William Schuman was born on August 4, 1910.

Brother Schuman was initiated into the Beta Gamma Chapter at Columbia University in 1930. Known as a prolific American composer, educator, and administrator, Schuman is often noted for his adaptation of European models to American themes. He began composing in high school, forming a jazz ensemble in which he played violin and banjo. He would later earn a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University Teachers College and study at Juilliard under the composer, Roy Harris.

After holding a teaching position at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, Schuman was named the president of the Julliard School of Music. While there, he brought about academic reform and added several prominent American composers to the faculty. Schuman wrote works in virtually every musical genre, each mirroring his strong personality in their sharply defined sense of structure, line, and dynamism. The secular cantata A Free Song received the first Pulitzer Prize in music in 1943.

“In the great stream that is the history of music, some composers add drops of water, others add buckets. When the final catalog is finished, I just hope to have put some drops in the stream. That’s enough, that’s enough to be optimistic about.”

William James “Count” Basie was born on August 21, 1904.

Known to the world as the “King of Swing,” Brother Basie was initiated at the Mu Nu Chapter at Louisiana Tech University in 1970. He was a true innovator leading the band for almost 50 years and recording on over 480 albums. In his lifetime, he earned nine Grammy Awards and made history in 1958 by becoming the first African-American to receive the award.

Basie and his Orchestra appeared in five films, all released within a matter of months in 1943: Hit Parade, Reveille with Beverly, Stage Door Canteen, Top Man, and Crazy House.

He has had an unprecedented four recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame – One O’Clock Jump (1979), April in Paris (1985), Everyday I Have the Blues (1992), and Lester Leaps In (2005), along with a slew of other awards and honors not only for his music, but for his humanitarianism and philanthropy around the world.

David Maslanka was born on August 30, 1943.

Brother Maslanka was initiated in 2008 at the Rho Tau Chapter at Appalachian State.

David was a world-renowned composer having composed over 150 musical works, which included nine symphonies, seven concertos, a Mass, and over fifty pieces for wind ensemble. His contributions to American Music were substantial and inspirational. Throughout his career, he had worked with hundreds of students and faculty sharing his love and passion for music.

Colonel John R. Bourgeois was born on August 31st, 1934

Colonel John R. Bourgeois was initiated at Loyola University New Orleans’ Zeta Pi chapter in 1956. He is well known for his career with the United States Marine Band that spanned nine presidential administrations and serving as the ensemble’s director from 1979 to 1996.

It all began with “The President’s Own” in 1958 when he joined as a French Hornist and arranger shortly after joining the Marine Corps. Later, as the ensemble’s director, Col. Bourgeois was the Music Advisor at the White House. He selected all the musical programs there and directed the band for four Presidential Inaugurations. He regularly conducted the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House appearing there more frequently than any other musician in the U.S.

Since retiring from the Marine Band, Bourgeois has been actively involved in music as a guest conductor, has published new editions of classic band compositions, and was named Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia’s “Man of Music” at the 50th National Convention in 2000.