Scottish Cornet Star Matthew Arbuckle, Performed in Massachusetts 24th Regiment Civil War Band, at Boston Peace Jubilees and Coney Island Summer Series

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Matthew Arbuckle

One of Scotland's most famous musicians of the 19th century was Matthew Arbuckle, who made his name in America as an exceptional cornetist.  He was also a composer and bandleader as well as an accomplished violinist, bagpiper and drum major.

Coliseum of the World Peace Jubilee in Boston

He performed at the National Peace Jubilee in Boston in June 1869 for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, and again at the World Peace Jubilee in June 1872, which was the largest music festival ever assembled and included 2,000 musicians and 20,000 singers.   At the 1872 festival, Arbuckle conducted Handel's famous "Let the Bright Seraphim," leading the opening fanfare of fifty trumpeters and playing the trumpet obbligato part with vocalist Madame Ermina Ruggersdorf.  After the Jubilee ended, Arbuckle participated in a special concert for Austria's visiting composer Johann Strauss, perfuming a cornet solo that demanded an encore.

Born in Lochside, Scotland, on March 21, 1828, Arbuckle enlisted in the British Army's 26th Regiment (Cameronians) band at age 13, according to Brass History, and toured India and China with the band before deserting and coming to America in 1853. 

He spent some time in Troy, NY and then Worcester, MA before moving to Boston, where he joined the famous Gilmore Band, led by Irish-born impresario Patrick S. Gilmore, himself a gifted cornetist.  The two men joined the 24th Regiment band of the Massachusetts volunteers during the Civil War, accompanying soldiers to the battle front.  

In 1880, Arbuckle became musical director and bandmaster for the Ninth Regiment in New York, a position he held for the rest of his career.  In summers, Arbuckle played concerts at the bandstand in Coney Island. 

 He died suddenly of pneumonia in New York, 23 May 1883, at the age of 55. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Queens.

Research + Text, Michael Quinlin


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