Arthur Willard Pryor (September 22, 1870 – June 18, 1942) was a trombonist, bandleader, and soloist with the Sousa Band. Pryor was born on the second floor of the Lyceum Theater in Saint Joseph, Missouri. He first took up music at a very young age and was playing the valve trombone by age 11. By age 15 he had mastered the slide trombone and was awarded a spot in his father's band. He was hailed as a prodigy after this. Shifted to another band, Pryor went on to direct the Stanley Opera Company in Denver, Colorado until joining the John Philip Sousa Band in 1892. He played his first solo with the Sousa Band at age 22 during the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. During his 12 years with the Sousa Band, Pryor estimated that he played 10,000 solos. From 1895 to 1903 Pryor was assistant conductor of the Sousa Band. After leaving the Sousa Band, he formed his own band, which made its debut at the Majestic Theatre in New York City on November 15, 1903. The Pryor Band toured until 1909, when he decided to settle down and make Asbury Park, New Jersey the home of the band. Also at this time he became a staff conductor and arranger for the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey. He set to work on an opera titled Peter and Paul, with a libretto by L. Frank Baum, though the whereabouts of libretto or score are unknown. It was intended to star Fred Stone and David Montogmery in several roles in several time periods.[1] He retired from full-time conducting in 1933. During his career, Pryor wrote some of the most famous trombone literature around today, including the heralded "Bluebells of Scotland", as well as band novelty works such as "The Whistler and His Dog". Much of this literature has been recorded by Ian Bousfield on a CD called * Pryor Engagement (Doyen DOY CD212).
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- Recordings from the 19th Century includes a solo by Pryor recorded in 1897
- Arthur Pryor: Ragtime Pioneer explains how Arthur Pryor introduced syncopation to military marches and became a proponent of Ragtime music.
