MERLE SLEASE EVANS was a cornet player and circus band conductor who conducted the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for fifty years. He was known as the "Toscanini of the Big Top." Evans was inducted into the American Bandmasters Association in 1947 and the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1975.
Merle Evans was born in Columbus, Kansas in 1891. His father was a foreman in a coal mine. He had six siblings. Evans had an early job selling newspapers on corners. He used his cornet to call attention to the headlines. After holding several other jobs, Evans left home and joined the S.W. Brundage Carnival Company as a cornet player. Evans held several other jobs, including as a band director for the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show featuring Buffalo Bill.
RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS
Evans was hired as the band director for the newly merged Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1919. Evans held this job for fifty years, until his retirement in 1969. He only missed performances due to a musicians union strike in 1942 and the death of his first wife. He wrote eight circus marches, including Symphonia and Fredella.
Mr. Evans and his all-brass ensemble used to play about 200 different pieces of music in a three-hour performance. His repertoire pacing the ringside action included a medley of waltzes, tangoes, fox trots, gallops, marches and Latin numbers, along with Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Smetana, not to mention Sousa.
He wanted his music to have the zip that went with the sawdust, the beat of hoofs and the cheers of excited children.
Merle taught himself to play the cornet when he was 10 years old. At 15 he left home and began to play with touring medicine shows, in revivals, aboard the Mississippi River showboat Cotton Blossom, in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and, as he himself put it, "every vaudeville pit in the country."
"I had practiced for six hours a day for three years," he recalled, "but the best training was listening to such greats as Clark, Bachman, Gilmore, Sousa and learning from them the art of phrasing, tonal production, varied styles."
He was blowing his cornet with Gus Hill's minstrels when Charles Ringling summoned him in 1919 to strike up the band for him. That was the year the circus of the five Ringling brothers joined forces with Barnum & Bailey, the creation of Phineas T. Barnum, to form the world's largest traveling exhibit, billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth."
Mr. Evans also enjoyed an illustrious musical career beyond the circus, recording and directing bands around the country and in Europe. There, his concert programs included Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, played before audiences in the many thousands.
Over the decades he witnessed the ups and downs of the circus world and the demise of the big tent, which Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey folded for the last time in Pittsburgh in 1956. He saw the acrobat Hans Jahn fall to his death in New York City in 1930.
HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE
On July 6, 1944, a fire broke out during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance. The fire killed around 168 people and injured 487 people. The quick reaction of Merle Evans and his band is credited with saving thousands of lives. When Evans saw the fire, he signaled that the band should play John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” used in the circus as the “disaster march,” indicating an emergency. The performers heard the music and immediately began the evacuation. Accounts state that Evans and his band played until it was no longer safe to do so, and then evacuated and reformed outside, where their playing helped to pace the evacuation and steady the crowd.
He announced his retirement for the first time in 1955, saying that the televised circus spectacular of that year would mark his final performance. By then he had struck up the band 22,000 times.
But it was not until 1969, in his 50th year with the Ringling Bros. Circus, that he formally passed on his baton, along with his job of musical director. Even after that he could still be seen now and then leading the circus band in its red-costumed splendor. And he continued to show up as a guest conductor.
After his retirement, Evans continued to live an active life. He served as a director of the Columbus State Bank in his hometown of Columbus, Kansas. He gave workshops and guest-led bands around the country. His second wife was Nena, who served as secretary to the owners and executives of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. Evans died in Sarasota, Florida on December 31, 1987.
"During the years," he said when he spoke of retirement in 1955, "I have seen all the Ringling Brothers pass on, seen the end of the circus parade and the retirement of many stars and circus greats. Now I plan to rest myself."
A scholarship at the Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music is named after Evans. The scholarship supports students with aspirations towards concert bands. The Midwest Clinic awarded Evans its Medal of Honor in 1966. Windjammers Unlimited credits Evans with its early success as an organization, and he is honored in their Hall of Fame.
