Fred Jewell

Fred A. Jewell (b. Worthington, May 28, 1875 – d. Worthington, February 11, 1936) – Band Composer, band conductor, and euphonium player. At age sixteen, Jewell left home to play euphonium and calliope with the Gentry Brothers Dog and Pony Show. Later known as the “Indiana March King,” Jewell composed over 140 pieces -- mainly "screamer" or circus marches -- and conducted many groups including the Barnum and Bailey Circus Band. After retiring from the circus in 1918, he led the Iowa Brigade Band, and, while in Oskaloosa, Iowa, he started his own music publishing company. By 1923, he had moved the Jewell Music Company to his home town of Worthington, where he also taught high school band. Throughout his life, he had close ties with the Brazil Concert Band (still in existence) as a band member and also by publishing works by its conductor J. Gus Davis. Because of the efforts of the Brazil Concert Band, there is an historical marker for Jewell in Worthington's Fountain Triangle Park.