In 1927, the Birmingham School District made the decision to create a music program in the schools. At first, the band at Baldwin High School (Birmingham's only high school) was the entire program. The photo above is the earliest known picture of this band from which today's Seaholm band is directly descended.
In a 1957 interview in the Birmingham Eccentric, the band's first director, Arnold Berndt recalled that there were a total of 16 students in the first band. The program grew rapidly, expanding down to the fourth-grade level within 1 year, and soon the band was performing the civic role that had likely been one of the district's motivations for investing in the program - as seen in these memorial day parade photos from 1929.
Here the band is marching north on Bates St., about to cross Martin.
The 1938 All-district concert shown below in the Auditorium at Baldwin featured the combined music groups from all schools of the district. With music education starting in the lower grades, the program was able to fully develop the talent of Birmingham's students. The total number of students at each level can be seen in the program. These levels are typical of depression-era participation in the music program with the exception of the Baldwin band which had a membership count in the 40s most years. In the back row at center stage is Harold "Spike" Jones who, after serving aboard USS IOWA where he played for President Roosevelt during the Second World War, would return home to become a teacher and administrator.
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