Band director and co-founder of Kappa Kapa Psi. Known by all who have ever called themselves a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, it is with good reason that Bohumil Makovsky is revered as our Guiding Spirit.
Boh was born September 23, 1878, in the village of Frantisky in Bohemia, today part of the Czech Republic. His father, Vaclav, died before Boh was born, and his mother, Anna, died when Boh was just 12.
Boh's formal education as a child was in line with educational standards of the time, though it lasted only a few years, ending not long before the death of Boh's mother. In addition to his academic training, his uncle Tomas provided his musical training. Tomas had been a music instructor for a noble family in Russia, and taught Boh to play the clarinet and the violin. Boh was known to play at holidays and festivals in Frantisky in his youth.
After his mother died, Boh continued to live on the family farm until he was 17. It was then that his sister Anna, who had settled with her husband in Nebraska, sent him money so that he could emigrate to the United States. He would later become a naturalized citizen in 1921.
After arriving in Clarkson, Nebraska, Boh soon found work in a local cigar shop rolling cigars. A few months later, a traveling carnival came through Clarkson which happened to need a clarinet player for its band. Boh was hired on, and was made the leader of the band as soon as he was able to speak English well enough to be understood by the other musicians. Later in life, Boh credited these musicians and other carnival workers with teaching him to speak English.
Boh spent the next few years playing in various traveling bands before deciding to form his own band. In 1902, his band was hired to play a carnival in Davis, Oklahoma. But after performing, the musicians learned the carnival organizers did not intend to pay them. The band was not on solid footing leading up to the performance, and this setback caused its immediate breakup. Boh, feeling obligated to his musicians, paid each of them from his own money, and thus found himself broke in Oklahoma.
It was after this setback that Boh's music career in Oklahoma began in earnest. He made his way to Oklahoma City and began teaching lessons and playing in a theater orchestra. He also became the leader of the band and orchestra at Delmar Gardens, a popular amusement center. When costs forced Delmar Gardens to discontinue the concert band, Boh accepted an offer to organize a band in Woodward, in northwest Oklahoma. Moving there in 1904, other than a short move away, he would lead bands in Woodward and nearby towns until 1908. It was one of these Woodward bands, the Commercial Club Band, that debuted Boh's first original composition, the "King of Oklahoma" march. It was also in Woodward that Boh petitioned the local lodge and became a Mason, an organization that would greatly influence the rest of his life.
In November 1908, Boh returned to Oklahoma City and reestablished himself by teaching lessons and performing with local concert bands. He also helped establish town bands in nearby communities with large Bohemian communities. In 1910, he was appointed director of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Band. This appointment also led to Boh's association with the State Fair of Oklahoma, an association he maintained until 1921.
Boh's life soon saw major changes. Professionally, he joined the faculty of an Oklahoma City music school, and in 1912 resigned as director of the Metropolitan Band to form his own group, the Makovsky Concert Band. Personally, on a visit back to Nebraska, he was introduced to Georgia Shestack, and they were soon married. Georgia would become affectionately known as "Mrs. Boh."
As the Makovsky Concert Band became successful in Oklahoma City, Boh's reputation grew, and in 1915, he was approached with an offer by J.W. Cantwell, the president of Oklahoma A&M College. Cantwell wanted to grow the music offerings at the college, and found himself in need of a band director and department head after the previous director was not retained and his department head suddenly fell ill and passed away. Boh accepted the offer to come to Stillwater, but believed he would be directing the band and teaching instrumental lessons. When he learned he was to be an administrator, charged with such tasks as writing reports and keeping budgets, he nearly declined the post. But he did accept, and found his musical home for the next 28 years.
It was at Oklahoma A&M that Boh would have his greatest influence. When Boh arrived, the band was part of the ROTC program, open only to male students, and students could only apply one music credit toward graduation. Boh quickly set out to make changes and found an ally in William L. Carlyle, the dean of Agriculture. Carlyle allowed agriculture students to take a music minor, which allowed for eight credits. This move, which was soon adopted by other OAMC colleges, allowed students to stay enrolled in the band throughout their academic careers. A full curriculum was soon developed, and in 1922, a music degree was established.
