first saxophone[s] the writer ever saw and
heard, made a deep and abiding
impression...They really seemed wonderful and
caused a great deal of comment by their
marvelous tone quality, and oddity of shape.
The novelty of the whole thing caught the fancy
so, that there and then was born the writer’s
first desire to play a saxophone.182
This “deep and abiding impression” was made while the
young Smith was in Indianapolis to hear the Twenty-second
Regiment Band, presumably sometime in the late 1880s or
early 1890s. Thus, Smith would have heard Edward A.
Lefebre as part of the saxophone section and likely as a
featured soloist. Smith and Holmes were also aware of
Lefebre’s quartet of the early 1900s, and would have
heard the eminent saxophone virtuoso while they were at
the St. Louis Exposition in 1904, which certainly was an
inspiration behind incorporating saxophone quartet music
into the Apollo Concert Company’s routine shortly after
the group was organized around 1905. The Apollos as they
were known, became widely known as multi-instrumental
performers on the lyceum and Chautauqua circuits.183 By
1914, the Apollo Saxophone Quartette had amassed a
library of over forty works, nearly all of which had been
arranged or transcribed by G. E. Holmes. This
collection, published 1n 1914, is perhaps most
182
Smialek, “Clay Smith and G.E. Holmes...,” 17.
183
Ibid, 21.
184
significant for the numerous original compositions penned
by Holmes for SATB quartet.184 Holmes and Smith formed
the Smith-Spring-Holmes Orchestral Quintette in 1915,
which included saxophone solos and duets, while the
Apollo Concert Company reorganized and continued to
perform into the 1920s.
Edward A. Lefebre continued to perform into his 70s.
He often appeared in concert with other saxophonists,
including his student Florence LaFollette Mckay, A. Lynn
Shaw, saxophone soloist with Liberati and Innes,185 and
Ben Vereecken, soloist with Pryor and Sousa. The concert
with Vereecken was reviewed in the Asbury Park Press (New
Jersey):
Asbury Park has just witnessed the great

saxophone competition, “par excellence,”
between the two Monsieurs—Lefebre and
Vereecken. Both were received with a hearty
oration.186
The Asbury Park Press later included a feature article on
Lefebre, written c.1909:
Mons. E. A. Lefebre,
The Grand Old Saxaphone [sic] Virtuoso.
It will no doubt be of great interest to many

of our readers to know that the great Saxaphone
184
Paul Cohen, “Vintage Saxophones Revisited,” Saxophone Journal 11,
no. 3, (Fall 1986): 6.
185
186
Asbury Park (New Jersey) Press, date unknown, c.1905, Steve Dillon
collection, Woodbridge, New Jersey.
185
[sic] Artist, Mons. Lefebre is still in active
service in the concert field. He has now
reached the age of 74 and as demonstrated at
one of New York’s popular recitals the other
evening, he retains all of the technic [sic],
vim and phrasing ability that he possessed in
the old days of Gilmore and his famous band.
We might add, that if anything, he appeared to
better advantage by reason of his long
experience and his continual daily practice,
than he did twenty years ago.187
Indeed, Lefebre not only continued to perform “popular
recitals” in New York, but his last known concert
appearance was with his “Los Angeles Saxophone Quartette”
on 6 May 1909 at the Lagomarsino Theatre in Ventura,
California.188 At age 74 and reportedly “so deaf that he
couldn’t hear a sound,”189 Lefebre was still touring
cross-country, performing 3000 miles away from his
Brooklyn residence! Truly, he was a “noble old musical
gladiator.”190
The personnel of this final quartet was:
Edward A. Lefebre Solo Alto Saxophone
Katheryne Thompson Second Alto Saxophone
Ida Weber Tenor Saxophone
Richard O. Robinson, Jr. Baritone Saxophone191
The quartet was assisted by Miss Edith Parker, reader,
Mr. Will Garroway, pianist, and Bartlett’s Orchestra of
187
Ibid, date unknown, c.1909.
188
189
190
Ibid.
186
Ventura. Lefebre’s “Los Angeles Saxophone Quartette,”
under the management of Richard O. Robinson,192 was likely
comprised of players from the Los Angeles area, who
performed with Lefebre while he was in California.
Thompson was a student of Lefebre.193 His relationship to
Weber and Robinson is unknown.
Lefebre’s declining health forced his eventual
retirement from public performance by the summer of
1909.194 During the last two years of his life, Lefebre
gave private concerts “from time to time” at his Brooklyn
residence, 201 Ryerson Street.195 These private
performances continued until just a few weeks before his
death on 22 February 1911 at 11:50am.196 Funeral services
were given at his home on Saturday evening, 25 February,
at 8 p.m. and he was buried on Sunday, 26 February, at
Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn.197 There is no headstone
or marker to indicate his final resting-place.
191
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette Program, Ventura, 6 May 1909.
192
Ibid.
193
It appears Thompson and Lefebre had a very close relationship, for
upon Lefebre’s death, Edward A. Lefebre Jr. wrote to Thompson, “No
doubt you will be very much grieved to hear of my father’s death on
the 22nd...” He enclosed his father’s obituary from the Brooklyn
Daily Eagle with his letter. Edward A. Lefebre Jr., Brooklyn, to
Kittie E. Thomson [sic], Los Angeles, 28 February 1911, Kathleen
Maxwell collection, Valencia, California.
194
195
Ibid.
196
The Metronome 27, no. 4, (April 1911): 16.
197
Plot 2107, Nazareth.
187
CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
Edward A. Lefebre was the most important saxophonist
of the nineteenth century. Apart from Adolphe Sax
himself, Lefebre (who had met the inventor) did more than
any single individual to bring acceptance to the
saxophone, promoting its use around the world. His
almost heroic commitment to popularizing the saxophone,
covering six decades and three continents, included
nearly all facets of performance, pedagogy, and
production.
Lefebre was certainly one of the catalysts for the
impending “saxophone craze” of the 1920s, where world
totals in saxophones reached over one million by decade’s
end, including over 800,000 in America.1 Evidence of a
strong increase in saxophone popularity can be seen
nearly ten years earlier, in 1911, the year of Lefebre’s
death. According to the October 1921 issue of Conn’s
Musical Truth:
THOUSANDS OF ORDERS HAVE BEEN FILLED IN 1921.
We are building the largest number of

Saxophones per month on the year’s average than
has ever been dreamed as possible.
1
Jaap Kool, Das Saxophone, trans. Lawrence Gwozdz, (Hertfordshire,
England: Egon Publishers Ltd., 1987), 19
188
WILL THE SAXOPHONE CRAZE SLACK UP?
Not for Conns. Since 1911 the Conn Factory

has been delayed with orders for its
Saxophones. The reason is obvious.
Conn Ltd. Saxophones Possess the Best Scale.

The Best Tone Quality—That Rich, Full,
Yet Brilliant Quality.
MONS. E.A. LE FEBRE [sic]

The King of Saxophone Artists of his day, was
the first critic of Conn Saxophones. He stated
in his last years: “The Conn Saxophones will
be the greatest sellers of all brass and reed
instruments.” He was right. He further said:
“Some manufacturers do not know what the tone
quality of a Saxophone should be and for that
reason many of most of them sound as if a rag
was stuffed in the bell of their instrument.
But not so with a Conn—it is a perfect
delight.2
If one is to believe that Conn was “delayed with orders
for its Saxophones” since 1911, then it must be concluded
that with Lefebre’s demise, hints of the “saxophone
craze” began. This was, in fact, what Conn confirmed on
the inside cover of one of its saxophone catalogs c.1920:
To E. A. Lefebre has been given the greater

share of credit as the prophet of the
saxophone’s popularity which is enjoyed today.
When a young man in Europe he became acquainted
with the inventor, Adolphe Sax. He promised to
adopt his instrument and to devote his efforts
toward its introduction.3
One reliable indication of the rising popularity of
saxophones in the early twentieth century comes from the
ever-increasing volume of saxophones sold by C. G. Conn,
2
C. G. Conn, Limited, Muscial Truth 11, no. 29, October 1921, n.p.
189
which, by the 1920s had reached nearly seventy-five
percent of Conn’s total output.4 For the ten-year period
of 1900-1909, sales of Conn woodwinds totaled over 12,000
units. For the next five years 1910-1914, sales of
woodwinds were also over 12,000.5 This translates to a
one hundred percent increase in sales. The Buescher Band
Instrument Company saw a similar increase in the same
period.6 Clearly, much of this increase can be
attributed to the demand for saxophones.
Earlier evidence foreshadowing (or perhaps
instigating) the steep rise in saxophone popularity comes
from 1901 when Conn introduced its “C Melody” saxophone,
a non-transposing tenor instrument.7 This saxophone was
ideally suited for amateur instrumentalists who wished to
play directly from their favorite piano or vocal scores
without the need for on-sight transposition skills.
According to C. G. Conn’s Truth:
The beautiful tone of the Wonder Saxophones

insures a substantial market for the New
Instrument in C for its tone and pitch is
peculiarly adapted for Song Music and Solo
playing with piano accompaniment. The
introduction of the Wonder Saxophone in C
places at the disposal of the Amateur
Saxophonist an enormous and varied repertoire
of music, in the shape of regular piano scores
3
4
Bro, “The Development of the American-Made Saxophone...,” 16.
5
Krivin, “A Century of Wind Instrument Manufacturing...,” 81.
6
Lars Kirmser’s Music Trader, “Buescher/Bundy Serial Numbers.”
7
C. G. Conn’s Truth (Elkhart), November 1901, 5.
190
of Ballads, Serenades, Nocturnes, Obligatos to
Vocal Solos, all of which may be used without
transposition and in connection with piano.
This addition to the Saxophone family will
be hailed with delight by those who desire to
cultivate music in the home circle, invaluable
at impromptu musicales affording a novel
variety to the conventional programmes of such
functions, for the Saxophone is an entertaining
instrument whether in Solo, Duett, Trio,
Quartette, with or without accompaniment.8
The new century formation of the Rock Springs Saxophone
Band, of Rock Springs, Wyoming, complete with C. G.
Conn’s first bass saxophone,9 was a microcosm of eventual
mass appeal.10
Lefebre’s leading role in bringing the saxophone to
prominence was also suggested by historical accounts of
the Gilmore Band by Buescher:
The introduction of Saxophones in the modern

up-to-date Military band should be credited
largely to the late Patrick S. Gilmore, the
noted Bandmaster, who probably did more than
anyone else in bringing Saxophones from almost
total obscurity in this country so far as their
use in Military Band work was concerned to the
point of greatest popularity which they enjoy
today.11
As well as Conn:
Saxophones first became known in America

through the late Patrick Gilmore, who was
probably the first great bandmaster in America
to recognize their melodic and harmonic value,
and his Saxophone Soloist, Monsieur E. A.
8
Ibid.
9
C. G. Conn’s Truth (Elkhart), supplement to December 1903, 3.
10
See also chapter V.
11
True-Tone XIII, no. 7, 1913, 15.
191
Lefebre, was the first great exponent of the
beauties of that instrument...12
The collaboration between Lefebre and Gilmore was indeed
an exceptionally successful endeavor.
Edward A. Lefebre was uncompromising in his “mission
to bring his instrument into favor.”13 His own words
reflect this commitment:
I work to become a man of reputation by solo

playing and to make the Saxophone popular, this
I have done with success.14
...the Saxophone has become more popular than

it use to be..., since 1885 I have worked hard
and suffered in financial business on account
of making it more known, if I had work [sic] my
clarinet business up, I perhaps would have been
better offer [sic]; and in spite of all this, I
am still at it;15
The words of his contemporaries corroborate Lefebre’s
statements, including G. E. Holmes and Clay Smith of the
Apollo Concert Company:
The real inspiration that set thousands of