(Biography from various sources including Daniel H. Disney & Charles Elias Disney.)
Merle Evans was born in Columbus, Kansas in 1891. His father was a foreman in a coal mine. He had six siblings. Evans had an early job selling newspapers on corners. He used his cornet to call attention to the headlines. After holding several other jobs, Evans left home and joined the S.W. Brundage Carnival Company as a cornet player. Evans held several other jobs, including as a band director for the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show featuring Buffalo Bill.
RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS
Evans was hired as the band director for the newly merged Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1919. Evans held this job for fifty years, until his retirement in 1969. He only missed performances due to a musicians union strike in 1942 and the death of his first wife. He wrote eight circus marches, including Symphonia and Fredella.
Mr. Evans and his all-brass ensemble used to play about 200 different pieces of music in a three-hour performance. His repertoire pacing the ringside action included a medley of waltzes, tangoes, fox trots, gallops, marches and Latin numbers, along with Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Smetana, not to mention Sousa.
He wanted his music to have the zip that went with the sawdust, the beat of hoofs and the cheers of excited children.
Merle taught himself to play the cornet when he was 10 years old. At 15 he left home and began to play with touring medicine shows, in revivals, aboard the Mississippi River showboat Cotton Blossom, in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and, as he himself put it, "every vaudeville pit in the country."
"I had practiced for six hours a day for three years," he recalled, "but the best training was listening to such greats as Clark, Bachman, Gilmore, Sousa and learning from them the art of phrasing, tonal production, varied styles."
He was blowing his cornet with Gus Hill's minstrels when Charles Ringling summoned him in 1919 to strike up the band for him. That was the year the circus of the five Ringling brothers joined forces with Barnum & Bailey, the creation of Phineas T. Barnum, to form the world's largest traveling exhibit, billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth."
Mr. Evans also enjoyed an illustrious musical career beyond the circus, recording and directing bands around the country and in Europe. There, his concert programs included Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, played before audiences in the many thousands.
Over the decades he witnessed the ups and downs of the circus world and the demise of the big tent, which Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey folded for the last time in Pittsburgh in 1956. He saw the acrobat Hans Jahn fall to his death in New York City in 1930.
HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE
On July 6, 1944, a fire broke out during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance. The fire killed around 168 people and injured 487 people. The quick reaction of Merle Evans and his band is credited with saving thousands of lives. When Evans saw the fire, he signaled that the band should play John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” used in the circus as the “disaster march,” indicating an emergency. The performers heard the music and immediately began the evacuation. Accounts state that Evans and his band played until it was no longer safe to do so, and then evacuated and reformed outside, where their playing helped to pace the evacuation and steady the crowd.
He announced his retirement for the first time in 1955, saying that the televised circus spectacular of that year would mark his final performance. By then he had struck up the band 22,000 times.
But it was not until 1969, in his 50th year with the Ringling Bros. Circus, that he formally passed on his baton, along with his job of musical director. Even after that he could still be seen now and then leading the circus band in its red-costumed splendor. And he continued to show up as a guest conductor.
After his retirement, Evans continued to live an active life. He served as a director of the Columbus State Bank in his hometown of Columbus, Kansas. He gave workshops and guest-led bands around the country. His second wife was Nena, who served as secretary to the owners and executives of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. Evans died in Sarasota, Florida on December 31, 1987.
"During the years," he said when he spoke of retirement in 1955, "I have seen all the Ringling Brothers pass on, seen the end of the circus parade and the retirement of many stars and circus greats. Now I plan to rest myself."
A scholarship at the Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music is named after Evans. The scholarship supports students with aspirations towards concert bands. The Midwest Clinic awarded Evans its Medal of Honor in 1966. Windjammers Unlimited credits Evans with its early success as an organization, and he is honored in their Hall of Fame.
(Biography from various sources including Daniel H. Disney & Charles Elias Disney.)