Boh also set about bringing his kind of music to the A&M program. Using his experience in building town bands and the changes in the academic program, he began building a concert band program in addition to the band's military responsibilities. The Symphonic Band, as it became known, soon built a reputation as one of the best college bands in the Southwest.
As Boh's tenure progressed, the band grew substantially and was soon able to support two concert bands. Programs such as band clinics and statewide tours were soon created to promote both the college and the band. The program grew so large that in 1927, Boh was allowed to hire an assistant director. In the early 1930s, women became part of the concert bands and performed in the stands at football games.
The program had a significant influence on the development of public school bands in Oklahoma, as program graduates became band directors and encouraged their best students to attend A&M to learn under Boh.
Over his life and career, Boh received a number of personal and professional honors. The University of Tulsa presented him with an honorary doctorate in music in 1940. He was also made an honorary member of the Kiowa Tribe, and given a name meaning "Great Father of Oklahoma Music." Boh was listed in multiple Who's Who in Music books, elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and was awarded the honorary 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite for his service to Freemasonry. One of his more notable professional honors was becoming a charter member in 1941 of the University and College Band Conductors Conference, which changed its name in 1947 to the one we still know it by today, the College Band Directors National Association. Boh was inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association and Oklahoma Music Educators Association Halls of Fame.
With the onset of World War II, the band program's participation numbers began to decline sharply. This, combined with a decline in his health, pushed Boh to retire from Oklahoma A&M in 1943. Upon his retirement, Boh was granted the title of head emeritus of the music department, and he donated his entire personal music library to the college. Boh suffered from Parkinson's disease in his later years, and died June 12, 1950, after suffering a stroke.
Boh was known as a demanding director, striving for the best performance possible with a specific sound. He wanted a band that provided a warm sound, not simply the brassy sound of a typical military band. Boh used unique and rare instruments to help achieve this sound, like the sarrusophone, heckelphone, contrabass clarinet, bass saxophone, and others. When he would judge band contests, he was known to give his best scores to the bands that sounded most like his preference, and lower scores to those that did not.
Boh expected a high level of performance and participation. His rehearsals would see a mistake worked on over and over until it was corrected, and he was known on occasion to stop performances and restart a piece if he did not feel the band was playing as well as it could. Tardiness was not tolerated for his rehearsals – his students recounted memories of band members showing up for a 7:00 AM rehearsal with their pajamas sticking out of their pant legs, and of Boh delivering blistering rebukes to those who came late.
While Boh could be harsh, he was also loyal to his students. Many spoke later in life of the affection they had for him and that they knew he held for them, and of things Boh had done to support his students. He was a man of strong ideals, which further inspired his students.
Perhaps nowhere were those ideals more represented than in Kappa Kappa Psi. While Boh did not found the Fraternity, he was its clear inspiration. Boh's ideals are reflected in the code of conduct we abide by today: honor, integrity, respect, and loyalty. The lessons his students learned are reflected in our purposes. J. Lee Burke, past national president and Fraternity parliamentarian for life, referred to Boh as the "Father of the Fraternity." Melbern Nixon, past national president and a student of Boh's at Oklahoma A&M, called Kappa Kappa Psi "a living philosophy of Boh's life."
Boh's involvement in Kappa Kappa Psi went beyond serving as its inspiration and supporting the Alpha chapter on the OAMC campus. He served as the fourth Grand President of the Fraternity from 1927-1929, and served as the first chairman of the Board of Trustees upon its establishment in 1941. He later served as a member of the Tau Beta Sigma Board of Trustees. Kappa Kappa Psi honored him posthumously in 1979 with the creation of the Bohumil Makovsky Memorial Award, presented to college band directors in recognition of outstanding work.