youngsters to marching forward was given to the
profession when E. A. Lefevre [sic], the noted
French saxophone soloist, made several annual
triumphal, “Patti farewell” tours of this
country.16
12
13
Gilmore Band program, Music Hall, Cleveland, OH, 8 December 1888,
Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
14
Edward A. Lefebre, Brooklyn, to David Blakely, New York, 12
Library, New York.
15
Edward A. Lefebre, Brooklyn, to Caryl Florio, New York, 26
November 1902, Robjohn Collection, Library for the Performing Arts,
16
192
...Mr. Lefevre [sic] has done more for the
advancement of the saxophone than any other man
that ever lived;17
As well as those at C. G. Conn (see above).
It is now eminently clear his tireless efforts—indeed,
his obsession—to popularize the saxophone and promote its
use throughout the world were an unequivocal success.
Edward A. Lefebre was a direct link between Aldophe
Sax and the European orchestral tradition of the
nineteenth century, and the eventual widespread
popularity, mass appeal, and world-wide acceptance of the
saxophone in the twentieth century. It has long been
held that the saxophone remained in relative obscurity
throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, however,
Lefebre’s career and mission prove otherwise. Lefebre’s
active and vigorous promotion of the saxophone on three
continents, in all areas of performance, pedagogy, and
production, provided hundreds of thousands of listeners
with their first impression of the saxophone. His hope
was that such impressions would be overwhelmingly
favorable and that one day, the saxophone would prosper.
Indeed, the saxophone is today thriving. Lefebre’s faith
and effort has been heartily rewarded.
17
Smialek, “Performance Practices...,” 3.
193
APPENDIX A
PERFORMANCES
SOLO PERFORMANCES
DATE LOCATION TITLE COMPOSER
4/17/63 F Nationale Zangschool, The Hague Air variè uit Lucie de Lammermoor L. J. Lefèbre
10/18/73 G Academy of Music, Brooklyn Fantasie Air Suisse Singelée
1/15/74 G Academy of Music, Brooklyn Swiss Air, and Variations Lefebre
4/11/74 G Boston Music Hall Norma Fantasie Bellini
4/12/74 G Boston Music Hall Air and Variations Singelée
1/30/75 G Tremont Temple, Boston Area Fantasie Originale Lefebre
1/31/75 G Boston Theatre Norma Fantasie Bellini
7/1/75 G Gilmore Garden Solo for Saxophone Unknown
8/30/75 G New York Air Varie Lefebre
10/31/75 G Gilmore Garden Andante Religioso Praeger
12/4/75 G Franklin Lyceum Norma Fantasie Bellini
4/12/76 G Salt Lake City Variations on Casta Diva Bellini
5/25/76 G Centennial Grounds, Philadelphia* Air Original Savari
5/26/76 G Centennial Grounds, Philadelphia* Aria Sonnambula Bellini/Singelée
6/3/76 G Music Pavillion, Lansdown Valley Air Suisse Varie Singelée/Lefebre
5/28/77 G Gilmore's Concert Garden Variations on Casta Diva Bellini
5/28/77 G Gilmore Garden Norma Fantasie Bellini
8/7/[77?] G Gilmore Garden Norma Fantasie Savari
7/13/81 G Manhattan Beach Solo for Saxophone Savari
1/13/82 G Mechanics Building, Boston Le Carnival de Venice Solo Paganini
2/3/83 F Lefebre Benefit, Steinway Hall, NY Andante Pastorale Lefebre
2/3/83 F Lefebre Benefit, Steinway Hall, NY Operatic Airs and Ballads Unknown
7/3/83 G Manhattan Beach Fantasie Brilliante Savari
7/7/83 G Manhattan Beach The Heart Bowed Down Balfe
7/18/83 G Manhattan Beach Sweet Spirit Hear My Prayer Wallace
7/20/83 G Manhattan Beach Norma Fantasie Bellini
7/25/83 G Manhattan Beach Thy Heart Bowed Down Balfe
8/11/83 G Manhattan Beach The Dream of the Rose Shubert
8/12/83 G Manhattan Beach Reverie Vieuxtemps
8/13/83 G Manhattan Beach Der Freischutz Weber/[Savari]
8/20/83 G Manhattan Beach The Rose of Killarney Benedict
8/26/83 G Manhattan Beach Reverie Vieuxtemps
8/28/83 G Manhattan Beach Song for Saxophone Murio-Celli
5/14/85 F Church of the Puritans Solo for Saxophone Bartlett(?)
8/18/85 G Manhattan Beach Air Varie Originale Savari
9/17/85 G Manhattan Beach Elegie Riviere
7/15/86 G Manhattan Beach Air Varie Lefebre
7/17/86 G Manhattan Beach Swiss Air Varie Savari
7/22/86 G Manhattan Beach Chant Religieux Damersmann
7/24/86 G Manhattan Beach Air and Variations Hartmann
8/18/86 G Manhattan Beach Romanza Norrito
9/2/86 G Manhattan Beach Chant de Marie L. J. Lefebre
9/11/86 G Manhattan Beach Le Carnival de Venice Solo Paganini
3/16/87 F Steinway Hall Solo for Saxophone Unknown
7/16/87 G Manhattan Beach Answers Blumenthal
7/25/87 G Manhattan Beach Air Varie Pacini
9/8/87 G Manhattan Beach Solo for Saxophone Lefebre
6/20/88 G Kansas City* Angel Serenade Norrito
7/5/88 G Manhattan Beach Air Varie Rode
7/21/88 G Manhattan Beach Tyrolean Singelee
7/26/88 G Manhattan Beach The Rose of Killarney Benedict
8/1/88 G Manhattan Beach Trio Robert Thallon
8/28/88 G Manhattan Beach Souvenir des Alpes Hartmann
9/8/88 G Manhattan Beach Evening Prayer Shelley
9/12/88 G Manhattan Beach Suisse Singelee
9/14/88 G Manhattan Beach The Rose of Killarney Thomas?(Balfe?)
9/15/88 G Manhattan Beach Resurrection Shelley
6/9/89 G Mechanics Building, Boston Resurrection Shelley
8/2/89 G Manhattan Beach* Der Freischutz Weber/[Savari]
8/17/89 G Manhattan Beach Serenade Celestial Norrito
6/29/90 G Manhattan Beach Reverie Cavalini
7/10/90 G Manhattan Beach Look Upon the Stars Keine
7/26/90 G Manhattan Beach By-Lo Land Bellstedt
6/17/91 G Madison Square Garden Swiss Air Varie Singelee
7/18/91 G Manhattan Beach Lefebre Waltz Bellstedt
8/18/91 G Manhattan Beach "Lullaby" from the "Sea King" Stahl
8/20/91 G Manhattan Beach On Thee Beloved Keirulf
9/1/91 G Manhattan Beach "Lullaby" from the "Sea King" Stahl
9/3/91 G Manhattan Beach Angel Serenade Norrito
7/24/92 G Manhattan Beach Solo for Saxophone Unknown
8/28/92 G Manhattan Beach* Resurrection Shelley
8/29/92 G Manhattan Beach* Norma Fantasie Bellini
Unknown G Grand Opera House Situ Savais Balfe
Unknown G Toledo Angel Serenade Norrito
7/5/93 S Manhattan Beach Solo for Saxophone Elyne Renaud
7/6/93 S Manhattan Beach Der Freischutz Weber/[Savari]
7/19/93 S Manhattan Beach Resurrection Shelley
8/2/93 S Manhattan Beach Chant Relegieux Demersseman
8/7/93 S Manhattan Beach Hasto, Love Robyn
9/7/93 S St. Louis Exposition Solo for Saxophone Unknown
12/3/93 S Brooklyn Resurrection Shelley
1/18/94 S Brooklyn Resurrection Shelley
2/4/98 F Benefit to Vonna Fitzgerald Fantaisie Pastorale Singelée
10/7/98 F Company E 157th, Indiana, U.S.V. Fantaisie Pastorale Singelée
11/8/98 F Lefebre's Grand Concert [Elkhart] Ave Maria [Gounod]
12/5/98 F St. John's Church [Elkhart] O Meo Fernando Unknown
6/29/99 F Music Teacher's Assn. [Indiana] Der Freischutz Weber/[Savari]
7/30/99 F Island Park Concert [Indiana] Lebeted Unknown
12/4/99 F Elks Memorial Service [Elkhart] Unknown Unknown
1900-9 F United States and Canada Various Various
F = Freelance, G = Gilmore, S = Sousa

Composer = Original Work for Saxophone
*Barry Furrer Collection
The Majority of Gilmore Programs are located at the Library for the Performing Arts,
CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCES
DATE LOCATION TITLE/INSTRUMENTATION COMPOSER

4/17/63 F Nationale Zangschool, The Hague Meditation (saxophone, piano, organ) Gounod
1/13/66 F De Cursus, The Hague Aria (tenor voice, saxophone, piano) Stradella
1/13/66 F De Cursus, The Hague An das Bildniss einer abwesenden Mutter Andrè
(piston, saxophone, piano)
1/15/74 G Academy of Music, Brooklyn Quartet for Saxophones (SATB) Singelée
5/27/77 G Gilmore Garden Quartet for Saxophones (SATB) Savari
4/30/80 F Chickering Hall, NY Allegro de Concert (SATB saxophone quartet) Florio
4/30/80 F Chickering Hall, NY Concertante Quintet (piano, SATB saxophone quartet) Florio
11/18/82 F w/Seventh Regiment Band, NY Duet for Saxophone and Cornet Unknown
2/3/83 F Lefebre Benefit, Steinway Hall, NY My Heart Ever Faithful (saxophone obligato) Bach
8/19/83 G Manhattan Beach Untitled Octet Foster
(SATB saxophones, 2 bassoons,
sarusophone, contra fagotti)
8/29/83 G Manhattan Beach Nearer My God to Thee Mason
(octet as above)
10/19/85 F Soirèe hosted by Charles Kunkles Concertante Quintet (piano, SATB saxophone quartet) Florio
10/19/85 F Soirèe hosted by Charles Kunkles Menuet and Scherzo (saxophone quartet) Florio
6/27/86 G Manhattan Beach The Wanderer's Night Lied (w/soprano saxophone) Rubenstein
7/10/86 G Manhattan Beach Colored Camp-Meeting ter Linden
(octet as above w/alto saxophone solo)
8/21/86 G Manhattan Beach Swan Song (w/flute) Rubenstein
7/13/87 G Manhattan Beach Rolling Bark (w/4 horns) Kucken
8/6/87 G Manhattan Beach Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
8/11/87 G Manhattan Beach Rolling Bark (w/4 horns) Kucken
9/3/87 G Manhattan Beach Elegie (w/4 horns) Vivian
9/8/87 G Manhattan Beach Light of Heaven (w/flute, piano) Gounod
9/8/87 G Manhattan Beach Evening Serenade (w/flute, piano) Thallon
1/16/88 G Tremont Temple, Boston Area Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
2/2/89 F Mason & Hamlin Organ and Piano Co. Resurrection (w/violin, piano, organ) Shelley
2/2/89 F Mason & Hamlin Organ and Piano Co. Light of Heaven (w/violin/piano/organ) Gounod
5/2/89 G Battery "B" Armory, Pittsburgh* Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
4/17/90 G White's Opera House, Concord, Mass* Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
5/5/90 G Temple Opera House, Elizabeth Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
5/25/90 G Albaugh Opera House, Wash., D.C. Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
11/26/90 G Allen's Opera House, New Castle, PA* Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
8/28/91 G Manhattan Beach Stella Confidenta (alto saxophone obligato) Robandi
10/10/91 G Grand Opera House, Colorado Spr. Moonlight on the Lake (w/4 horns) Reichardt
10/18/91 G St. Louis Exposition Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
11/5/91 G Tabernacle, Salt Lake City Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
11/5/91 G Tabernacle, Salt Lake City Moonlight on the Lake (w/4 horns) Reichardt
5/19/92 G Bath, Maine* Moonlight on the Lake (w/4 horns) Reichardt
10/24/-- G Central Music Hall Image of the Rose (w/4 horns) Reichardt
1/9/93 F Lefebre Benefit, Hardman Hall, NY Evening Prayer Shelley
1/9/93 F Lefebre Benefit, Hardman Hall, NY Reverie Kiehl
1/9/93 F Lefebre Benefit, Hardman Hall, NY Resurrection (w/cello, piano, organ) Shelley
1897-00 F Elks and other Social Functions Popular Selections (AATB) Various
Conn Wonder Quartette,
Elks Quartette
1901-9 F United States and Canada Popular Selections (AATB) Various
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette
5/6/09 F Lefebre’s Popular Selections (AATB) Various
Los Angeles Saxophone Quartette
F = Freelance, G = Gilmore, S = Sousa