MERLE SLEASE EVANS was a cornet player and circus band conductor who conducted the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus for fifty years. He was known as the "Toscanini of the Big Top." Evans was inducted into the American Bandmasters Association in 1947 and the International Circus Hall of Fame in 1975.
Merle Evans was born in Columbus, Kansas in 1891. His father was a foreman in a coal mine. He had six siblings. Evans had an early job selling newspapers on corners. He used his cornet to call attention to the headlines. After holding several other jobs, Evans left home and joined the S.W. Brundage Carnival Company as a cornet player. Evans held several other jobs, including as a band director for the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show featuring Buffalo Bill.
RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS
Evans was hired as the band director for the newly merged Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1919. Evans held this job for fifty years, until his retirement in 1969. He only missed performances due to a musicians union strike in 1942 and the death of his first wife. He wrote eight circus marches, including Symphonia and Fredella.
Mr. Evans and his all-brass ensemble used to play about 200 different pieces of music in a three-hour performance. His repertoire pacing the ringside action included a medley of waltzes, tangoes, fox trots, gallops, marches and Latin numbers, along with Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Smetana, not to mention Sousa.
He wanted his music to have the zip that went with the sawdust, the beat of hoofs and the cheers of excited children.
Merle taught himself to play the cornet when he was 10 years old. At 15 he left home and began to play with touring medicine shows, in revivals, aboard the Mississippi River showboat Cotton Blossom, in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and, as he himself put it, "every vaudeville pit in the country."
"I had practiced for six hours a day for three years," he recalled, "but the best training was listening to such greats as Clark, Bachman, Gilmore, Sousa and learning from them the art of phrasing, tonal production, varied styles."
He was blowing his cornet with Gus Hill's minstrels when Charles Ringling summoned him in 1919 to strike up the band for him. That was the year the circus of the five Ringling brothers joined forces with Barnum & Bailey, the creation of Phineas T. Barnum, to form the world's largest traveling exhibit, billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth."
Mr. Evans also enjoyed an illustrious musical career beyond the circus, recording and directing bands around the country and in Europe. There, his concert programs included Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, played before audiences in the many thousands.
Over the decades he witnessed the ups and downs of the circus world and the demise of the big tent, which Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey folded for the last time in Pittsburgh in 1956. He saw the acrobat Hans Jahn fall to his death in New York City in 1930.
HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE
On July 6, 1944, a fire broke out during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance. The fire killed around 168 people and injured 487 people. The quick reaction of Merle Evans and his band is credited with saving thousands of lives. When Evans saw the fire, he signaled that the band should play John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” used in the circus as the “disaster march,” indicating an emergency. The performers heard the music and immediately began the evacuation. Accounts state that Evans and his band played until it was no longer safe to do so, and then evacuated and reformed outside, where their playing helped to pace the evacuation and steady the crowd.
He announced his retirement for the first time in 1955, saying that the televised circus spectacular of that year would mark his final performance. By then he had struck up the band 22,000 times.
But it was not until 1969, in his 50th year with the Ringling Bros. Circus, that he formally passed on his baton, along with his job of musical director. Even after that he could still be seen now and then leading the circus band in its red-costumed splendor. And he continued to show up as a guest conductor.
After his retirement, Evans continued to live an active life. He served as a director of the Columbus State Bank in his hometown of Columbus, Kansas. He gave workshops and guest-led bands around the country. His second wife was Nena, who served as secretary to the owners and executives of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. Evans died in Sarasota, Florida on December 31, 1987.
"During the years," he said when he spoke of retirement in 1955, "I have seen all the Ringling Brothers pass on, seen the end of the circus parade and the retirement of many stars and circus greats. Now I plan to rest myself."
A scholarship at the Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music is named after Evans. The scholarship supports students with aspirations towards concert bands. The Midwest Clinic awarded Evans its Medal of Honor in 1966. Windjammers Unlimited credits Evans with its early success as an organization, and he is honored in their Hall of Fame.
(Biography from various sources including Daniel H. Disney & Charles Elias Disney.)