Boh was born September 23, 1878, in the village of Frantisky in Bohemia, today part of the Czech Republic. His father, Vaclav, died before Boh was born, and his mother, Anna, died when Boh was just 12.
Boh's formal education as a child was in line with educational standards of the time, though it lasted only a few years, ending not long before the death of Boh's mother. In addition to his academic training, his uncle Tomas provided his musical training. Tomas had been a music instructor for a noble family in Russia, and taught Boh to play the clarinet and the violin. Boh was known to play at holidays and festivals in Frantisky in his youth.
After his mother died, Boh continued to live on the family farm until he was 17. It was then that his sister Anna, who had settled with her husband in Nebraska, sent him money so that he could emigrate to the United States. He would later become a naturalized citizen in 1921.
After arriving in Clarkson, Nebraska, Boh soon found work in a local cigar shop rolling cigars. A few months later, a traveling carnival came through Clarkson which happened to need a clarinet player for its band. Boh was hired on, and was made the leader of the band as soon as he was able to speak English well enough to be understood by the other musicians. Later in life, Boh credited these musicians and other carnival workers with teaching him to speak English.
Boh spent the next few years playing in various traveling bands before deciding to form his own band. In 1902, his band was hired to play a carnival in Davis, Oklahoma. But after performing, the musicians learned the carnival organizers did not intend to pay them. The band was not on solid footing leading up to the performance, and this setback caused its immediate breakup. Boh, feeling obligated to his musicians, paid each of them from his own money, and thus found himself broke in Oklahoma.
It was after this setback that Boh's music career in Oklahoma began in earnest. He made his way to Oklahoma City and began teaching lessons and playing in a theater orchestra. He also became the leader of the band and orchestra at Delmar Gardens, a popular amusement center. When costs forced Delmar Gardens to discontinue the concert band, Boh accepted an offer to organize a band in Woodward, in northwest Oklahoma. Moving there in 1904, other than a short move away, he would lead bands in Woodward and nearby towns until 1908. It was one of these Woodward bands, the Commercial Club Band, that debuted Boh's first original composition, the "King of Oklahoma" march. It was also in Woodward that Boh petitioned the local lodge and became a Mason, an organization that would greatly influence the rest of his life.
In November 1908, Boh returned to Oklahoma City and reestablished himself by teaching lessons and performing with local concert bands. He also helped establish town bands in nearby communities with large Bohemian communities. In 1910, he was appointed director of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Band. This appointment also led to Boh's association with the State Fair of Oklahoma, an association he maintained until 1921.
Boh's life soon saw major changes. Professionally, he joined the faculty of an Oklahoma City music school, and in 1912 resigned as director of the Metropolitan Band to form his own group, the Makovsky Concert Band. Personally, on a visit back to Nebraska, he was introduced to Georgia Shestack, and they were soon married. Georgia would become affectionately known as "Mrs. Boh."
As the Makovsky Concert Band became successful in Oklahoma City, Boh's reputation grew, and in 1915, he was approached with an offer by J.W. Cantwell, the president of Oklahoma A&M College. Cantwell wanted to grow the music offerings at the college, and found himself in need of a band director and department head after the previous director was not retained and his department head suddenly fell ill and passed away. Boh accepted the offer to come to Stillwater, but believed he would be directing the band and teaching instrumental lessons. When he learned he was to be an administrator, charged with such tasks as writing reports and keeping budgets, he nearly declined the post. But he did accept, and found his musical home for the next 28 years.
It was at Oklahoma A&M that Boh would have his greatest influence. When Boh arrived, the band was part of the ROTC program, open only to male students, and students could only apply one music credit toward graduation. Boh quickly set out to make changes and found an ally in William L. Carlyle, the dean of Agriculture. Carlyle allowed agriculture students to take a music minor, which allowed for eight credits. This move, which was soon adopted by other OAMC colleges, allowed students to stay enrolled in the band throughout their academic careers. A full curriculum was soon developed, and in 1922, a music degree was established.