Composer = Original Work for Saxophone
VARIATIONS PERFORMED WITH BAND
DATE LOCATION TITLE COMPOSER
1/15/74 G Academy of Music Grand Divertimento on the Airs of All Nations Jullien
5/24/77 G Gilmore Garden Grand Concert Air & Variations Riviere
8/7/[77?] G Gilmore Garden Grand Concert Air & Variations Riviere
3/7/88 G Unknown Le Carnival de Venice, var. 6 Paganini
4/1/88 G Broadway Theatre Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
4/8/88 G Broadway Theatre Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
4/13/88 G Columbia Opera House* Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
6/21/88 G Kansas City* Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
8/23/88 G Manhattan Beach Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
5/2/89 G Battery "B" Armory, Pittsburgh* Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
5/22/89 G Grand Opera House, Harrisburg* Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
6/6/89 G Mechanics Building, Boston Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
6/10/89 G Portland, Maine* Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
6/25/89 G Chicago Exposition* Le Carnival de Venice, var. 5 Paganini
11/5/91 G Tabernacle, Salt Lake City Columbia Gilmore
9/1/92 G Manhattan Beach* Columbia Gilmore
12/18/92 G Boston Theatre Columbia Gilmore
G = Gilmore
APPENDIX B
PUBLICATIONS
SOLO TRANSCRIPTIONS/ARRANGEMENTS
YEAR TITLE COMPOSER FORMAT SOURCE
1898 Adagio (Concerto Militaire) C. Kühn Eb UM
<1898 Ah, Che la Morte Verdi Eb, Bb
<1898 Air Varie H. Painparé Eb
<1898 Album Leaf S. Jadassohn Eb
<1905 Album Leaf R. Wagner Eb
<1898 Alexandria J. Levy Eb, Bb
<1905 Alice Where Art Thou J. Ascher Eb
<1898 Alla Mazurka G. Goltermann Eb
1889 Andante Pastorale E. A. Lefebre Eb CFNRE
1908 Annie Laurie unknown Eb SSR
<1898 Arie Concertante Ackermann Eb
<1898 Auld Lang Syne, Grand Fantasia H. Round Eb
<1905 Ave Maria C. Gounod Eb
<1898 Ave Maria L. Luzzi Eb
<1905 Ballade De Swert Eb
1904 Ballet music from Faust C. Gounod Eb UM, SSR
<1905 Beneath Thy Window C. Le Theire Eb
1904 Berceuse (Cradle Song) B. Godard Eb UM, SSR
<1898 Blue Bells of Scotland, Air and Varie P. de Ville Eb, Bb
1906 Boquet of Melodies, Fantasia various Eb SSR
(Petit Lullaby, Carnaval of Venice,
Dixie, Star Spangled Banner)
<1898 Call Me Thine Own S. J. Cox Eb
1898 Cantilena G. Goltermann Eb SCA
1900 Caprice-Gavotte E. Gillet Eb UM
1898 Cavatine J. Raff Eb SCA
1888 Cavatine from Bohemian Girl Balfe Eb CFNRE, SSR
<1905 Elegie H. W. Ernst Eb
1898 Fantaisie sur La Somnambule J. B. Singelee Eb
<1898 Fantasie Pastorale J. B. Singelee Eb
1900 Flower Song G. Lange Eb SCA
<1898 Gipsy's Warning unknown Eb
1905 Give me thy Heart traditional Eb UM
<1905 Hearts and Flowers T. M. Tobani Eb
1904 Hungarian Dance J. Brahms Eb SSR
<1898 In the Lovely Month of May unknown Eb
<1905 Intermezzo Sinfonico P. Mascagni Eb
<1898 Killarney Balfe Eb
<1905 La Paloma Yradier Eb
1898 La Perle de Zurita (Habanera) L. Diehl Eb
1898 Laendler C. Bohm Eb SCA
1904 Last Rose of Summer, Fantasia unknown Eb
<1898 Les Bluets, Theme and Variations H. Prendiville Eb, Bb
<1905 Let Me Dream Again A. Sullivan Eb
<1898 Long, Long, Ago, Grand Fantasia H. Round Eb
<1898 Longing for Home, Theme and Variations J. Hartmann Eb
<1905 Lost Chord, The A. Sullivan Eb
<1898 Love Song Prochazka Eb
<1905 Love's Old Sweet Song J. L. Molloy Eb
<1905 Massa's in the Cold Ground S. Foster Eb
<1898 Men of Harlech, Grand Fantasie H. Round Eb
<1905 Merry Postillion, The F. Abt Eb SCA
<1898 Minstrel Boy, Air and Variations H. Prendiville Eb, Bb
<1905 My Heaven on Earth E. Neumann Eb
<1905 My Old Kentucky Home S. Foster Eb
1904 Nocturno, Op. 32, No. 1 F. Chopin Eb SSR
<1898 O How Kindly Thou Led Me Beethoven Eb
<1905 Old Folks at Home S. Foster Eb
1900 On the Meadow Lichner Eb SCA
<1905 Only a Dream W. V. Wallace Eb
<1905 Palms, The J. Faure Eb
1898 Pilgrim Chorus (Tannhäuser) R. Wagner Eb SCA
<1898 Polish Dance X. Scharwenka Eb
<1898 Polonaise from Mignon A. Thomas Eb
1908 Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep unknown Eb SSR
1890 Romance Beethoven Eb SSR
<1905 Rubinstein's Melodie in F H. Wagner Eb
<1898 Scenes that are Brightes, Grand Fantasia H. Round Eb
1904 Serenade F. Schubert Eb SSR, UM
1908 Shepard's Pipe, The Louis Gregh Eb SSR
<1898 Si Tu Savais (If thou could'st know) Balfe Eb
<1905 Simple Aveu F. Thome Eb
1898 Somnambula, Fantasia J. B. Singelee Eb
<1905 Sweet By and By Webster Eb
1889 Tyrolean Maid, The E. A. Lefebre Eb
1906 Un Ballo in Maschera Verdi Eb SSR
<1898 Wedding Procession A. Terschak Eb
<1898 You'll Remember Me, Grand Fantasia H. Round Eb
<1905 Young Werner's Parting Song W. Nessler Eb
CFNRE = Carl Fischer’s New and Revised Edition (1889)
SCA = Saxophonist’s Concert Album (1903)
UM = Universal Method (1908)
SSR = Saxophonist’s Solo Repertoire (c.1910)
All were sold individually as
“Carl Fischer’s Celebrated Solos for Saxophone.
As Played, Transcribed and Arranged by E. A. Lefebre.”
DUETS
<1905 Forget Me Not unknown Duet, Eb
1898 Pleasant Companions E. A. Lefebre Duet, Eb
<1898 Traum der Sennerin A. Labitzky Duet, Eb
QUARTETS
1912 Allegro de Concert J. B. Singelee AATB
>1905 Hunting Song Lefebre? SATB, AATB, SAAT, AAAT
c.1904 Quartette from Rigoletto G. Verdi SATB, AATB, SAAT, AAAT
1904 Ballet Music from Faust C. Gounod AATB
<1905 Soldier's March from Faust C. Gounod AATB
<1905 Wedding Procession A. Terschak AATB
Saxophonists with the 22nd Regiment Band
Patrick S. Gilmore, Director
1873—4—5—6—7—8—9—80-1—2—3—4—5—6—7—8—9—90—1—2—
Franz Wallrabe (S)
Eustach Strasser (S)
M. Davidson (S)
Edward A. Lefebre (A)
Henry Steckelberg (T)
Fred ter Linden (T)
E. Schaap (T)
F. William Schultze (B)
T.F. Shannon (Bs)
Saxophonists Who May Have Augmented The Section

Fred ter Linden or C. Lunyack (Bs) c.1880
Saxophone Sextette (SATTBBs) c.1889
“The Famous One Hundred Men”
Ten-piece Saxophone Section
St. Louis Exposition, September 1892
W. H. Eisen Eı sopranino saxophone
M. Davidson, M. J. Moreing Bı soprano saxophone
E. A. Lefebre, E. Martinez Eı alto saxophone
E. Schaap, H. Wahle Bı tenor saxophone
F. W. Schultze, J. Kneip Eı baritone saxophone
L. Knittel Bı bass saxophone
APPENDIX E
LEFEBRE FAMILY HISTORY
The lineage of Edward Abraham Lefebre is as follows:
Edward Abraham Lefebre (1834-1911)
Edward Abraham Lefebre Jr. (1866-c.1940)
Edward Henry Lefebre (c.1915-1983)
Edward Robert Lefebre (1937- )
Edward John Lefebre (1960- )
Edward Adam Lefebre (1980- )
Not much is known about Edward Abraham Lefebre and his
family life other than he was married and had seven
children. However, one thing is certain: Edward A.
Lefebre, Jr. was extremely bitter toward his father.
According to Carol Lefebre, the wife of Edward Henry
Lefebre, Edward Jr. was relegated to stay at home with his
mother and help raise the family, while his father was out
touring. He was said to have gone out to the railroad
tracks with a bucket to pick up lumps of coal that had
fallen off the trains. This was used to heat the Lefebre
home. Money was not regularly sent back to the family,
thus, Edward Jr. had to work to help support his mother and
siblings. It would appear that Edward Jr. never forgave
236
his dad for being a father in absentia. He led an
embittered life, with only the harshest of words spoken on
his father’s behalf.
Edward Jr. kept many of his father’s belongings until
the 1930s, when they were sold for pawn. Stewart George,
Edward Jr.’s cousin, retrieved E. A. Lefebre’s 1903 gold-
plated Conn alto saxophone and kept it for 25 years. Upon
George’s retirement, he gave the saxophone to Edward Henry
Lefebre, believing it belonged on the Lefebre side of the
family. The saxophone remained in its case in the attic.
Edward John Lefebre became interested in the instrument
when, as a young boy, his grandmother, Carol Lefebre, would
take him up to the attic to show him the saxophone and tell
her grandson what little history she knew of the Saxophone
King. Most of what the family knew of E. A. Lefebre came
from their copy of Harry Wayne Schwartz’s Bands of America,
published in 1957 by Doubleday and Company. Edward Henry
retired in the 1970s and gave the saxophone to Edward
Robert, who also kept the instrument in storage.
In the late 1980s, Edward John had a strong interest
in restoring the saxophone to its original condition, and
thus it was handed down to the next generation. Upon
restoration, the instrument was given new life by Edward
Adam Lefebre, who performed on his great, great, great
237
grandfather’s saxophone in the West Islip Junior High
School Band! (The band director protested due to extreme
difference in tone quality between the vintage and late
model saxophones in the section.) In 1993, E. A. Lefebre
marched in the Columbus Day parade in New York City, one
hundred years after E. A. Lefebre performed at the
Columbian Exposition in Chicago. While Edward Adam no
longer plays the saxophone, Edward John is interested to
play it in the future.
238
ADDENDUM
EDWARD A. LEFEBRE AND BESSIE MECKLEM
Bessie Mecklem was born on 19 March 1875, in East
Orange, New Jersey. By age 14, she was performing on
programs with her father, Henry Clay Mecklem, who
accompanied her on harp.1 The father/daughter duo
appeared on a "Grand Vocal and Instrumental Concert given
by Mr. E. A. Lefebre" on 6 April 1890, at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music.2 On this occasion, the Mecklems
performed "The Song that Reaches the Heart," by Jordan.
Bessie Mecklem joined Lefebre on Thallon's "Evening
Serenade" for two saxophones and piano.3 This was
certainly an adaptation of an earlier rendition for
saxophone, flute, and piano, performed at Manhattan Beach
with Gilmore on 8 September 1887.4 Mecklem also
performed with Lefebre on the final selection of the
program, Harry Rowe Shelley's "Resurrection," for two
saxophones, piano, and organ. (Other chamber
performances of "Resurrection" included either a violin
or cello in place of a second saxophone.)
1
Betsy G. Miller, "Two Early Lady Saxophonists," unpublished
article, Columbia, SC, 1.
2
Ibid.
3
New York Herald, 6 April 1890, 8.
4
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), 8 September 1887, Manhattan
Beach, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New
York.
239
According to Mecklem's granddaughter, Patricia
Rittenhouse, Bessie took lessons from a man in New York
"who introduced the saxophone in this country."5 This
was none other than E. A. Lefebre, who often performed
with his students throughout his career. The Saxophone
King also worked regularly (teaching and performing) in
Elizabeth, New Jersey,6 a town some six miles away from
East Orange. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume
Mecklem and Lefebre would have had little trouble
coordinating a lesson schedule.
Bessie Mecklem had a brief, yet eventful career,
which included recording several Edison cylinders in
1892, appearing at numerous fraternal organization,
church, and Y.M.C.A. events, and performing with her
father on the entertainment bureau circuit.7 On 6 June
1893, Mecklem appeared at the Lee Avenue Congregational
Church with Sissieretta Jones. Jones was known as the
“Black Patti,” a comparison to Adelina Patti, one of the
most famous opera stars of the nineteenth century.8
Mecklem also soloed with Rogers' Seventh Regiment Band on
27 July and 3 August 1895 for a concert series in Central
5
Betsy G. Miller, Columbia, South Carolina, to James Noyes, New
York, 3 June 2000, electronic mail.
6
Edward A. Lefebre, Brooklyn, to David Blakely, New York, 6 and 12
Library, New York.
7
Miller, “Two Early Lady Saxophonists,” 1.
8
Ibid.
240
Park, where she received a “double encore.” One account
claimed she was the first woman soloist to perform
there.9 By the time of her marriage, c.1896, Mecklem had
"participated in over one thousand concerts"10 from
Pittsburgh, Rochester, and Toronto in the north, to
Baltimore and Richmond, Virginia in the south.11
As one of Lefebre's star pupils, Mecklem provided a
significant extension to his mission of popularizing the
saxophone. Her performances throughout the eastern
United States and Canada introduced countless listeners
to the saxophone, just as Lefebre had been doing
throughout the world. Further investigation into her
career is justly warranted.
(Additional information on Mecklem is found in
Chapter IV.)
A copy of the 6 April 1890 program listed in the New
York Herald is reprinted below.
9
Miller, "Two Early Lady Saxophonists," 2
10
Ibid.
11
Betsy G. Miller, Columbia, South Carolina, to James Noyes, New
York, 3 June 2000, electronic mail.
241
New York Herald, 6 April 1890, 8.
242
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1883.
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Hawes, 1873.
____________. “That Sweet Little Face at the Window,”

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246
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http.//www.musictrader.com/buescher.num.
Unpublished Interviews
Lefebre, Carole, wife of Edward Henry Lefebre, Saint

Petersburg, FL. Phone interview with the author, 10
August 1999.
Lefebre, Edward John, great, great grandson of E. A.

Lefebre, West Islip, NY. Interview with author, 16
August 1999.
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with the author, 12 December 1999.
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Alert Entertainment Bureau promotional brochure, 1894-5.

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Blakely, David, Business ledger. Blakely Papers, Special

Blakely, David, New York, to Edward A. Lefebre, Brooklyn,

28 February 1893. Blakely Papers, Special
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1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York
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Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public
Library, New York.
247
David Blakely, New York, 17 March 1893, Blakely Papers,
Special Collections, New York Public Library, New
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Blakely, David, New York, to Mrs. Patrick Gilmore, New

York, 8 March 1893. Blakely Papers, Special
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A Study of Saxophones Made by Buescher, Conn, Holton,
Martin, and H.N. White.” D.M.A. Diss., Northwestern
University, 1992.
Cantrell, Barton, New York, to Ida Padelford, Asheville, 23

January 1964. Robjohn Collection, Library for the
Deans, Kenneth. “A Comprehensive Performance Project in

Saxophone Literature with an Essay Consisting of
Translated Source Readings in the Life and Work of
Adolphe Sax.” D.M.A. Diss, University of Iowa, 1980.
Florio, Caryl, “Introduction, Theme, and Variations,” Title

Page of score manuscript, 1879. William James Robjohn
Collection, Library for the Performing Arts, New York
Florio, Caryl, “Quartette,” soprano saxophone part, [1879].

