William N. Bartow

William Bartow, a longtime resident of Westfield, was a well-known band leader and trumpet player. He played his music under Arthur Pryor, John Phillip Sousa, and Walter Damrosch. Pryor made Bartow an honorary member of his band in 1931. Early on, he was called “boy wonder with the silver cornet” by Drake’s Veteran Zouve Band. For three years he played with the New York Symphony Orchestra under Damrosch. He was a solo cornet with British Grenadiers Band of London touring the U.S. He was a solo cornetist in Sousa’s Band during NYC engagements, directed the Standard Oil Band of Bayonne 1915–1917, the Westfield Band in 1921–1936, and the Liberty Band of Plainfield from 1936–1945. He played with three National Guard regimental bands and was guest conductor of the U.S. Marine & Army bands, as well as the Edwin Franko Goldman Band. He was secretary/treasurer of the American Federation of Musicians for 25 years and did experimental work in early recording with Thomas A. Edison in West Orange. He played cornet solos at Edison’s recording studio in N.Y. In 1945 he managed the instrumental studios at Gregory’s Music Center, Plainfield, teaching cornet, trumpet, and trombone. He was a member of the Westfield Old Guard and Presbyterian Church.