Boh also set about bringing his kind of music to the A&M program. Using his experience in building town bands and the changes in the academic program, he began building a concert band program in addition to the band's military responsibilities. The Symphonic Band, as it became known, soon built a reputation as one of the best college bands in the Southwest.
As Boh's tenure progressed, the band grew substantially and was soon able to support two concert bands. Programs such as band clinics and statewide tours were soon created to promote both the college and the band. The program grew so large that in 1927, Boh was allowed to hire an assistant director. In the early 1930s, women became part of the concert bands and performed in the stands at football games.
The program had a significant influence on the development of public school bands in Oklahoma, as program graduates became band directors and encouraged their best students to attend A&M to learn under Boh.
Over his life and career, Boh received a number of personal and professional honors. The University of Tulsa presented him with an honorary doctorate in music in 1940. He was also made an honorary member of the Kiowa Tribe, and given a name meaning "Great Father of Oklahoma Music." Boh was listed in multiple Who's Who in Music books, elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and was awarded the honorary 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite for his service to Freemasonry. One of his more notable professional honors was becoming a charter member in 1941 of the University and College Band Conductors Conference, which changed its name in 1947 to the one we still know it by today, the College Band Directors National Association. Boh was inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association and Oklahoma Music Educators Association Halls of Fame.
With the onset of World War II, the band program's participation numbers began to decline sharply. This, combined with a decline in his health, pushed Boh to retire from Oklahoma A&M in 1943. Upon his retirement, Boh was granted the title of head emeritus of the music department, and he donated his entire personal music library to the college. Boh suffered from Parkinson's disease in his later years, and died June 12, 1950, after suffering a stroke.
Boh was known as a demanding director, striving for the best performance possible with a specific sound. He wanted a band that provided a warm sound, not simply the brassy sound of a typical military band. Boh used unique and rare instruments to help achieve this sound, like the sarrusophone, heckelphone, contrabass clarinet, bass saxophone, and others. When he would judge band contests, he was known to give his best scores to the bands that sounded most like his preference, and lower scores to those that did not.
Boh expected a high level of performance and participation. His rehearsals would see a mistake worked on over and over until it was corrected, and he was known on occasion to stop performances and restart a piece if he did not feel the band was playing as well as it could. Tardiness was not tolerated for his rehearsals – his students recounted memories of band members showing up for a 7:00 AM rehearsal with their pajamas sticking out of their pant legs, and of Boh delivering blistering rebukes to those who came late.
While Boh could be harsh, he was also loyal to his students. Many spoke later in life of the affection they had for him and that they knew he held for them, and of things Boh had done to support his students. He was a man of strong ideals, which further inspired his students.
Perhaps nowhere were those ideals more represented than in Kappa Kappa Psi. While Boh did not found the Fraternity, he was its clear inspiration. Boh's ideals are reflected in the code of conduct we abide by today: honor, integrity, respect, and loyalty. The lessons his students learned are reflected in our purposes. J. Lee Burke, past national president and Fraternity parliamentarian for life, referred to Boh as the "Father of the Fraternity." Melbern Nixon, past national president and a student of Boh's at Oklahoma A&M, called Kappa Kappa Psi "a living philosophy of Boh's life."
Boh's involvement in Kappa Kappa Psi went beyond serving as its inspiration and supporting the Alpha chapter on the OAMC campus. He served as the fourth Grand President of the Fraternity from 1927-1929, and served as the first chairman of the Board of Trustees upon its establishment in 1941. He later served as a member of the Tau Beta Sigma Board of Trustees. Kappa Kappa Psi honored him posthumously in 1979 with the creation of the Bohumil Makovsky Memorial Award, presented to college band directors in recognition of outstanding work.