William James Robjohn Collection, Library for the
Gilmore Band Program, 18 November 1873. Frank Cipolla

collection, Buffalo, New York.
Gilmore Band Programs, 1876-1892. Barry Furrer Collection,

Bound Brook, New Jersey.
Gilmore Band Programs (uncatalogued). 1874-1892. Library

for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New
York.
Gilmore, Patrick S., Saint Louis, to David Blakely, New

York, 18 October 1891. Blakely Papers, Special
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D.M.A. Diss., University of Wisconsin, 1975.
248
Hester, Michael E. “A Study of the Saxophone Soloists
Performing with the John Philip Sousa Band, 1893-
1930.” D.M.A. Diss., University of Arizona, 1995.
Hindson, Harry. “Aspects of the Saxophone in American

Musical Culture, 1850-1980.” Ph.D. Diss., University
of Wisconsin - Madison, 1992.
Knittel, Louis, St. Louis, to David Blakely, New York, 15

July 1892. Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New
Krivin, Martin. “A Century of Wind Instrument

Manufacturing in the United States: 1860-1960.” Ph.D.
Diss, University of Iowa, 1961.
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Gilmore programs), Hardman Hall (New York), 9 January
1893. Library for the Performing Arts, New York
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6, 10, 12, and 13 February 1894. Blakely Papers,
York.
Lefebre, Edward A., Brooklyn, to Caryl Florio, New York, 6,

10, and 26 November 1902. Robjohn Collection, Library
for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New
York.
Lefebre, Edward A. Jr., Brooklyn, to Kittie E. Thomson

[sic], Los Angeles, 28 February 1911. Kathleen
Maxwell collection, Valencia, California.
Lefebre, Edward A. Promotional brochure c.1903. Carole

Lefebre Collection, St. Petersberg, Florida.
Lefebre Saxophone Quartette Program, Ventura (California),

6 May 1909. Kathleen Maxwell collection, Valencia,
California.
Levinsky, Gail Beth. “An Analysis and Comparison of Early

Saxophone Methods Published Between 1846-1946.” D.M.A.
Diss, Northwestern University, 1997.
249
Miller, Betsy G. “Two Early Lady Saxophonists.”
Unpublished article, Columbia, South Carolina, 2000.
Miller, Betsy G., Columbia, to James Noyes, New York, 3

June 2000. Electronic Mail.
Murphy, Joseph. “Early Saxophone Instruction in American

Institutions.” D.M.A Diss., Northwestern University,
1994.
Nimms, Wallace, Springfield, Massachusetts, to David

Blakely, New York, c. July 1892. Blakeley Papers,
York.
Pew, Howard, New York, to Charles G. Conn, Elkhart, 10 and

25 August 1892. Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
Ronkin, Bruce. “The Music for Saxophone and Piano

Published by Adolphe Sax.” D.M.A. Diss., University of
Maryland, 1987.
Scott, Fred, Chicaco, to David Blakely, New York, 16 July

1892. Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York
Smialek, Thomas W. Jr. “Clay Smith and G.E. Holmes: Their

Role in the Development of Saxophone Performance and
Padagogy in the United States, 1905-1930.” D.M.A.
Diss., University of Georgia, 1991.
Smialek, Thomas, W. Jr. “Performance Practices of Early

20th-century Concert Saxophonists in the United
States,” Lecture at World Saxophone Congress,
Montréal, 7 July 2000.
Sousa Band document, c. 1926. Barry Furrer collection,

Bound Brook, New Jersey.
Star Lyceum Bureau promotional brochure, 1893-4. Landauer

Stenberg, Julius, late 19th-Century scrapbook. America’s

Shrine to Music Museum, Conn collection, Vermillion,
South Dakota.
250
Trumpet Notes Band Manager, Elkhart, to Hillsdale Fair
Secretary, 22 July 1897. Trumpet Notes Band Archives,
America’s Shrine to Music Museum, Vermillion, South
Dakota.
Trumpet Notes Band Manager, Elkhart, to F. Zimmerman, Big

Stone City, 22 July 1897. Trumpet Notes Band
Archives, America’s Shrine to Music Museum,
Vermillion, South Dakota.
Trumpet Notes Band, Minutes of Meeting, 10 June 1897.

Trumpet Notes Band Archive, America’s Shrine to Music
Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota.
Trumpet Notes Band, Unidentified Letters, 20 August 1897

and 29 October 1898. Trumpet Notes Band Archive,
Dakota.
U.S. Army Principal Depot Band program, found with

uncataloged Gilmore Band programs. Library of the
Performing Arts, New York City Public Library, New
York.
Young, Barnie G., Letterhead. Trumpet Notes Band Archives,

Dakota.
Unpublished Government Documents
1880 Census Records. National Archives, New York, New

York.
Lefebre’s Naturalization Papers. National Archives, New

York, New York.
251
INDEX
Aledo, M. F., 138

Arbuckle, Matthew, 33, 35-6
Bartlett, Clarence, 146-8
Bartlett, Homer N., 72-3
Becker, F. R., 87, 99, 101, 173
Beebe, Henriette, 47, 49
Biese, Paul, 137
Blakely, David, 81-4, 91-4, 98, 101-11
Bode, A., 86, 90-1, 93-4, 96
Boyer, James, 136, 138-9, 146-9, 165, 176
Brooke, Thomas Preston, 115-6, 137, 166
Buescher, Ferdinand August, 123-4, 131
Campanini, Cleofonte, 160-2
Cappa, Carlo A., 64, 90
Clark, H. L., 93, 96
Conn, C. G., (C. G. Conn Company), 35, 78, 97, 99, 113-4,
122-149, 162-179
Conway, Patrick, 115, 137, 168
Cook, J. D., 138
Dale, Benjamin B., 55-7
Davidson, M., 74, 84
Davis, Hobart, 139, 176
Dickenson, Homer, 136, 165-7, 181
D’Ippolito, Lewis J., 177
Dotson, Carol, 169-71
Eisen, W. H., 84
Fischer, Carl, 21, 74, 118-21
Florio, Caryl, 43-52, 152-8, 165
Geiss, Henry, 136, 139
Gilmore, Patrick S., (22nd Regiment Band), 2, 24-5, 27-43,
45-6, 50-1, 53-4, 56-9, 62-6, 68-81, 84-97, 103, 106,
111-2, 191-2, 114-6, 185
Hall, Harry A. (A. C.), 81-2, 138
Hall, Mac H., 165-6
Hausknecht, J., 55-6
Henton, H. Benne, 168, 177, 181
Holmes, G. E., 179, 181, 183-4
Kavanagh, 57
Kimball, Frank Willard, 171-3
Kimball, John Albion, 172
Kneip, J., 85, 235
Knittel, Louis, 82-3, 85
Kruger, Charles W., 99
Kryl, Bohumir, 168
Lacalle, J., 91-3, 96
252
Lefèbre, Louis J., 16, 19-20
Levy, Jules, 87, 127, 135-6, 148
Liberati, Alessandro, 82-3, 115, 127, 135 148-9, 166, 184
Libornio, J. S., 145
Linden, Johann Gottlieb Friederich “Fred” ter, 51, 53, 55,
56-60
Linden, Louise, 60-2
Lunyack, C., 53, 55
Mackay, Florence L., 138, 162-3, 176, 185
Majinol, F. A., 83, 127, 130
Martinez, E., 84
Mecklem, Bessie, 61-2, 239-242
Moeremans, Jean, 96-7, 100-1, 108, 111-2
Moreing, M. J., 84, 96-7
Morin, H., 115
Mundwyler, 57
Neuendorff, Adolphe, 49, 60-1, 114
Nimms, Wallace, 97, 130, 145
“Nordica,” [Lillian Norton], 37
Norrito, J., 55, 57, 80
Parepa Rosa, Euphrosyne, 22-4, 67, 72, 160-1
Paul, Fred, 101
Pew, Howard, 128-9
Porpora, Steffano, 138
Prochaska, A. J., 137
Pryor, Arthur, 83, 102, 110-1, 137, 184
Raffayolo, M., 90-1, 96
Rangone, Vincent, 145
Reeves, David Wallace, 85-8, 94-5
Rietzel, William, 138
Robinson, Richard O., 186
Robjohn, William James, (see Florio, Caryl)
Rothe, Charles, 172
Rupp, 57
Sauer, 57
Sax, Adolphe, (acquaintace with Lefebre), 16-7
Schaap, E., 51, 74, 85, 115, 235
Schaich, Samuel, 86-7, 98, 101
Schensley, W. F., 101
Schultze, F. William, 31-2, 39, 45, 48, 51, 74, 85
Scott, Fred, 81-2
Shannon, Thomas F., 74, 86-7, 92, 96, 98-9, 105, 109
Shaw, A. Lynn, 173, 185
Shelley, Harry Rowe, 79-80, 89, 99-100, 105
Smith, Clay, 150, 179, 181, 183-5
Sousa, John Philip, 39, 65, 81-6, 90-101, 104-6, 110-13
Steckelberg, Henry, 31-2, 39, 45, 48, 50, 55-6
Stengler, A. P., 90-1, 93, 96
253
Stockigt, 91, 93
Strasser, Eustach, 31, 39, 45
Tichenor, Edwin, 138
Timmons, Edward, 83-4, 138
Thayer, O. P., 174-5
Thompson, Katheryne, 138, 176-7, 186
Thursby, Emma, 33
Traxler, Aaron, 137
Trognitz, R. E., 83
Urbain, 90-1
Vereecken, Ben, 121, 181, 185
Wahle, H., 85
Wait, J. Paul, (a.k.a. P. W. Waite?), 136-7
Walden, Frank W., 172
Wallrabe, Franz, 31-2, 45, 51-2, 55-7, 155
Wadsworth, F. W., 90-1, 96
Weber, Ida, 176, 186
Whitney, Myron, 160-1
Wiedoeft, Rudy, 121
Yeaglea, Will R., 136, 146-8
Young, Barnie G., 145
254
Lefebre’s Last Band: From Gilmore to Sousa (1892-4)
Published in The Saxophone Symposium 26 (2001): 20-51.
Edward A. Lefebre (1834-1911) was the preeminent saxophonist of the nineteenth
century. “Born with a mission to bring his instrument into favor,”1 Lefebre promised Adolphe
Sax (c.1850s) that he would promote the saxophone throughout the world.2 This life-long
commitment to popularizing the saxophone spanned six decades and three continents and
included nearly all facets of performance, pedagogy, and production. Lefebre’s widest exposure
came as soloist with the bands of Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (1873-92) and John Philip Sousa
(1893-4). It has been difficult to understand why Lefebre, who soloed with Gilmore for twenty
years (eventually becoming known as the “Saxophone King”), performed with Sousa for a mere
ten months, never to return as a soloist with a name band. An analysis of published newspaper
and journal articles and several unpublished letters∗ (including those written by Lefebre himself,
Sousa’s tour manager David Blakely, and saxophonist Jean Moeremans) provides an
illuminating account of the musical, social, and economic factors surrounding Lefebre’s last
months with the Gilmore Band and his truncated tenure with Sousa.
Lefebre’s mission to popularize the saxophone was supported (one might even say
championed) by nineteenth-century bandmaster Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore. Gilmore’s 22nd
Regiment Band of New York City was the first American outfit to incorporate an entire section
of saxophones (SATB) from its inception in 1873. This section was composed of:
Franz Wallrabe soprano saxophone
Edward Lefebre alto saxophone
255
F. William Schultze baritone saxophone3
Gilmore also featured for many years saxophone quartet chamber performances on select
programs. The first of these quartet appearances was on 15 January 1874, at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, where the above performed “Andante and Allegro,” by Jean-Baptiste
Singelée (appendix 1).4 This was likely the opening movement of Singelée’s Premier Quatour,
Op. 53, the first saxophone quartet ever written, composed in 1857 for the inaugural saxophone
class at the Paris Conservatory. Gilmore’s saxophone section also freelanced as the New York
Saxophone Quartet Club from 1873-85, during which time they performed numerous original
compositions written by Singelée, Savari, and New York composer Caryl Florio. Perhaps the
most interesting use of saxophones on Gilmore Band programs was in a chamber octet
comprising soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones, two bassoons, contrabassoon, and
contrabass sarrusophone!5 In the late 1880s Gilmore augmented the saxophone section to a
sextet, including B-flat bass (SATTBBs).
Death of Gilmore
Gilmore’s ranks swelled to one hundred musicians in 1892, including 36 “eminent
soloists, the elite of the musical profession.”6 The impetus behind amassing such a force came
directly from Gilmore’s strong showing at the St. Louis Exposition in the fall of 1891. In a letter
to David Blakely, Gilmore’s tour manager who would later contract tours of the Marine Band
and Sousa’s civilian band, dated 18 October 1891, Gilmore writes:
We had an enormous success here this year, so much so that the President and
Directors of the Exposition have engaged us One Hundred Strong—on my own
∗
All letters are unedited, with spelling and grammar reproduced exactly as in the original manuscripts.
256
terms for two years more. I will give concerts in cities that can bear it, with the
full band one hundred members after we finish here next year and I’ll bet you an
even $5000, I will make it pay big money.7
The “Gilmore 100” played Madison Square Garden, beginning on 30 May 1892.8 By the fall,
and billed as “The Famous One Hundred Men,” the Gilmore Band performed at the St. Louis
Exposition in September 1892, supporting a ten-piece saxophone section whose members were:
W. H. Eisen E-flat soprano saxophone
M. Davidson, M. J. Moreing B-flat soprano saxophone
E. A. Lefebre, E. Martinez E-flat alto saxophone
E. Schaap, H. Wahle B-flat tenor saxophone
F. W. Schultze, J. Kneip E-flat baritone saxophone
L. Knittel B-flat bass saxophone9
This “perfect one hundred piece band,” organized at the request of the administrators of the St.
Louis Exposition, had been together for only a few months when Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore died
suddenly in St. Louis on 24 September 1892. Gilmore, whose career had spanned nearly the
entire second half of the nineteenth-century and featured countless grand concerts and jubilees,
was universally accepted as the greatest bandleader of his generation. On 26 September 1892,
two days after Gilmore’s death, “Sousa’s New Marine Band” gave its first performance at the
Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey, ushering in the next and last great era of the
professional touring band.10
Three weeks following Gilmore’s death,11 while still engaged in St. Louis, the Twenty-
second Regiment Band drafted the following letter of invitation to David Wallace Reeves:
St. Louis, October 12

