09/03/2026
Catch musicology PhD candidate Julien Duncan’s presentation, a part of the Society for American Music’s “Sounding the Nation at 250” lecture series on Saturday, at 7pm in Longmire Recital Hall!
On March 4, 1901, the band of the newly-mustered Porto Rico Regiment of Volunteers [sic] marched down Pennsylvania Avenue during President William McKinley’s second inauguration, a ceremony the press hailed as “an imposing show of power.” Leading the ensemble was twenty-six-year-old Luis Rodríguez Miranda, a Puerto Rican clarinetist, guitarist, composer, and career soldier. His musicians and the battalion they accompanied reflected the United States’ expanding reach beyond the continent following the Spanish-American War.
This presentation introduces Luis R. Miranda as a central figure in the story of American music at 250. Across an expansive military and public service career, Miranda directed the 65th Infantry Regiment Band in Puerto Rico, served extensively in the Panama Canal Zone and on the mainland, and led university and civic ensembles during both World Wars. His collaborations with Alberto Galimany, leader of the Banda Republicana de Panamá, and Alton Adams, director of the U.S. Navy Band in the Virgin Islands, reveal how music fostered professional exchange within the U.S. territorial sphere of influence during this period.
Drawing on scores and historical newspapers from the Archivo General de Puerto Rico, the Library of Congress, and the Digital Library of the Caribbean, this presentation offers a contextual biographical sketch of Miranda, analysis of his ensemble programs, and live piano demonstrations of excerpts from “Recuerdos de Borinquen,” “Impromptu,” “Bibelot” (Panamanian Pasillo), “Ugolina,” and “The Union Club.” These examples illustrate Miranda’s engagement with Puerto Rican, U.S., and Caribbean musical styles, underscoring his place in American music history and in the broader tradition of military service through music.
