The perpetuation of the Moravian instrumental music tradition : Bernard Jacob Pfohl and the Salem, North Carolina, bands (1879-1960)

Bernard Jacob Pfohl (1866-1960) was a respected bandsman in the Moravian community of Salem. Through his exposure to music at home and at church during his childhood, Pfohl joined the Church Band in 1879 and, ten years later, became the ensemble's director. Pfohl first directed the Easter Band in 1890 and assumed the responsibility for the civic component of the band, the Salem Band, shortly after 1900. As the band director of ensembles whose roots extended back to 1772, Pfohl faced the tasks of nurturing the Moravian instrumental music tradition, both sacred and secular, and ensuring that the tradition continued. Obstacles encountered by Pfohl were both social and economic. In addition, he had to contend with a shift of emphasis from music instruction provided by the church to the introduction of music programs within the public schools