Mr. D. W. Reeves:
At a meeting of the band you were unanimously elected leader and
conductor of Gilmore’s Band. Knowing you to be the only man in America
257
worthy of keeping the band up to its high standard, and following in the footsteps
of our lamented Mr. Gilmore, we extend to you, air, a hearty welcome and
support, and beg you to name a day when you can meet the band.
C. W. Freudenvoll,
E. A. Lefebre,
A. Bode,
Carl O. D. Chiara,
John Sheridan,
Committee appointed by the band.12
Reeves was a likely choice to succeed Gilmore. Since 1866 he had led the American Band of
Providence, Rhode Island, and he was a well-known and respected composer, having written
over one hundred marches. Sousa once referred to Reeves as “the Father of American March
Music.”13 Unfortunately for Reeves, the aforementioned “hearty welcome and support” quickly
evaporated.
By November, six of Gilmore’s “best men” (including Raffayolo, solo euphonium, and
Stengler, solo clarinet) had signed on with Sousa.14 Rumors circulated that Reeves planned to
cut personnel,15 and as dissent among the ranks grew, the famed cornetist Jules Levy announced
his candidacy to lead the Gilmore Band, stating:
Mr. Reeves is not, as many people suppose, the leader of the Twenty-second
Regiment Band but was simply the choice of the members of the band as the one
who should fill out the remainder of the season’s tour.16
Levy, a soloist past his prime and forever burdened by self-inflicted financial woes, may have
attempted such a “coup” in an effort to salvage his sagging career.
The Gilmore Band was faltering under Reeves’s leadership. One account stated:
Ever since Reeves took the baton there has been trouble. There was not a man
in the organization who did not know the band repertoire better than Reeves.
They had all played it to the magic wand of the late Gilmore, and, as no two men
were ever known to beat time in exactly the same way, they were a trifle
unfamiliar with Reeves’s leadership. What wonder, then, that there should be an
occasional jangling discord? Instead of marking Reeves’s time, some played as if
Gilmore were still there, and the result was far from pleasing to the auditor.
A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION
258
Conservative musicians in this city, who were at the Musical Exchange
yesterday, say that there is an explanation of all such discordant incidents, and the
reason for this one was the individual opposition to Reeves by men who
purposely disregarded the leader’s “tempo,” just to make things uncomfortable for
him. The German element, however, in letters to their friends in this city, are
unanimous in their opinion of Reeves. He is an American musician, and upon this
they base their assertion that he cannot beat time so that Germans can
comprehend him, and for this reason they did not know “what they were at” half
the time.17
Reeves asked for the support of Gilmore’s widow in an attempt to boost public relations. A
program from the Boston Theatre, dated 18 December 1892 (appendix 2), announced:
Gilmore’s Famous Band,

Under the Direction and Management, by unanimous vote of the Band and cordial
endorsement of Mrs. and Miss Gilmore, of
D. W. REEVES
The following Message from Mrs. P. S. Gilmore tells its own story:
New York, N.Y., Dec. 10, 1892
My dear Mr. Reeves:
I wish to express to you, and through you to the Band my esteem of the honor
paid to the memory of Mr. Gilmore by the retention of his name in connection
with his Band, and by the preservation of the organization so dear to him,
virtually intact under your baton. Of you Mr. Gilmore always spoke
enthusiastically, and prophesied great popularity for you in the cosmopolitan field
in which you have entered to his honor, as well as to your own. The delicate,
generous and enterprising spirit you have manifested is beyond praise; and my
grateful esteem finds but inadequate expression in the sincere wish offered
herewith, that, as leader of Gilmore’s Band, you, with the Band, may drink long
and deeply of the golden draught of success which, at its sweetest, Mr. Gilmore’s
lips relinquished.
In his name, renewing my acknowledgements, and earnestly hoping that under
your able baton Gilmore’s Band may live long and prosper, I am
Cordially yours, Mrs. E. J. GILMORE.18
On this concert, Lefebre performed one of the variations of Columbia, written by the late P. S.
Gilmore. Another variation included “the lower woodwinds,” (comprising saxophones, bass
clarionet [sic], bassoons, sarusophone, and contra fagotto all in unison)!19 This tour to New
England was likely Lefebre’s final engagement as a member of the Twenty-second Regiment
Band.
259
“Lefebre’s Benefit Concert” of 1893 (one of many benefits over the years, the proceeds
of which presumably went to Lefebre, although this is uncertain) took place on 9 January, at
Hardman Hall on Fifth Avenue and Nineteenth Street, Manhattan (appendix 3).20 The
saxophonist performed Reverie by Kiehl, as well as Evening Prayer and Resurrection by Harry
Rowe Shelley (the composer performing on organ). Shelley made saxophone adaptations of
previous works, one an orchestral romanza, the other for voice. Each was first performed with
the Gilmore Band in September of 1888.21 A student of Stoeckel, Buck, and Dvorák22, Shelley
was once a “household name,” and was considered “one of the best melodists of his day.”23
Others who performed that evening were vocalists Ida Klein, soprano, Victor Clodio, tenor,
George H. Wiseman, baritone, and the violinist, van Praag, who performed various works of
Mendelsohn, Handel, Meyerbeer, Goltermann, Wieniawski, and Verdi.24
Lefebre Joins Sousa
The pool of saxophone talent for Sousa to choose from in the summer of 1892 was small,
but had included: Louis Knittel25 and F. A. Majinol26 of Alessandro Liberati’s Band; Charles W.
Kruger27 and Stanley Lawton28 of the United States Marine Corps Band (Sousa’s former
employer); W. F. Schensley of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West;29 Edwin S. Timmons of the 2nd
Regiment Band of Chicago;30 and R. E. Trognitz.31 None of the above saxophonists were ever
formally contracted to play with Sousa at this time. Knittel was soon hired to play the bass
saxophone with Gilmore, and eventually served under Sousa’s baton for the European tour of
1900.32 Kruger and Lawton joined Sousa in 1893 (see below), and Schensley was a member of
Sousa’s saxophone section from 1904 to 1916.33 Timmons, formerly an alto saxophonist with
Frederick Innes in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Brooklyn,34 became a featured saxophonist at the
1893 Columbian World Exposition in Chicago, performing with the Exposition orchestra and a
260
professional band.35 He was listed as the saxophone instructor at the Chicago Conservatory of
Music in August 1893.36 Trognitz became a soloist with Arthur Pryor’s Band and the City
Guard Band of San Diego.37
Saxophonists T. F. Shannon and E. A. Lefebre of the Gilmore Band also came calling on
Sousa. David Blakely, Sousa’s tour manager, attempted to clarify this awkward situation to
Patrick Gilmore’s widow. In a letter dated 8 March 1893, Blakely explained:
I desire most emphatically to say, that I never made an overture to any one of
Gilmore’s men before he died either directly or indirectly, except upon the
proviso of his own consent. Mr. Shannon applied for the position of Sergeant of
the Band immediately when he heard of its formation. I said to him that under no
circumstances would I take him into the Band, unless he would secure Mr.
Gilmore’s willing consent to his release. He subsequently came to me, and said
that he arranged with Mr. Gilmore to come with our Band, provided he would
leave his instrument with Mr. Gilmore for some other musician to use. It was
upon this assurance, and this alone, that I hired Mr. Shannon. Lefebre and Lacalle
also applied to me, and I declined to employ either of them. Lefebre, I knew Mr.
Gilmore would not wish to lose, and I declined him outright.38
Indeed, Lacalle had applied to join Sousa on 3 August 189239, later using his application as
leverage with Gilmore for an increase in salary.40 Judging from Blakely’s comments Lefebre
also applied to Sousa at this time, although no documented evidence exists of such an overture.
By September 1892, Sousa’s saxophone section (for the first nine-week tour) was
composed of the following performers:
Samuel Schaich Alto Saxophone (principal, not soloist)41
Thomas F. Shannon Tenor Saxophone42
Rudolphe Becker Baritone Saxophone43
Schaich, a clarinetist formerly with Simon Hassler’s band in Philadelphia, signed with Sousa in
early September.44 (Edwin Timmons, a candidate for saxophone soloist, was unable to travel to
New York “for examination,” and unable to tour before January 1893.)45 Shannon was
261
Gilmore’s former bass saxophonist and Becker was formerly with the Wanamaker Band in
Philadelphia. Mr. L. Jabon, a Belgian bassoonist with the New Orleans French Opera, helped to
broaden the saxophone search by forwarding the address of certain “Belgian Saxophones” to
Sousa in late August.46 Jean Moeremans’ first correspondence with Sousa came six weeks later:
Montréal October 15th/92

To Mr. John P. Sousa
Dear Sir
I received from Mr. Jabon your first Basson (sic), a letter in which he asks me to
join your band as Alto Saxophone Soloist. He also asks me to find him a Tenor
Saxophone Soloist, which I can do. But, I wish to tell you that I and other
gentleman, we both occupy a good position, and we do not care to leave it for $35
per week. That would be impossible. I, as Alto Saxophonist have just left the
“first Guides of Belgium,” where I have been during 8 years as Soloist and carried
by a unanimous verdict the medal and diploma as Soloist at the international
competition held at Courbevouie—Paris. I have also played with the late Mr.
Gilmore as Soloist. (The Tenor Saxophonist that I would present to you, is a
Gold Medalist from the Conservatory of Liege—Belgium; which Conservatory is
a very important one. If you should also wand a good Clarinettist, I have one at
your disposal, first prize with Medal, from the Conservatory of Gand—Belgium
and an ex-solo Clarinet at the Opera of the same city. I also wish to tell you that
we could not join your band before next March; on account of our engagement in
Montréal. Consequently, if you will pay us $50 per week, we will be at your
disposal from next March. Please let us know as quick as possible, because then
we could procure the instruments in the required [low] pitch. You will also oblige
me greatly by letting me know if you will want a Clarinettist. Hoping for an
answer I remain Yours Truly, Jean Moeremans
Saxophone Soloist
Shorner Park. or St. Louis Street.5.
Montréal Canada
Moeremans’ connection to Gilmore is unknown, however he may have performed as a guest
soloist with the Gilmore Band during their 1875 European tour, which had included Brussels.
Moeremans sent a second letter two months later:
Montréal 26 December 1892

My Dear Sir
Having received no answer to the letter, I would ask by the present letter if
you have decided to engage me as Alto Saxophone Soloist in your band. Please
let me know as quick as possible whether my conditions suit you, as I am offered
another engagement with a band for the World’s Fair. I also have at your disposal
262
a first class Clarinet—Soloist. Same conditions. Hoping to have an answer from
you as quick as possible.
I remain Sir Yours faithfully,
Jean Moeremans
St. Louis Street No.5
Montréal Canada47
Had Moeremans been available prior to March 1893, it is likely he, instead of Lefebre, would
have become Sousa’s first saxophone soloist. This conclusion is based on the fact that David
Blakely had declined “outright” Lefebre’s previous application to join Sousa and had serious
reservations about Lefebre’s “usefulness” as revealed in a letter to Frank Gaiennie, manager of
the St. Louis Exposition, dated 14 February 1893:
I do not know whether I have told you that the [Manhattan] Beach Managers who
had expected to take Gilmore’s Band for one-half the time have concluded that
they dare not do so. Most of the stars of their Band are now with us. We now
have Raffayolo, Stengler, solo clarinet, Wadsworth, flute, Urbain, Eb clarinet,
Lacalle, Bb clarinet, Miller, the drum artist, Shannon, saxophone, and Bode, the
first cornet. We also have applications from Lefebre, Stockigt, Henton, and
Conrad, which we shall probably not accept. Lefebre has lost the hearing of one
ear, which very much impairs his usefulness.48
According to Lefebre’s obituary in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, it was “while with Gilmore
he lost his hearing, because of the firing of the guns in the ‘Anvil Chorus.’”49 Giussepi Verdi
composed his opera Il trovatore in 1851-2 (revised in 1857), scoring for real anvils in the
percussion section. Gilmore added live artillery (ten guns fired by electricity from the
conductor’s stand50 in exact time with the music51) to his adaptation for band. The anvils (struck
by 24 anvil beaters in picturesque costume52) and guns, props in Gilmore’s arsenal as early as
1864, were used frequently and “caused a veritable sensation.”53 For those unfortunate band
members nearest to the guns, a few blasts at close range could have caused permanent hearing
loss on even a single occasion, let alone hundreds of concerts over many years. Other Gilmore
263
men must have suffered the same fate as Lefebre who by this time had been with the Twenty-
second Regiment Band for over a decade. By the end of his career, Lefebre’s deafness was total:
The last two years that this noble old musical gladiator did solo work, he was so
deaf that he couldn’t hear a sound, and he played his numbers, leaning with one
arm on the piano, so in this way he could detect the vibrations of the piano
enough to keep fairly well in tune with it.54
Gilmore’s guns of the “Anvil Chorus” took a terrible toll, yet Lefebre’s mission continued.
In January 1893 the Musical Courier announced that the Sousa Band had been contracted
for the St. Louis Exhibition (a seven-week engagement in the “Gateway to the West”) with a
suggestion “that Sousa is today the most conspicuous figure in the band world since the deaths of
Gilmore and Cappa.”55 Lefebre and other Gilmore men soon concurred. On 15 February 1893,
the Musical Courier disclosed further defections from the Twenty-second Regiment Band:
The [Sousa] band begins its spring tour April 10, and including its Beach
and St. Louis engagements, and its tours throughout the country and California,
will be continuously engaged for nine months, thus giving its musicians an
uncommonly long and continuous term of employment.
The band has just added to its original strength such names from
Gilmore’s Band as Wadsworth, first flute; Bode, the first coronet [sic]; Lefebre,
the distinguished saxophone soloist; Lecalle, Eb clarinet; Miller, the popular
manipulator of the snare drum, tympani, and traps; Urbain, Bb clarinet, and
others. Raffayolo, the famous euphonium player; Stengler, solo clarinet, and
others of Gilmore’s Band, had previously been enrolled amongst the stars of the
Sousa galaxy.56
While all of the performers listed above did eventually sign on with Sousa, this article was
premature in announcing Lefebre’s addition to Sousa’s ranks. Moeremans was still under
consideration:
Montréal 20-2-93
Dear Sir
In Answer to your last letter in wish (sic) you ask me what my conditions
are as Alto Saxophone Soloist my conditions are there. $50 per week when
travelling and $40 when in the city.
I remain Sir, Yours Truly,
Jean Moeremans
264
Artiste Musician
St. Louis Street, No. 5
Montréal Canada
In the end, Blakely appears to have to reconsidered Lefebre’s “usefulness”:
February 28, 1893

