Irons, Earl D., 1891-1967

Colonel Earl D. Irons was a noted Texas bandmaster, cornetist, and composer. He served in the Army Band during World War I. In 1925 he became head of the Band and Orchestra Department at North Texas Agricultural College and from 1942 to 1956 Irons was head of the Fine Arts Department. He retired as professor emeritus of Arlington State College in 1958. Irons was also the founder of Phi Beta Mu (the national school bandmasters fraternity), and a respected amateur golfer.

Earl D. Irons, noted bandmaster and composer, was born near Sulphur Springs on March 10, 1891. He began to study the violin at age four and subsequently took up the snare drum and the cornet. By age ten, he was playing in a band, and when he was fifteen, he was elected director of his own community band, which he directed for a number of years.

For the next several years, Irons continued to study both violin and cornet. He played in theaters and toured the country with bands and orchestras. During World War I, he served in an Army band and studied in the U.S. Army Band School.

After the War, Irons returned to Sulphur Springs and again took up band directing. In 1922, he became director of the Greenville American Legion Band and head of the Violin Department at Burleson College.

The Colonel's association with the University of Texas at Arlington, then North Texas Agricultural College, began in 1925, when he became head of the Band and Orchestra Department. Irons was head of the Fine Arts Department from 1942 to 1956, and he retired from the College in 1958. He was made professor emeritus in 1958.

Colonel Irons's talents and contributions were widely recognized; he was named lieutenant colonel on Governor Allred'd staff in 1935. He founded Phi Beta Mu, national school bandmasters' fraternity, in 1938 and was made honorary life president in 1942. In 1951 and 1952, he served as president of the American Bandmasters' Association. The Texas Bandmasters' Association honored him as Bandmaster of the Year in 1965.

The Colonel, a renowned cornetist and composer, was the author of such works as Emerald Isle, American Rhapsody, American Grandeur, and Hail to the Fraternity March. In addition to playing, directing, and composing, he traveled extensively, teaching clinics and serving as a judge at numerous band contests and festivals. As early as 1934, he was said to have done more for the advancement of band music in Texas than any other individual. He also was a respected amateur golfer.

Colonel Irons died May 19, 1967.