Band director and co-founder of Kappa Kapa Psi. Known by all who have ever called themselves a brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, it is with good reason that Bohumil Makovsky is revered as our Guiding Spirit.
Boh was born September 23, 1878, in the village of Frantisky in Bohemia, today part of the Czech Republic. His father, Vaclav, died before Boh was born, and his mother, Anna, died when Boh was just 12.
Boh's formal education as a child was in line with educational standards of the time, though it lasted only a few years, ending not long before the death of Boh's mother. In addition to his academic training, his uncle Tomas provided his musical training. Tomas had been a music instructor for a noble family in Russia, and taught Boh to play the clarinet and the violin. Boh was known to play at holidays and festivals in Frantisky in his youth.
After his mother died, Boh continued to live on the family farm until he was 17. It was then that his sister Anna, who had settled with her husband in Nebraska, sent him money so that he could emigrate to the United States. He would later become a naturalized citizen in 1921.
After arriving in Clarkson, Nebraska, Boh soon found work in a local cigar shop rolling cigars. A few months later, a traveling carnival came through Clarkson which happened to need a clarinet player for its band. Boh was hired on, and was made the leader of the band as soon as he was able to speak English well enough to be understood by the other musicians. Later in life, Boh credited these musicians and other carnival workers with teaching him to speak English.
Boh spent the next few years playing in various traveling bands before deciding to form his own band. In 1902, his band was hired to play a carnival in Davis, Oklahoma. But after performing, the musicians learned the carnival organizers did not intend to pay them. The band was not on solid footing leading up to the performance, and this setback caused its immediate breakup. Boh, feeling obligated to his musicians, paid each of them from his own money, and thus found himself broke in Oklahoma.
It was after this setback that Boh's music career in Oklahoma began in earnest. He made his way to Oklahoma City and began teaching lessons and playing in a theater orchestra. He also became the leader of the band and orchestra at Delmar Gardens, a popular amusement center. When costs forced Delmar Gardens to discontinue the concert band, Boh accepted an offer to organize a band in Woodward, in northwest Oklahoma. Moving there in 1904, other than a short move away, he would lead bands in Woodward and nearby towns until 1908. It was one of these Woodward bands, the Commercial Club Band, that debuted Boh's first original composition, the "King of Oklahoma" march. It was also in Woodward that Boh petitioned the local lodge and became a Mason, an organization that would greatly influence the rest of his life.
In November 1908, Boh returned to Oklahoma City and reestablished himself by teaching lessons and performing with local concert bands. He also helped establish town bands in nearby communities with large Bohemian communities. In 1910, he was appointed director of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Band. This appointment also led to Boh's association with the State Fair of Oklahoma, an association he maintained until 1921.
Boh's life soon saw major changes. Professionally, he joined the faculty of an Oklahoma City music school, and in 1912 resigned as director of the Metropolitan Band to form his own group, the Makovsky Concert Band. Personally, on a visit back to Nebraska, he was introduced to Georgia Shestack, and they were soon married. Georgia would become affectionately known as "Mrs. Boh."
As the Makovsky Concert Band became successful in Oklahoma City, Boh's reputation grew, and in 1915, he was approached with an offer by J.W. Cantwell, the president of Oklahoma A&M College. Cantwell wanted to grow the music offerings at the college, and found himself in need of a band director and department head after the previous director was not retained and his department head suddenly fell ill and passed away. Boh accepted the offer to come to Stillwater, but believed he would be directing the band and teaching instrumental lessons. When he learned he was to be an administrator, charged with such tasks as writing reports and keeping budgets, he nearly declined the post. But he did accept, and found his musical home for the next 28 years.
It was at Oklahoma A&M that Boh would have his greatest influence. When Boh arrived, the band was part of the ROTC program, open only to male students, and students could only apply one music credit toward graduation. Boh quickly set out to make changes and found an ally in William L. Carlyle, the dean of Agriculture. Carlyle allowed agriculture students to take a music minor, which allowed for eight credits. This move, which was soon adopted by other OAMC colleges, allowed students to stay enrolled in the band throughout their academic careers. A full curriculum was soon developed, and in 1922, a music degree was established.