E. A. Lefebre, Esq.,
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dear Mr. Lefebre.-
I promised to inform you of my conclusion regarding your going with the
Band, and I do so now. I have determined, that I could not, under any
circumstances, pay over $60. [sixty] on the road, and $50 at the Beach and
Expositions. If you will accept this sum, I should be glad to have you as a
member of the band. You will find in it all the valuable members of the Band,
including Stengler, Stockigt, Raffayolo, Bode, Wadsworth, Miller, Urbain,
LaCalle, Conrad, and others. I should be glad to enroll with these, the name of
the distinguished saxophone, Lefebre; but I cannot do so except upon the offer
now made. And if this is unsatisfactory, you will please consider the matter
closed. Regretting that I cannot reach your views in the matter, I am,
Very cordially yours,
D. Blakely57
rd
Philadelphia March 3 /93
David Blakely Esqu. N.Y.
Dear Sir
Yours of Febr. 28th forwarded came to hand. Since I signed agreement on
refusall, and heard nothing after the same expired, I considered my self engaged
however, your offer now to me is somewhat different. I hope to return to N.Y.
next Sunday, if I have no delay at Westfield, Plainfield and Elisabeth, N.J. which
may be; but anyway I hope to call at your office Monday or Tuesday to talk the
matter over.
As I have been informed Mr. Sousa uses the lowe Pitch in that case I shall
have to order a lowe Pitch saxophone as the Gold Sax. I play upon now is high
Concert p. also my Silver one. As a new instrument to order will cost me at least
$125.00 and new Solo’s to play during the Summer and Fall Season will cost me
at least another $40.00 this brings me into enormous expence.
Mr. Glimore payed me at the Beach $50.00, St. Louis and on the road
$60.00 and he payed for novell solo’s which he wanted me to play on the Beach
(he payed) and since the last five years I played no fireworks which previllege he
only had given to me. Now to see that you only offer me $50.00 per week at
Chicago and St. Louis, is more astonishing to me than anything else, this wouldn’t
pay Lefebre, and neither is a pay for my reputation I got all over the U.S.A. I
couldn’t do this to receive lower pay. By inclosed you can see that I do different
business than any of the late Soloist of the Gilmore Band, and this line of business
I can increase, if I should not become a member of Mr. Sousa’s Band, and leave
the old Concern.
265
I want also say that If Mr. Gilmore had offered me $50 at St. Louis I
would have never played there.
I hope to have the pleasure to talk with you by next Monday or Tuesday
and Remain
Yours Resp.
E. A. Lefebre58
The discussion of high pitch (A=457Hz) and low pitch (A=440Hz) instruments refers to the two
competing tuning systems in use in the late nineteenth century. In 1914, low pitch became the
international standard. Jean Moeremans’ fee of $50 per week on the road (and $40 in the city)
likely increased Blakely’s bargaining leverage with Lefebre, resulting in the “somewhat
different” offer mentioned above. As Lefebre made sure to point out, his reputation “all over the
U.S.A.” as the reigning Saxophone King would bring unrivaled status and credibility to Sousa’s
new outfit.
Brooklyn March 5th/93

D. Blakely Esqu. N.Y.
Dear Sir
I hearby wish to say to you “yes” and accept the Salary you offered. I
wish to be a member of Mr. Sousa’s New Marine Band and injoi his splendid
conducting of which I have been informed by interned friends of mine.
I hope to call personal at your office Monday aft., or Tuesday Morning
March 7th.
Yours Resp.
E. A. Lefebre
The mass defections from Gilmore to Sousa produced tension and controversy. Blakely
explained his side of the story to Mrs. Gilmore:
Now then, when Mr. Gilmore died, and you decided to have no pecuniary
connections with the Band, I felt that no man living was more entitled to the
goodwill of the organization than I was myself. I felt that if those men who had
been so long in the joint employment of Mr. Gilmore and myself, wished to
follow me in any like venture, that is was right and proper that they should do so...
So far as the inducements held out by me to Gilmore’s men are concerned, I
have to say that in no instance have I paid greater salaries than the men were
receiving, and in most cases, considerably less. Lefebre finally came into the
office on Monday [6 March], and I closed a contract with him at $50. a week for
six months of the engagement, and $60. a week for three weeks only. Stengler
received $5. a week less than he did with Gilmore. Stockigt receives $50. a week
266
only. Bode has $5. per week less. Clark, $20. less, if he tells the truth, and so
on.59
Whatever the truth of the matter, Reeves and those loyal to the Gilmore Band felt betrayed. On
15 March, an open letter, having been circulated some days earlier, appeared in the Musical
Courier, bitterly attacking the “fossiled and worn-out members of Gilmore’s Band,” who had left
that organization for greener pastures. The letter, likely written by Reeves and signed as
“Gilmore’s Band,” does not mention Sousa specifically. However, there was deep resentment
toward the latter for having obtained exclusive playing engagements at the St. Louis Exposition
and Chicago World’s Fair, engagements, which had traditionally been reserved for the 22nd
Regiment Band under Gilmore.60 The so-called “fossils,” including Lefebre and Bode, both
previously on the committee that had invited Reeves to lead the Gilmore Band, responded with
the following:
A Card
The undersigned, late solo members of Gilmore’s Band, but now members of
Sousa’s Band, have observed with amazement the circular issued to the public,
signed “Gilmore’s Band,” attacking Sousa’s organization in general and the
undersigned in particular, and characterizing us as “fossiled and worn out
members of Gilmore’s Band.” Perhaps no person on earth, were he living, would
be more astounded and indignant than Mr. Gilmore himself to see such an attack
made upon the men who occupied his first chairs when he died, and whom he
took pleasure in advertising as his favorite soloists. Mr. Reeves, the present
leader of Gilmore’s Band, who has written this circular and who claims to be Mr.
Gilmore’s friend, could hardly have inflicted a deadlier insult to his memory than
to stigmatize him as having chosen and led, up to the time of his death, what Mr.
Reeves characterizes as “fossiled and worn out men.” This is sufficient to say of
this part of Mr. Reeves’ circular.
The undersigned left Gilmore’s and took an engagement with Mr. Sousa
because his band had been chosen to succeed Gilmore’s band for the long
engagements of St. Louis Exposition, the Manhattan Beach and the World’s Fair,
and in addition, long tours of concerts, thus affording his musicians a continuous
and extended engagement. It was also a great pleasure for us to enroll ourselves
under the leadership of so thoroughly accomplished and exceptionally successful
leader as John Philip Sousa, whose brilliant band it is an honor to any musician to
belong to.
267
It only remains to question the right of Mr. Reeves to sign the name of
“Gilmore’s Band” to any circular, or in any connection, considering the fact that
the band is now not only destitute of its late brilliant and lamented leader, but
most of the soloists who aided him in making it famous, and of the engagements
which had been so long identified with his successful career. These soloists and
these engagements being now in possession of Sousa’s Band, and its management
being the same as that which piloted Gilmore so successfully through the last five
years of his great career, itwould seem as if the question might be an open one
whether Sousa’s organization, if he wished it, could not lay greater title to being
“Gilmore’s Band” than the organization whose leader, by his wanton and
gratuitious attack upon the favorite musicians of Gilmore, has so belied the
latter’s character as a competent judge of the qualifications of the musicians
whom it was his pleasure to employ.
M. Raffayolo, euphonium soloist.
E. A. Lefebre, solo saxophone.
A. Bode, first cornet.
H. L. Clark, cornet soloist.
F. W. Wadsworth, first flute.
A. P. Stengler, first clarinet.
F. Urbin, first clarinet.
J. Lacalle, first clarinet.
Thos. F. Shannon, bass saxophone.
Hermann Conrad, tuba-helicon.
Ernst Mueller, drum and tympani.61
The “Gilmore Band” continued to play engagements for a few years to come, under the direction
of Victor Herbert. Wallace Nimms took Lefebre’s place as saxophone soloist.62 Before joining
the Gilmore Band, Nimms had been the E-flat clarinetist and saxophone soloist of the Overman
Wheel Company Band in Springfield, Massachusetts.63
The Sousa Band’s “Grand Colombian Tour” began in New Jersey on 20 April 1893 and
culminated at the Colombian Exposition at the Chicago World’s Fair in late May and June.
David Blakely indicated Thomas Shannon was now playing first clarinet on this tour.64 Moving
Shannon to the clarinet section allowed for the following, a likely configuration of the saxophone
section in Sousa’s Band from April through October 1893:
268
Stanley Lawton baritone saxophone
Kruger and Lawton were both “very anxious to go with [Sousa]” on his first tour in September
189265 and had applied for discharge from the United States Marine Corps at that time,66 but
were delayed until 1893. Kruger’s service was uninterrupted until he left the band prior to the
European tour of 1900. Lawton was with the band in 1893,67 1895 to 1903, and again from 1909
to c.1912.68
A Colombian Exposition brochure included a photograph of E. A. Lefebre, a soloist who
endorsed Conn saxophones.69 Conn’s “Wonder” saxophones were awarded a diploma and gold
medal at the 1893 Colombian Exposition.70 Conn began manufacturing saxophones in 1892 and
presented Lefebre with a gold-plated [high-pitch] saxophone at the Elkhart factory on 6 February
1892.71 (He likely received a low-pitch instrument from Conn when he joined Sousa.)
Beginning in July 1893, Sousa and his men performed for two months at Manhattan
Beach. Lefebre performed [Elégie] by Elyne Renaud during the 3:30 matinee on 5 July.
Subsequent solo appearances by Lefebre include selections from Der Freischütz on 6 July,
Elégie by Reynaud (saxophone solo with French horn quartet) on 15 July72, Resurrection by
Harry Rowe Shelley on 19 July, and Chant Relegieux by Jules Demersseman on 2 August 1893
(appendix 4).73 The Sousa Band returned to the Midwest for an engagement at the St. Louis
Exposition, which commenced on 6 September 1893. Lefebre performed an unknown solo on 7
September, and records of subsequent solo appearances in St. Louis remain to be found.
Lefebre soloed with Sousa in Brooklyn on 3 December 1893, and again at a charity
concert at the Metropolitan Opera House, known as the “greatest popular concert ever given in
Brooklyn,” on 18 January 1894. On both occasions, Lefebre performed Shelley’s Resurrection.74
Further Brooklyn dates included Sunday concerts on 21 and 28 January at Koch’s Railroad, as
269
well as an occasion at the Emerald Ball, Brooklyn, 31 January 1894.75 It seems only fitting that
Lefebre’s final appearances with Sousa would be in his American “hometown” of Brooklyn,
N.Y. where he lived with his wife, Anna. It was here that Mr. and Mrs. Lefebre raised four
daughters and three sons. Lefebre was also a Mason, a member of the Brooklyn Lodge of Elks,
and a member of the Musical Mutual Protective Union.76
Lefebre Leaves Sousa
Unsatisfactory salary negotiations resulted in Lefebre’s departure from the Sousa Band in
February 1894. In a letter to trombonist Arthur Pryor, dated 10 February 1894, Blakely summed
up the situation:
…[Sousa and I] have agreed upon salaries we should pay, and there is a decided
reduction all around. I am pleased to say that our men have almost universally
accepted the new schedule, and all our soloists, with one exception, that of
Lefebre, will be with us.77
The entire process, in which Lefebre resigned his position with Sousa, is fully documented
below:
42 Heart Street
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
This Ev” on my return from Elizabeth [N.J.] where I thought I had to stay untill to
morrow on account of a sale for a piano (and which was settled this noon) I found
your letter which informs me about the new interprice [enterprise], which does
not require for my benefit to think about, and I must kindly thank you for the
offer, this would be for me impossible to accept.
My private resources are to benefishal to me to leave the City of N. Y. under such
condition which would pay my hotel and accidental expences. Besides my
engagements with the Itilian Opera I had to give up, prospects are to glorious for
270
me; and my present income of my pupils for the piano and Saxophone are better
then what this new interprice offers me.
With Cordial Regards
I am Yours Resp.
E. A. Lefebre
P.S. When ever you wish to have a private musical at your Rooms just inform me
and I would invite talent for the occasion, and I have no doubt a lover of music as
you are will injoi it.78
One year earlier, Lefebre had vigorously negotiated with Blakely before accepting a salary of
$50.00 per week ($60.00 for three weeks). From the tone of this letter, Lefebre clearly felt the
present offer (c.$31.75 per week)79, little more than half his previous years’ salary, did not
dignify a counter-offer. In other words, Lefebre was saying, “Who in their right mind would
accept such an offer that would only cover the cost of lodging and incidental expenditures?” His
mention of piano and saxophone lessons can be seen as an attempt to provide a stark contrast
between teaching, an occupation in which musicians of any ability can secure, and concertizing
as a soloist, a career in which only the most talented and proficient of musicians are retained. By
writing in such a tone, Lefebre surely hoped Blakely would provide him with a more reasonable
offer. According to later correspondence, however, Sousa had apparently construed Lefebre’s
comments regarding the new enterprise “which does not require for my benefit to think about,”
as arrogant and believed the Saxophone King had no further interest in performing with the band
due to other “glorious prospects.” Lefebre’s initial shock and amazement over the first offer
turned toward bitterness and disgust when Blakely never responded. Four days later, a shaken
Lefebre looked to settle this unpleasant business with the Sousa Band, but his pride would not
allow him to address Blakely or anyone else in the organization in person.
42 Heart Street
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
271
Mr. Lion your Librarian has got my books, and score and parts of The
Resurection by Shelley, If he will delivery the books at 44 East 12th Street N.Y. I
will have the Saxophone over there, and the same will be returned when he
delivers my music.
The Saxophone when I received there was no case or bagg to it, and I
would not risk to express it this way, my friend who has his store at 44 East he
will take it along, so it will come safe in hand.
Resp.
E. A. Lefebre80
One can easily understand Lefebre’s exasperation at what he perceived to be unfair and wrongful
treatment. In a final attempt at reconciliation, Lefebre expressed his true feelings to Blakely,
providing thoughtful explanations for why he had rejected the initial salary offer outright (and a
conciliatory excuse for why he hadn’t come in personally). He even showed his sense of loyalty
and desire to stay with Sousa, by coming closer to Blakely’s terms. This document offers deep
insight into Lefebre the man, his aspirations, his convictions, and his integrity.
42 Heart Street
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
According to what I heard from Mr. Shannon that I expressed myself as I
didn’t care to play any more with Mr. Sousa’s Band. I must say, was not my
meaning. Contrairy, I always had the greatest respect for you. I know all the
business was made by Mr. D. Blakely even at the time when our Dear Patrick
Gilmore was alive, was always carried through succesfully by the Blakely Bros as
your brother knows I made those speeches before the Band I work for you and
Mr. Sousa with the greatest respect and pleasure. And will gladly continue but
even now, and for the time to come I wish you financial success.
Also I wish this for my self at least so much that I can exist over 23 years I
work to become a man of reputation by solo playing and to make the Saxophone
popular, this I have done with success.
When ask to join Mr. Sousa’s Band I left an organization which I had
served for over 19 years.
Now after I served Mr. Sousa’s Band only about 10 month, and already to
cut my pay as offered while others who never have made any reputation where
offered more this broke my heart. I never come amongst the musicians at the
Union, but once I was there and they informed me about the rumors etc.. and that
you had made different offers.
272
Will Mr. Blakely inform Sousa
1. I will say this if you pay me while on the road $45.00 (anyways outsight of
N.Y.) per week at Manhattan $40.00 per week and if you play for a long time at
the Garden $30.00 per week I should accept and continue with pleasure.
Hoping to hear from you
I am Yours Resp.
E. A. Lefebre
P.S. piano lessons I have to give during the day time keep me away from N.Y.
otherwise I would have called personal.
P.S. If it does not take to much of your valuable time just read this what I copied
from a Elizabeth paper Febr 4th/94 and for which private soirèe I get always
$25.00 and which shows that I am able yet to hold my listeners as any time
whenever I play solo.
Elizabeth febr. 5th 1894
Superb Music [for Charity’s Sake.]
Editor Journal—the writer had the good fortune of listening to an
unusually fine concert which was given last night at the residence of Mr. George
[T.] Meyer, by the celebrated Saxophone Virtuoso Mr. E. A. Lefebre, formerly
principle Soloist of Gilmore’s Band. Mr. Lefebre was asisted by Mr. Rauchfuss
flutist, Miss Meyer acting as acc[ompani]st. The program was an excellent one,
consisting of Classical music, and embracing many of the most beautifull and
most difficult pieces ever written for the Saxophone.
The great virtuoso was in excellent spirits, executing the most difficult
passages with ease, grace and artistic interpretation, as only a Lefebre is capable
of, and those who to him will remember the great musical treat.
etc. etc..81
This article, printed in the 7 February 1894 issue of the Elizabeth Daily Journal, continues:
During the short intermissions the writer purposely drew the conversation to the
present hard times and to our excellent and well-managed relief fund, incidentally
remarking how nice it would be if Mr. Lefebre could sacrifice one evening for the
benefit of our poor. He at once took great interest in the idea and assured me that
he would give the subject his serious consideration. “I am only too willing,” he
said, “to assist in such good work. The only question is whether my engagements
will permit me to do so, but I will try.” So the Elizabethans will probably have a
chance of listening before long to the great artist, at the same time having the
pleasure and satisfaction of contributing to the comfort of our poor.82
Blakely’s reply to Lefebre makes similar mention of the “present hard times,” stating, “The times
are such that sacrifices have to be made in all branches of business,” thus, the reduction in
salaries to band members. In the early 1890s, U.S. government revenue fell off sharply,
spreading fears that gold and silver certificates would no longer be redeemed in gold. Thus, in
273
the “Panic of 1893,” there was a rush to exchange treasury certificates for hard currency,
reducing the nation’s gold reserve from $190 million in 1890 to $65 million by 1894.83 It
appeared the U.S. would be forced to abandon gold payments, which caused an international
collapse in U.S. currency, resulting in numerous business failures, widespread unemployment,
and severe personal hardship.84 Indeed, the nation was in the throes of a depression.
Blakely’s reply can also be seen through the eyes of a businessman tired of the constant
negotiations with each and every player, some fifty-five total men. Lefebre was the final holdout
of the entire group, just as he had been exactly one year earlier. Nevertheless, Blakely
begrudgingly came up with an extra $3.25 per week added to his previous offer, extending a
courtesy to Lefebre by holding off on signing “the musician selected to take [Lefebre’s] place.”
(This unnamed musician was certainly Jean Moeremans, who had first been in touch with Sousa
sixteen months earlier in October 1892.) Blakely’s last-minute concession in an attempt to retain
Lefebre indicates a certain loyalty to the saxophone soloist. A glimpse of the relationship
between Lefebre and Blakely comes from Lefebre’s letter of 12 February, where he stated:
I know all the business was made by Mr. D. Blakely even at the time when our
Dear Patrick Gilmore was alive, was always carried through succesfully by the
Blakely Bros as your brother knows I made those speeches before the Band I
work for you and Mr. Sousa with the greatest respect and pleasure.
Lefebre had spoken on more than one occasion to the entire Gilmore Band on Blakely’s behalf
and it was now Blakely’s turn to show his loyalty to Lefebre. A weeklong engagement at
Madison Square Garden beginning 26 February was fast approaching and the subsequent tour to
the west and the San Francisco Exposition necessitated a quick conclusion to this matter.
Feb. 13, [1894]