Merle Evans was born in Columbus, Kansas in 1891. His father was a foreman in a coal mine. He had six siblings. Evans had an early job selling newspapers on corners. He used his cornet to call attention to the headlines. After holding several other jobs, Evans left home and joined the S.W. Brundage Carnival Company as a cornet player. Evans held several other jobs, including as a band director for the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch Wild West Show featuring Buffalo Bill.
RINGLING BROS. AND BARNUM & BAILEY CIRCUS
Evans was hired as the band director for the newly merged Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1919. Evans held this job for fifty years, until his retirement in 1969. He only missed performances due to a musicians union strike in 1942 and the death of his first wife. He wrote eight circus marches, including Symphonia and Fredella.
Mr. Evans and his all-brass ensemble used to play about 200 different pieces of music in a three-hour performance. His repertoire pacing the ringside action included a medley of waltzes, tangoes, fox trots, gallops, marches and Latin numbers, along with Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Smetana, not to mention Sousa.
He wanted his music to have the zip that went with the sawdust, the beat of hoofs and the cheers of excited children.
Merle taught himself to play the cornet when he was 10 years old. At 15 he left home and began to play with touring medicine shows, in revivals, aboard the Mississippi River showboat Cotton Blossom, in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and, as he himself put it, "every vaudeville pit in the country."
"I had practiced for six hours a day for three years," he recalled, "but the best training was listening to such greats as Clark, Bachman, Gilmore, Sousa and learning from them the art of phrasing, tonal production, varied styles."
He was blowing his cornet with Gus Hill's minstrels when Charles Ringling summoned him in 1919 to strike up the band for him. That was the year the circus of the five Ringling brothers joined forces with Barnum & Bailey, the creation of Phineas T. Barnum, to form the world's largest traveling exhibit, billed as "The Greatest Show on Earth."
Mr. Evans also enjoyed an illustrious musical career beyond the circus, recording and directing bands around the country and in Europe. There, his concert programs included Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, played before audiences in the many thousands.
Over the decades he witnessed the ups and downs of the circus world and the demise of the big tent, which Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey folded for the last time in Pittsburgh in 1956. He saw the acrobat Hans Jahn fall to his death in New York City in 1930.
HARTFORD CIRCUS FIRE
On July 6, 1944, a fire broke out during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performance. The fire killed around 168 people and injured 487 people. The quick reaction of Merle Evans and his band is credited with saving thousands of lives. When Evans saw the fire, he signaled that the band should play John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever,” used in the circus as the “disaster march,” indicating an emergency. The performers heard the music and immediately began the evacuation. Accounts state that Evans and his band played until it was no longer safe to do so, and then evacuated and reformed outside, where their playing helped to pace the evacuation and steady the crowd.
He announced his retirement for the first time in 1955, saying that the televised circus spectacular of that year would mark his final performance. By then he had struck up the band 22,000 times.
But it was not until 1969, in his 50th year with the Ringling Bros. Circus, that he formally passed on his baton, along with his job of musical director. Even after that he could still be seen now and then leading the circus band in its red-costumed splendor. And he continued to show up as a guest conductor.
After his retirement, Evans continued to live an active life. He served as a director of the Columbus State Bank in his hometown of Columbus, Kansas. He gave workshops and guest-led bands around the country. His second wife was Nena, who served as secretary to the owners and executives of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. Evans died in Sarasota, Florida on December 31, 1987.
"During the years," he said when he spoke of retirement in 1955, "I have seen all the Ringling Brothers pass on, seen the end of the circus parade and the retirement of many stars and circus greats. Now I plan to rest myself."
A scholarship at the Indiana University Bloomington Jacobs School of Music is named after Evans. The scholarship supports students with aspirations towards concert bands. The Midwest Clinic awarded Evans its Medal of Honor in 1966. Windjammers Unlimited credits Evans with its early success as an organization, and he is honored in their Hall of Fame.
(Biography from various sources including Daniel H. Disney & Charles Elias Disney.)
