DiNino, Vincent R.

Vincent R. DiNino, known to colleagues and students as Mr. D., directed the UT Longhorn Band from 1955 to 1975, continuing as Director of Bands for the School of Music until retirement in 1985.

Vincent R. DiNino, known to colleagues and students as Mr. D., directed the UT Longhorn Band from 1955 to 1975, continuing as Director of Bands for the School of Music until retirement in 1985. DiNino graduated in 1941 with a B.S. in Music Education from the University of Minnesota, where he met his wife Jane Dahlgren (1918-2008). After serving as Chairman of Public School Music in Alexandria, Minnesota, he became the first full-time Director of the Longhorn Band. Under his leadership, the band acquired Big Bertha, the world’s largest bass drum, opened to women and minorities, adopted their well-known cowboy uniforms, and marched in the inaugural parades of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. DiNino also published Marching Bands through “The Eyes of Texas” (Minneapolis: Schmitt Music Centers, 1974) and numerous articles. Although retired, he continues to conduct and speak at special events, and at age 90 returned to UT in an assisting capacity for the Longhorn Band.

All the time, Jane DiNino became as well-known and well-loved as her husband among the band students and alumni. The First Lady of the Longhorn Band, Mrs. D. designed and sewed the original flags for the Longhorn Band Flag Brigade, served as “house mother” to the thousands of students during her husband’s tenure, and helped to found the Longhorn Alumni Band. She also helped edit and research his book, Marching Bands through “The Eyes of Texas” and his many articles.

The couple never stopped involving themselves in the Longhorn Band and Longhorn Alumni Band (LHAB), established in 1964. While serving on the Board of Directors for the LHAB, the DiNinos set up the Jane and Vincent R. DiNino Honorary Scholarship and the Jane Dahlgren DiNino Scholarship for Longhorn Band members. In 2000, they donated $500,000, half the funds for establishing the Vincent R. and Jane DiNino Chair in Music to benefit students of the Longhorn Bands and under direction of the Director of Bands. At Alumni Band Day in Fall 2005, the Chair was officially announced during halftime to celebrate the arrival of the Jane and Vincent DiNino to UT 50 years prior.