Frequently cited as "the Father of the school band movement in America," A. R. McAllister was a widely recognized band leader and musical talent who organized the acclaimed Joliet Township High School Band in 1913 and led it to national fame, capturing numerous competitive awards and earning critical praise. He was elected a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association in 1931, an exclusive honor extended only to those with the highest credentials and accomplishments in the field of "Wind Band music." In 2006, he was posthumously inducted into the High School Band Director's National Association Hall of Fame. Instituting an unusually rigorous program of musical preparation and education, McAllister quickly molded his young charges into a first-rate ensemble. The group won the first of three consecutive Illinois School Band Association contests in 1924. In 1926, the band captured its first National Band Championship at Fostoria, Ohio and added three more titles in 1927, 1928 and 1931. Extended an invitation to perform at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in 1936, the band played a week-long series of concerts before packed houses, garnering favorable press coverage. The concerts proved so successful that the promoters offered the band an additional week of performances at the fabled venue - an offer that was ultimately declined. McAllister was regarded as an orchestral innovator who experimented in the 1920's and 1930's with a variety of instrumentation to produce a rich "symphonic" sound of unusual depth and expressiveness. In that way, his band's sound differed significantly from the typical "Brass Bands" of a decade or two earlier. Also see the bio of friend and colleague, Albert Austin Harding.
(bio by: Bruce Myers, findagrave member #47425897)

For a deep dive into Director McAllister and the origins of the JTHS Band consult: https://jthsbaa.org/pdf/jkluball-mcallister-study.pdf

I encourage you also to visit the memorial page of Robert Louis "Bob" Hoffman (1914-2003) - distinguished clarinetist and alumnus of the Joliet Township High School Band under McAllister's tutelage. Actual burial here