E. A. Lefebre Esq.
Brooklyn N.Y.
My dear Lefebre:-
274
Your note is received. Mr. Shannon had agreed to give an answer to the
musician selected to take your place this morning. But learning from him that
you would come in to-day, I requested him to wait before closing, your visit here.
Your letter, however, answers the same purpose.
I cannot answer at further length this morning, than to say that it is
impossible for me to accept your terms. To show my disposition in your favor,
and my desire is to retain you, I will so far add to my proposition made the other
day, as to pay you $35 per week for the entire time of our next engagement, which
is expected to begin Feb. 23, and end about Dec. 8, and will constitute about 41
weeks. For this time, the amount will be $1435 instead of $1300 for the year
which I offered before, and which I did not entertain to change. If you prefer to
have this amount paid at the rate of $30 for one-half the time, when we shall be in
New York and Manhattan Beach, etc., and $40 for the other half, which will
comprise mainly the road half, it will be equally agreeable to me. But I wish you
to understand that this is the outside figure that I can, under any circumstances,
offer.
I will therefore thank you the moment you receive this to reply by wire,
simply saying “yes”, or “no”. Mr. Shannon has promised the player who is to
take your place in case you decline that he shall positively have his answer to-
morrow. And I cannot any longer postpone a decision.
I wish to add that no matter what anybody says to you, no discrimination
has been made against you. The salaries have been re-arranged throughout the
Band, with the purpose of making it self-supporting. This either had to be done,
or the enterprise abandoned altogether and I am happy to say that all the old
members of but you have willingly accepted the situation. The times are such that
sacrifices have to be made in all branches of business. And the musicians of our
Band have reason to congratulate themselves that in spite of existing conditions,
they will have a longer term of employment and in the end more money than they
had during the preceding year.
Should I receive no reply from you, by noon to-morrow, I shall consider
that you have declined my proposition as I cannot ask your successor to wait
longer.
Hoping that Lefebre will continue to be enrolled as a member of Sousa’s
Band, I am, as in any case I shall continue to be
[Very cordially yours,
D. Blakely]85
Considering Sousa’s trombone soloist, Arthur Pryor, was offered $1500 per year,86
Blakely’s final offer to Lefebre of $1435 was comparable. Nevertheless, Lefebre had a
much wider reputation throughout the world in 1894 than Pryor, a man less than half the
age of the seasoned saxophone soloist. According to Lefebre’s own account, rumors of
“different offers” may have made him acutely aware of such discrepancies, and thus he
275
felt disrespected and unfairly treated. Lefebre had worked years to build his reputation,
but he would no longer remain with Sousa under such terms.
42 Heart Street
D. Blakely. Esqr.
N. Y.
Dear Sir,
Yours I received this Ev” at 1.35. but it is impossible for me to accept
your terms.
While on the road, I couldn’t very well support my large family. Of
course, from the 10 month and one week engagement you, offer, the Band will be
most the time on the road.
Whosoever you engage in my place, this man hasn’t got the reputation I
got all over the N.A. and spasialy at the Beach and St. Louis, where Lefebre has
great number of admirers and who are always glad to see me back again, the late
Gilmore’s Soloist are beloved at the Manhattan Beach and St. Louis if you will
consider once more my conditions I stated in my letter of the 12th inst. and will
favor me with accept I shall be pleased to continue with Sousa’s Band.
And I remain Yours Resp.
E. A. Lefebre87
By 15 February, Lefebre was gone, Moeremans was on, and Blakely had “cleared away
all the cobwebs.”88 The saxophone section now consisted of:
Jean Moeremans alto saxophone
Rudolphe Becker baritone saxophone
Moeremans was engaged for ten years as Sousa’s saxophone soloist (1894-99, 1902-5) and his
first known solo appearance was on 26 May, at Madison Square Garden, performing Fantasie
Brilliante by Demersseman.89 Jules Demersseman (1833-1866) was a Belgian flute virtuoso and
composer, who wrote nearly a dozen works for saxophone, including the aforementioned Chant
Religieux played by Lefebre, during the years in which Adolphe Sax was the Professor of
Saxophone and Military Music at the Paris Conservatory (1857-70).90 Moeremans’ last months
with Sousa, during the spring of 1905 featured his solos accompanied by a quartet of saxophones
276
composed of William Schensley, alto saxophone, Fred Paul, alto saxophone, Samuel Schaich,
tenor saxophone, and Rudolph Becker, baritone saxophone.91 Moeremans’ final performance
with Sousa was on 10 June 1905 at Willow Grove, near Philadelphia.92
Belle Mahone
Lefebre’s quick exit from the Sousa Band and Moeremans’ subsequent arrival has
clouded the circumstances surrounding Belle Mahone, the only solo saxophone work written by
John Philip Sousa. Composed in 1885, Belle Mahone was a theme and variations solo
supposedly written for E. A. Lefebre.93 The particulars regarding the commission and/or
dedication of the work remain unknown, and Lefebre never performed it with either Gilmore or
Sousa. Jean Moeremans premiered Belle Mahone in the summer of 1894 (first known
performance on 30 July), less than six months after Lefebre’s departure.94 If this composition
had been completed in the 1880s, why didn’t Lefebre perform it with Sousa in 1893? One
unverified anecdote, as told by Harold Stephens (Sousa’s saxophone soloist during the 1925-26
season), alleges that Moeremans had purchased the work from “someone in upstate New York”
shortly after joining the Sousa Band.95 Sousa’s statement regarding the matter (also alleged by
Stephens) was that, “Lefebre died owing him [payment] for [composing] the solo.”96 If Lefebre
had owed Sousa money from 1885, this debt would likely have been settled in 1893 within the
terms of Lefebre’s contract when he became one of Sousa’s employees. If payment for Belle
Mahone were still at issue in 1894 (and until Lefebre’s death in 1911 according to Stephens),
why was no mention made in Lefebre’s or Blakely’s correspondence? If Sousa were bitter
toward Lefebre about owing him money, why was the last-minute retaining offer of $1435 made
in spite of there being a “musician to take [Lefebre’s] place”? By all appearances, money was
not the critical issue.
277
The timing of Lefebre’s departure and Moeremans’ almost immediate premiere of Belle
Mahone has had an appearance of being more than just a coincidence. According to
contemporaries G. E. Holmes and Clay Smith, Lefebre [performing in the last two decades of his
life] “was not a great soloist technically, but the beautiful quality of tone, individual style of
phrasing, and unequaled interpretations, have never been excelled by any modern performer.”97
This is corroborated by Lefebre’s published transcriptions and arrangements which are decidedly
cantabile (many being adaptations of popular operatic melodies), ideally suited to highlight the
vocal tone color of the saxophone. Did Belle Mahone demand bravura and virtuosity beyond
Lefebre’s technical limits? It was the last work on the final program to close the two-month
engagement at Manhattan Beach on 2 September 1894, which suggests it was a brilliant
showcase piece.98 The speed and facility with which Moeremans played his own variations on
Carnival of Venice, recorded in 1902 (and performed frequently with Sousa), offers dramatic
proof of his technical expertise. By the 1890s, Lefebre had lost the hearing of one ear (and
presumably suffered some hearing loss in the other), which, in Blakely’s own words had “very
much impair[ed] his usefulness [as a soloist].” A lack of technical facility (likely due to age)
exacerbated by partial deafness emerges as the most plausible reason for why Lefebre never
performed Belle Mahone. While the work may have been composed for Lefebre (whether he
was capable of playing it or not), once he resigned from Sousa’s Band, it stands to reason that
Lefebre forfeited his “rights” of performance to his successor, Jean Moeremans. The complete
truth of the matter may never be known and unfortunately Belle Mahone has been lost.
However, had Lefebre had the chance and had he been physically able during the 1893-4 season
to showcase that which eventually became “the most popular and significant work performed by
278
Moeremans,”99 one can be assured Lefebre would not have missed the opportunity to premiere
the work.
Now sixty years old (but hardly “fossiled and worn out”), Lefebre found new
opportunities to further promote the saxophone over the next fifteen years. On the production
end, he worked as a consultant at the C. G. Conn factory in Elkhart, Indiana, from 1895-1900,
and as a pedagogue, he taught at the Conn Conservatory from 1896-1900, while publishing
dozens of transcriptions and arrangements with Carl Fischer between 1888 and 1908. As a
performer, he led the Lefebre Saxophone Quartet, the first to make a transcontinental tour of the
United States and Canada between 1901 and 1903, and he freelanced as a soloist until 1909.
While ill for the last two years of his life, he continued to give private concerts “from time to
time” at his home until his death in 1911.100
Conclusion
The death of Patrick Gilmore, the rise of John Philip Sousa’s civilian band, the guns of
the “Anvil Chorus,” and the second worst economic depression in American history provided the
backdrop for a unique and unsettled chapter in the life of saxophonist Edward A. Lefebre. His
long-time employer, Patrick Gilmore, had been Lefebre’s strongest ally, a proponent of
saxophones in the wind band. From early performances featuring saxophone quartet alone, to his
last band, engaging an entire corps of ten saxophonists from sopranino to bass, Gilmore saw
saxophones as essential to his 22nd Regiment Band; and, for twenty years, Lefebre was the
section leader, soloist, and reigning Saxophone King. Sousa, however, retained Lefebre for one
season only. While Lefebre’s “usefulness” had been partly at issue, it was his pride and
stubbornness that played the decisive role in the failed negotiations and his perception of being
singled out and unfairly treated by the Sousa organization ultimately left him “heartbroken.”
279
Unsatisfied with Sousa’s terms, yet assured that his solid reputation and “glorious prospects”
would continue, Lefebre moved on.
1
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Music Hall (Cleveland), 8 December 1888, Library of Performing Arts,
2
3
Ibid, Academy of Music (Brooklyn), 15 January 1874.
4
Ibid.
5
Ibid, Manhattan Beach, 19 and 29 August 1883, 10 August 1886.
6
New York Times, 21 August 1891, 17.
7
Patrick Gilmore, Saint Louis, to David Blakely, New York, 18 October 1891, David Blakely Papers, Special
88
Musical Courier (New York), 18 Mayt 1892, 10.
9
Harry Hindson, “Aspects of the Saxophone in American Musical Culture, 1850-1980,” (Ph.D. diss, University of
Wisconsin – Madison, 1992), 10.
10
Michael Hester, “A Study of the Saxophone Soloists with the John Philip Sousa Band, 1893-1930,” (D.M.A. diss,
University of Arizona, 1995), 17.
11
Baritone saxophonist F. William Schultze accompanied Gilmore’s body on its return to New York.
12
Musical Courier (New York), October 26, 1892, p. 15.
13
Joseph Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction in American Institutions,” (D.M.A. diss, Northwestern University,
1994), 14-5.
14
David Blakely, New York, to Theodore Thomas, Chicago, 11 November 1892, Blakely Papers, Special
15
Musical Courier (New York), 23 November 1892, 17.
16
Ibid, 14 December 1892.
1717
D. W. Reeves, unidentified newspaper clipping in P. S. Gilmore Clippings File, Library for the Performing Arts,
18
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Boston Theatre, Boston, 18 December 1892, Library for the Performing
Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
19
This specific “lower woodwinds” instrumentation is indicated on other Gilmore Band programs.
20
“Lefebre’s Benefit Concert” Program (with uncatalogued Gilmore programs), Hardman Hall (New York), 9
January 1893, Library for the Performing Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
21
Gilmore Band Programs (uncatalogued), Manhattan Beach, 8 and 15 September 1888, Library for the Performing
Arts, New York Public Library, New York.
22
Dvorák, living in New York City at this time, completed drafts of the first three movements of his “New World”
Symphony by mid-January 1893.
23
William Osborne, “Shelley, Harry Rowe,” in The New Grove Dictionary of American Music, eds. H. Wiley
Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie, 1986.
24
Ibid.
25
Louis Knittel, St. Louis, to David Blakely, New York, 15 July 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New
26
Note Card of David Blakely, c.July 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New
York.
27
Charles W. Kruger, Washington, D.C., to John Philip Sousa, New York, 12 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special
28
Stanley Lawton, Washington, D.C., to John Philip Sousa, New York, 12 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special
29
Schensley business card, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New York.
30
Edwin S. Timmons, Chicago, to David Blakely, New York, 10 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
31
Note Card of David Blakely, c.July 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New
York.
280
32
Sousa Band photo with names of band members handwritten on back, Hamburg Germany, 30 May 1900, (housed
at the University of Illinois).
33
34
35
Ibid, 32.
36
The Musical Courier (New York), 23 August 1893, 12.
37
Joseph Murphy, “Early Saxophone Instruction...,” 28.
38
David Blakely, New York, to Mrs. Patrick Gilmore, New York, 8 March 1893, Blakely Papers, Special
39
J. Lecalle, Brooklyn, to David Blakely, New York, 3 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New
40
Note Card, 7 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New York.
41
“Sousa’s New Marine Band,” promotional booklet by David Blakely for the Washington State Opera House, 3
December 1892.
42
43
Frederick Hemke, “The Early History of the Saxophone, (D.M.A. diss., University of Wisconsin, 1975), 414.
44
Note Card, 4 September 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New York.
45
46
Howard Pew, New York, to John Philip Sousa, Boston, 31 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
47
Jean Moeremans, Montréal, to David Blakely, New York, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public
Library, New York.
48
David Blakely, New York, to Frank Gaienne, Saint Louis, 14 February 1893, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
49
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “Saxophone Soloist Dead,” 23 February 1911.
50
51
Gilmore Band Program (uncatalogued), Manhattan Beach, 9 September 1885, Library for the Performing Arts,
New York City Public Library, New York.
52
Ibid.
53
54
G. E. Holmes and Clay Smith, “The Saxophone is Coming Fast,” (Buescher) True Tone X, no. 2, (1915): 4.
55
56
57
David Blakely, New York, to Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, 28 February 1893, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
58
Edward A. Lefebre, Brooklyn, to David Blakely, New York, 3 March 1893, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
59
David Blakely, New York, to Mrs. Patrick Gilmore, New York, 8 March 1893, Blakely Papers, Special
60
Musical Courier (New York), 15 March 1893.
61
Ibid.
62
C. G. Conn’s Truth, vol. 2, no. 9 (March 1894): 7.
63
Wallace Nimms, Springfield, Massachusetts, to David Blakely, New York, c. July 1892, Blakeley Papers, Special
64
David Blakely, New York, 17 March 1893, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New
York.
65
E. Williams, Washington, D.C., to John Philip Sousa, New York, 12 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special
66
Charles W. Kruger, Washington, D.C., to John Philip Sousa, New York, and Stanley Lawton, Washington, D.C.,
to John Philip Sousa, New York, 12 August 1892, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library,
New York.
67
Varela photo, St. Louis Exposition 1893.
281
68
Sousa Band rosters, seating charts, etc. (courtesy Michael Hester).
69
70
71
C. G. Conn’s Truth, vol. 2, no. 2 (June 1892): 1.
72
The Musical Courier (New York), 19 July 1893, 17.
73
74
Ibid, 23.
75
Blakely’s business ledger, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New York.
76
77
David Blakely, New York, to Arthur Pryor, 6 February 1894, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York
78
Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, to David Blakely, New York, 6 February 1894, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
79
David Blakely, New York, to Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, 13 February 1894, (Blakely indicated $1300 for the
season, 41 weeks), Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York Public Library, New York.
80
81
82
Elizabeth (New Jersey) Daily Journal, 7 February 1894.
83
Harry J. Carman and Harold C. Syrett, A History of the American People, vol. II, since 1865, (New York: Alfred
A. Knopf, 1955), 265-7.
84
Ibid.
85
David Blakely, New York, to Edward Lefebre, Brooklyn, 13 February 1894, Blakely Papers, Special Collections,
86
David Blakely, New York, to Arthur Pryor, 6 February 1894, Blakely Papers, Special Collections, New York
87
88
David Blakely, New York, to M. H. De Young, San Francisco, 15 February 1894, Blakely Papers, Special
89
90
Ibid.
91
C. G. Conn Co.’s Truth, vol. 5, no.12, (March 1905): 9.
92
93
Michael Hester, “The Saxophone Soloists with the Sousa Band,” Saxophone Journal (March/April 1997): 64.
94
Ibid.
95
Ibid.
96
Ibid.
97
G. E. Holmes and Clay Smith, “The Saxophone is Coming Fast,” (Buescher) True Tone X, no. 2, (1915): 4.
98
Michael Hester, “The Saxophone Soloists with the Sousa Band,” Saxophone Journal (March/April 1997): 64.
99
Ibid.
100
282
POST-ADDENDUM
LEFEBRE’S BIRTH RECORD
16
8 Septembre 1835 á Leeuwarden
courtesy Jean-Marie Londeix
288
James Russell Noyes
83 Park Terrace West, Apt. 3E
New York, NY 10034
(212) 567-7617~james@jamesnoyes.com
1968 Born 13 June, Iowa City, Iowa.

