Alton Augustus Adams Sr.

~Alton Augustus Adams Sr. Essay~ Alton Adam was born on November 4, 1889 in St.Thomas and he died on November 23, 1987 in St.Thomas at 98 years old. He attended elementary school. He then became an apprentice to become a carpenter and then a shoemaker. He had a great interest in music and literature. Adam learned to play the piccolo mostly because that was cheaper than a full size flute. He joined the St.Thomas Municipal Band in 1906. He studied music theory and composition at the University of Pennsylvania. He broke away from the Municipal Band and forms his own band called the Adams Juvenile Band in June of 1910. His band plays at the Emancipation Garden. He became the music editor for the St.Croix’s newspaper The Herald. Adam and his band were inducted into the United States Navy on June 2, 1917. He became the first African-American to be a Navy bandmaster. He went to the U.S mainland to study music. Adam and his band won special honor from concert and radio audiences in Hampton Roads, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. The best known work he did was the V.I March (1919), The Governor’s Own (1921), and The Spirit of the U.S.N (1924). The Spirit of the U.S.N composition was dedicated to the President Calvin Coolidge. In 1932, a fire destroy his home killing his daughter, Hazel. He retired into the Navel Fleet Reserve in 1933. The following year, he went reinstated his band. He left the Navy forever in 1945. When he got back to St.Thomas, his interest was in business. He was chose to be the governing committee of the St. Thomas Power Authority. He became a charter member and then the president of the Virgin Island Hotel Association. He worked as a reporter for the Associated Press and Associated Negro Press. In 1963, the V. I March was accepted by the legislature. In 1982, it become the national anthem of the Virgin Islands. He