Boh also set about bringing his kind of music to the A&M program. Using his experience in building town bands and the changes in the academic program, he began building a concert band program in addition to the band's military responsibilities. The Symphonic Band, as it became known, soon built a reputation as one of the best college bands in the Southwest.
As Boh's tenure progressed, the band grew substantially and was soon able to support two concert bands. Programs such as band clinics and statewide tours were soon created to promote both the college and the band. The program grew so large that in 1927, Boh was allowed to hire an assistant director. In the early 1930s, women became part of the concert bands and performed in the stands at football games.
The program had a significant influence on the development of public school bands in Oklahoma, as program graduates became band directors and encouraged their best students to attend A&M to learn under Boh.
Over his life and career, Boh received a number of personal and professional honors. The University of Tulsa presented him with an honorary doctorate in music in 1940. He was also made an honorary member of the Kiowa Tribe, and given a name meaning "Great Father of Oklahoma Music." Boh was listed in multiple Who's Who in Music books, elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and was awarded the honorary 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite for his service to Freemasonry. One of his more notable professional honors was becoming a charter member in 1941 of the University and College Band Conductors Conference, which changed its name in 1947 to the one we still know it by today, the College Band Directors National Association. Boh was inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association and Oklahoma Music Educators Association Halls of Fame.
With the onset of World War II, the band program's participation numbers began to decline sharply. This, combined with a decline in his health, pushed Boh to retire from Oklahoma A&M in 1943. Upon his retirement, Boh was granted the title of head emeritus of the music department, and he donated his entire personal music library to the college. Boh suffered from Parkinson's disease in his later years, and died June 12, 1950, after suffering a stroke.
Boh was known as a demanding director, striving for the best performance possible with a specific sound. He wanted a band that provided a warm sound, not simply the brassy sound of a typical military band. Boh used unique and rare instruments to help achieve this sound, like the sarrusophone, heckelphone, contrabass clarinet, bass saxophone, and others. When he would judge band contests, he was known to give his best scores to the bands that sounded most like his preference, and lower scores to those that did not.
Boh expected a high level of performance and participation. His rehearsals would see a mistake worked on over and over until it was corrected, and he was known on occasion to stop performances and restart a piece if he did not feel the band was playing as well as it could. Tardiness was not tolerated for his rehearsals – his students recounted memories of band members showing up for a 7:00 AM rehearsal with their pajamas sticking out of their pant legs, and of Boh delivering blistering rebukes to those who came late.
While Boh could be harsh, he was also loyal to his students. Many spoke later in life of the affection they had for him and that they knew he held for them, and of things Boh had done to support his students. He was a man of strong ideals, which further inspired his students.
Perhaps nowhere were those ideals more represented than in Kappa Kappa Psi. While Boh did not found the Fraternity, he was its clear inspiration. Boh's ideals are reflected in the code of conduct we abide by today: honor, integrity, respect, and loyalty. The lessons his students learned are reflected in our purposes. J. Lee Burke, past national president and Fraternity parliamentarian for life, referred to Boh as the "Father of the Fraternity." Melbern Nixon, past national president and a student of Boh's at Oklahoma A&M, called Kappa Kappa Psi "a living philosophy of Boh's life."
Boh's involvement in Kappa Kappa Psi went beyond serving as its inspiration and supporting the Alpha chapter on the OAMC campus. He served as the fourth Grand President of the Fraternity from 1927-1929, and served as the first chairman of the Board of Trustees upon its establishment in 1941. He later served as a member of the Tau Beta Sigma Board of Trustees. Kappa Kappa Psi honored him posthumously in 1979 with the creation of the Bohumil Makovsky Memorial Award, presented to college band directors in recognition of outstanding work.