1986 Graduation from Iowa City West High School.
1989 Disney's All-American College Orchestra at EPCOT.
1990 Student Teaching, New Trier High School, Winnetka, Ill.
1990 B.S. with distinction, University of Minnesota.
1991-2000 Soloist, Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra.
1992 M.M., Penn State University.
1992-97 Penn State School of Music faculty member, teaching music theory, jazz history, and
saxophone.
1996 Performed with Doobie Brothers and Sam Moore.
1996 Peer Gynt Suite for Saxophone Quartet. Published by Dorn, Inc., Medfield, Mass.
1992-97 Leader, Safe Sax Jazz Quintet. CD release of all original works entitled Dedications.
1998-2001 SURGE Saxophone Quartet, leader/soprano saxophone.
1998-2000 Juilliard Wind Ensemble, Juilliard Symphony Orchestra.
1998-2006 Premiered works by Steve Cohen, Jan Feddersen, Meyer Kupferman, Richard Miller,
Ruth Mueller-Maerki, Eric Nathan, David Noon, Eric Schwartz, Richard Shemaria,
Elias Tanenbaum, and Elijah Yarbrough.
1999 “An Interview with the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet,” Saxophone Journal, July/August.
1999 “Edward A. Lefebre: Parts I & II,” Saxophone Journal, May/June & July/August.
1999-2003 New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, Tenor saxophone.
1999-2009 William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ. Faculty member, teaching applied
saxophone and ensembles.
1999-2003 Lucy Moses School for Music and Dance, New York, NY. Faculty member.
2000 “James Noyes,” Saxophone Journal--Feature Interview, March/April.
2000 “Composing for the Saxophone,” Interview with Henry Brant, Saxophone Journal,
March/April.
2000 “Edward A. Lefebre,” D.M.A. dissertation.
2000 D.M.A., Manhattan School of Music. Winner of the Helen Cohn Award for
outstanding achievement in the D.M.A. program.
2000 “Debussy’s Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone: Myths and Misinformation Exposed,
A Masterpiece Revealed,” lecture at World Saxophone Congress, Montréal, Canada.
2000 Winner, Artists International, SURGE Saxophone Quartet. New York Recital Debut
at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 5 November.
2001 “Lefebre’s Last Band: from Gilmore to Sousa (1892-4),” Saxophone Symposium 26.
2001-2009 Manhattan School of Music, Preparatory Division, New York, NY. Faculty member
teaching theory, ear-training, and saxophone. Theory Department Chair, 2003-2007.
2002 “Saxophone Aptitude Test: 19th-Century History and Development,” NASA Update
Newsletter, July/August.
2002-2009 MOSA (Music at Our Saviour’s Atonement), New York, NY. Artistic Director.
2003 Solo performance at World Saxophone Congress, Minneapolis, MN.
2006 “Poe & Debussy, and their Rapsodie,” presentation at North American Saxophone
Alliance Biennial Meeting, February.
2006 Premiere of Equinox Liturgy, Our Saviour’s Atonement Lutheran Church, September.
2008 “Debussy’s Rapsodie pour Orchestre et Saxophone Revisited,” published in the Musical
Quarterly, 2007 90(3-4):416-445.

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EDWARD A.

PREEMINENT SAXOPHONIST OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

JAMES RUSSELL NOYES

The Manhattan School of Music

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Doctor of Musical Arts

*Original title = (1834-1911). See Post-Addendum, page 288.

As the saxophone continues to play an ever-

increasing role in music throughout the world, interest

has begun to shift to its earlier traditions and

legacies. The life of Aldophe Sax, his struggle to

develop and promote the saxophone, and his nineteenth-

century European legacy has been well documented. Much

research has also been devoted to the post World War I

saxophone “craze,” largely an American phenomenon. It

had previously been thought that the saxophone lay

relatively “dormant” in the late 1800s and early 1900s,

only emerging in the 1920s as an integral part of jazz

music and in symphonic works of Gershwin, Kodaly,

Milhaud, Prokoffiev, and Ravel, among others.

The career of Edward A. Lefebre, spanning from the

mid-1850s to his death in 1911, provided an important and

direct link between Aldophe Sax and the nineteenth-

century European orchestral tradition, and the

saxophone’s eventual widespread popularity, mass appeal,

and world-wide acceptance in the twentieth century.

Lefebre’s monumental efforts to popularize the saxophone

were initially felt in Europe and Africa, and Lefebre

eventually became a significant part of the musical

Gilmore’s 22nd Regiment Band in 1873, to his last public

solo and quartet performances in 1909. Lefebre was

associated with bandleaders Patrick S. Gilmore and John

Philip Sousa, instrument manufacturer C. G. Conn,

composer Harry Rowe Shelley, and music publisher Carl

Fischer, all icons of the era. In fact, Lefebre himself

was also an icon, the “Saxophone King.”

In a comprehensive examination of Lefebre’s life and

career, this study will present Lefebre’s legacy as one

of the most meaningful and substantial in the history of

Thesis advisor: Dr. Paul Cohen

TIME LINE: LEFEBRE’S PROFESSIONAL CAREER.............xiii

CHAPTER II ADOLPHE SAX AND THE BIRTH OF THE

CHAPTER III LEFEBRE’S MISSION BEGINS, c.1855-1873...16

CHAPTER IV LEFEBRE THE “SAXOPHONE KING,”

CHAPTER V LEFEBRE’S MISSION IS ACCOMPLISHED,

APPENDIX C PROGRAMS, PHOTOS, AND LETTERS..........204

Gilmore Programs, 1874-1892............204

APPENDIX D SAXOPHONISTS WITH 22ND REGIMENT BAND....235

APPENDIX E LEFEBRE FAMILY HISTORY.................236

ADDENDUM LEFEBRE AND BESSIE MECKLEM.............239

POST-ADDENDUM LEFEBRE’S BIRTH RECORD.................288

I would like to thank Dr. Paul Cohen for his

enlightened guidance and unwavering support of my

Special mention must be given to Dr. Margaret Downie

Banks and her staff at America’s Shrine to Music Museum,

Vermillion, SD. Without the assistance of Dr. Banks, I

may never have realized Lefebre’s true significance. The

bulk of the C. G. Conn Truth articles, and thus much of