Troy University News

January 27, 2004

Contact:
Andy Ellis or Alison Hardy : (334) 670-3196; aellis@troy.edu

Office of University Relations
253 Adams Administration
Troy, AL 36082
(334) 670-3196
(334) 670-3274 (fax)

Gibson and Croft to be inducted into National Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame

   Col. Hal Gibson and James Croft will be inducted into the National Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame at Troy State University Feb. 7. The induction will be held at the Hawkins-Adams-Long Hall of Honor at noon on Feb. 7 at the conclusion of the 31 st annual Southeastern United States Band Clinic.
   The National Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame was founded in Chicago in 1977 by Dr. William D. Revelli and the National Board of Directors of the National Band Association. Al Wright, founding president of the NBA, requested that the hall of fame secure a permanent home on the TSU campus, making Troy State University the home of Alabama's only national hall of fame. Dr. John M. Long, former TSU director of bands, as the lifetime Chairman of the Board for the hall of fame. Seventeen conductors were inducted in the first class in 1980, including legendary conductor John Philip Sousa and Albert Harding, considered to be the father of the college band. Since that first induction ceremony, 27 additional members have been added to the hall.
    Gibson has conducted concerts in all 50 states and in 36 foreign countries. The first person to be named Conductor Emeritus of the U.S. Army Field Band, Gibson also is the only person to be named Professor of Music Emeritus by the Georgia Board of Regents for Columbus College, now Columbus State University, a position he held for 15 years. He has achieved numerous honors during his career, including being selected to form, command and conduct the multi-service Department of Defense Bicentennial Band and receiving the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia International Orpheus Award.
    Croft, who recently retired as Director of Bands and Professor of Music Education at Florida State University, has conducted concerts all over the world. He has served as president of the National Band Association and the College Band Directors National Association. He is a member of the Directors of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles and also works as a Contributing and Consulting Editor for “The Instrumentalist” and “Research Perspectives in Music Education,” respectively.
   Prior to serving at Florida State, Croft served eight years as a member of the faculty at the University of South Florida and taught in the public schools of Traer, Iowa and Oshkosh, Wis. for 21 years. He has been recognized by both the Iowa Bandmasters Association and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles with lifetime memberships for his professional contributions.