Boh was born September 23, 1878, in the village of Frantisky in Bohemia, today part of the Czech Republic. His father, Vaclav, died before Boh was born, and his mother, Anna, died when Boh was just 12.
Boh's formal education as a child was in line with educational standards of the time, though it lasted only a few years, ending not long before the death of Boh's mother. In addition to his academic training, his uncle Tomas provided his musical training. Tomas had been a music instructor for a noble family in Russia, and taught Boh to play the clarinet and the violin. Boh was known to play at holidays and festivals in Frantisky in his youth.
After his mother died, Boh continued to live on the family farm until he was 17. It was then that his sister Anna, who had settled with her husband in Nebraska, sent him money so that he could emigrate to the United States. He would later become a naturalized citizen in 1921.
After arriving in Clarkson, Nebraska, Boh soon found work in a local cigar shop rolling cigars. A few months later, a traveling carnival came through Clarkson which happened to need a clarinet player for its band. Boh was hired on, and was made the leader of the band as soon as he was able to speak English well enough to be understood by the other musicians. Later in life, Boh credited these musicians and other carnival workers with teaching him to speak English.
Boh spent the next few years playing in various traveling bands before deciding to form his own band. In 1902, his band was hired to play a carnival in Davis, Oklahoma. But after performing, the musicians learned the carnival organizers did not intend to pay them. The band was not on solid footing leading up to the performance, and this setback caused its immediate breakup. Boh, feeling obligated to his musicians, paid each of them from his own money, and thus found himself broke in Oklahoma.
It was after this setback that Boh's music career in Oklahoma began in earnest. He made his way to Oklahoma City and began teaching lessons and playing in a theater orchestra. He also became the leader of the band and orchestra at Delmar Gardens, a popular amusement center. When costs forced Delmar Gardens to discontinue the concert band, Boh accepted an offer to organize a band in Woodward, in northwest Oklahoma. Moving there in 1904, other than a short move away, he would lead bands in Woodward and nearby towns until 1908. It was one of these Woodward bands, the Commercial Club Band, that debuted Boh's first original composition, the "King of Oklahoma" march. It was also in Woodward that Boh petitioned the local lodge and became a Mason, an organization that would greatly influence the rest of his life.
In November 1908, Boh returned to Oklahoma City and reestablished himself by teaching lessons and performing with local concert bands. He also helped establish town bands in nearby communities with large Bohemian communities. In 1910, he was appointed director of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Band. This appointment also led to Boh's association with the State Fair of Oklahoma, an association he maintained until 1921.
Boh's life soon saw major changes. Professionally, he joined the faculty of an Oklahoma City music school, and in 1912 resigned as director of the Metropolitan Band to form his own group, the Makovsky Concert Band. Personally, on a visit back to Nebraska, he was introduced to Georgia Shestack, and they were soon married. Georgia would become affectionately known as "Mrs. Boh."
As the Makovsky Concert Band became successful in Oklahoma City, Boh's reputation grew, and in 1915, he was approached with an offer by J.W. Cantwell, the president of Oklahoma A&M College. Cantwell wanted to grow the music offerings at the college, and found himself in need of a band director and department head after the previous director was not retained and his department head suddenly fell ill and passed away. Boh accepted the offer to come to Stillwater, but believed he would be directing the band and teaching instrumental lessons. When he learned he was to be an administrator, charged with such tasks as writing reports and keeping budgets, he nearly declined the post. But he did accept, and found his musical home for the next 28 years.
It was at Oklahoma A&M that Boh would have his greatest influence. When Boh arrived, the band was part of the ROTC program, open only to male students, and students could only apply one music credit toward graduation. Boh quickly set out to make changes and found an ally in William L. Carlyle, the dean of Agriculture. Carlyle allowed agriculture students to take a music minor, which allowed for eight credits. This move, which was soon adopted by other OAMC colleges, allowed students to stay enrolled in the band throughout their academic careers. A full curriculum was soon developed, and in 1922, a music degree was established.
Boh also set about bringing his kind of music to the A&M program. Using his experience in building town bands and the changes in the academic program, he began building a concert band program in addition to the band's military responsibilities. The Symphonic Band, as it became known, soon built a reputation as one of the best college bands in the Southwest.
As Boh's tenure progressed, the band grew substantially and was soon able to support two concert bands. Programs such as band clinics and statewide tours were soon created to promote both the college and the band. The program grew so large that in 1927, Boh was allowed to hire an assistant director. In the early 1930s, women became part of the concert bands and performed in the stands at football games.
The program had a significant influence on the development of public school bands in Oklahoma, as program graduates became band directors and encouraged their best students to attend A&M to learn under Boh.
Over his life and career, Boh received a number of personal and professional honors. The University of Tulsa presented him with an honorary doctorate in music in 1940. He was also made an honorary member of the Kiowa Tribe, and given a name meaning "Great Father of Oklahoma Music." Boh was listed in multiple Who's Who in Music books, elected to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and was awarded the honorary 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite for his service to Freemasonry. One of his more notable professional honors was becoming a charter member in 1941 of the University and College Band Conductors Conference, which changed its name in 1947 to the one we still know it by today, the College Band Directors National Association. Boh was inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association and Oklahoma Music Educators Association Halls of Fame.
With the onset of World War II, the band program's participation numbers began to decline sharply. This, combined with a decline in his health, pushed Boh to retire from Oklahoma A&M in 1943. Upon his retirement, Boh was granted the title of head emeritus of the music department, and he donated his entire personal music library to the college. Boh suffered from Parkinson's disease in his later years, and died June 12, 1950, after suffering a stroke.
Boh was known as a demanding director, striving for the best performance possible with a specific sound. He wanted a band that provided a warm sound, not simply the brassy sound of a typical military band. Boh used unique and rare instruments to help achieve this sound, like the sarrusophone, heckelphone, contrabass clarinet, bass saxophone, and others. When he would judge band contests, he was known to give his best scores to the bands that sounded most like his preference, and lower scores to those that did not.
Boh expected a high level of performance and participation. His rehearsals would see a mistake worked on over and over until it was corrected, and he was known on occasion to stop performances and restart a piece if he did not feel the band was playing as well as it could. Tardiness was not tolerated for his rehearsals – his students recounted memories of band members showing up for a 7:00 AM rehearsal with their pajamas sticking out of their pant legs, and of Boh delivering blistering rebukes to those who came late.
While Boh could be harsh, he was also loyal to his students. Many spoke later in life of the affection they had for him and that they knew he held for them, and of things Boh had done to support his students. He was a man of strong ideals, which further inspired his students.
Perhaps nowhere were those ideals more represented than in Kappa Kappa Psi. While Boh did not found the Fraternity, he was its clear inspiration. Boh's ideals are reflected in the code of conduct we abide by today: honor, integrity, respect, and loyalty. The lessons his students learned are reflected in our purposes. J. Lee Burke, past national president and Fraternity parliamentarian for life, referred to Boh as the "Father of the Fraternity." Melbern Nixon, past national president and a student of Boh's at Oklahoma A&M, called Kappa Kappa Psi "a living philosophy of Boh's life."
Boh's involvement in Kappa Kappa Psi went beyond serving as its inspiration and supporting the Alpha chapter on the OAMC campus. He served as the fourth Grand President of the Fraternity from 1927-1929, and served as the first chairman of the Board of Trustees upon its establishment in 1941. He later served as a member of the Tau Beta Sigma Board of Trustees. Kappa Kappa Psi honored him posthumously in 1979 with the creation of the Bohumil Makovsky Memorial Award, presented to college band directors in recognition of outstanding work.
Bio by: Shelley Jo Boitnott
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Buried: 06/14/1950
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