Welcome to The Golden Legacy, the Spirit of Troy's celebration of Dr. Arthur C. Bartner's 50 years as the Band Director of the Trojan Marching Band (TMB). The host for the zoom program is ABC's Rob McMillan. Rob is a Spirit of Troy alumnus.
Our story begins with Art's childhood in Maplewood, New Jersey.
Art excelled in basketball, but he also was immersed in music. Art earned All-State honors in both trumpet and basketball.
He attended the University of Michigan and was oftentimes the leader of ensembles.
Art graduated in 1962, earned a Master of Music degree in 1963 at Michigan, and a Doctor of Education in 1971. Thus he became Dr. Art Bartner.
In 1971 Tony Fox joined Art as the Associate Band Director and Arranger for the Trojan Marching Band. Tony said it was tough at first for Art to instill the discipline in the band. Tony said that everyone was behind Art.
Trojan Candy met Tony Fox in 1994. Tony agreed to give weekly composition lessons to my ten year old son Gregory at his campus band office. Tony became a "second father" to my son. Gregory still composes music for his performance duo, The Complements.
Before coming to USC, every marching band that Art worked with was coed. So in 1971 Art invited women to join the Trojan Marching Band.
In 1973 there was a major impetus to the Trojan Marching Band. At the halftime of the 1973 Rose Bowl, Diana Ross performed with the TMB on the field.
The next change is BECOMING THE SPIRIT OF TROY. The strongest influence on Art's finding the band's "true identity" was USC Football Defensive Coach Marv Goux. Coach Goux described when about thirty members of the band joined the team in the basement locker room in 1995. The ceiling was low, so a tuba player broke about four lightbulbs. Coach Goux said that it was the best pep rally ever! Then he showed his fist and said, "The team and the band became Power!"
In this section, there were coaches, administrators and USC athletics who, in their own way, paid tribute to Dr. Bartner. Here are the snips I took of them along with their comments.
HOLLYWOOD'S BAND is next. Super Star Mark Hamill spoke next in the tribute. He spoke about one of Art's most influential friends who was a mentor to Art. 
Hank Ehrlich was a Promotions GURU at Paramount Studios. He was a "Champion of the Band." Hank extended the Spirit of Troy's scope in the world of show business, in particular, Hollywood.
Trojan Candy was privileged to have met Hank at a USC Men's Basketball game. My son Greg was a ball boy for the team when Henry Bibby was the coach. One day, when Greg was courtside handling the basketballs, Hank introduced himself to Greg. He told my son to call him "Uncle Hank." During the USC football season, Uncle Hank would provide double header movie showings at Paramount Studios. The first movie was for the entire USC football team and a few special guests. Uncle Hank invited Greg and his family to attend the first movie. Then when we left, the entire USC band was waiting outside the theater to view the second showing that Uncle Hank provided. Thank you, Uncle Hank, for your generosity!
Now, back to HOLLYWOOD'S BAND. Trojan Candy took snips of all the movies, television shows and appearances that the Spirit of Troy has appeared in. Here are just a few of them:
The next ON THE WORLD STAGE had an extensive list of performances. Disneyland's Director of Entertainment Bob Yanny helped Art hone his skills as a maestro of mass bands. Art directed at least twenty two bands. Bob invited Art to direct 400 musicians in the Disney All-American College Band at the opening of Disney Epcot Center in 1982. Here are two snips from the Epcot Center Opening:
In BANDED TOGETHER, Stephen Johnson, the major donor of the Dr. Art C. Bartner Band Pavillion, spoke to all of the viewers. Steve, who graduated from USC in 1980, told us that he was a 15 year old first chair clarinet in an All-City band. Dr. Bartner was volunteering his time to conduct the band. He told Steve to apply and audition for a USC music scholarship. Steve said that he hadn't even thought about attending college at all. But, when he was awarded a USC scholarship, he became the first person in his family to attend college. Steve's brother followed his accomplishment and also attended college. Steve said, "Dr. Bartner created the heartbeat of this university!"
Next, we were introduced to TMB alumna Jessica Vogel. In turn, she introduced her husband Jacob Vogel, who was selected as the successor director of the Spirit of Troy. Jacob addressed Dr. Bartner. He passionately spoke these words, "Thank you Dr. Bartner for being a wonderful teacher, a wonderful mentor. I will do my absolute best to carry on this legacy and really be true to what you taught me."
Dr. Bartner made his appearance. He said, "I hope you enjoyed my 50 year journey as much as I did." He thanked his staff, students, the core group, his mentors, all the athletic contributors, entertainers, friends of the Trojan Marching Band and live performers. Then, Dr. Bartner said, "The most important people to be recognized are the Band Alumni and our current students. It was their hard work, talent, determination, spirit, and energy that made this band GREAT. They put their heart and soul into this Spirit of Troy!" Dr. Bartner then said, "Now, the single most important person in my life is my wife Barbara. She has been my partner for nearly six decades. We met in junior high school. It was love at first sight. She is my confidant, she's my critic and she supported me every step of the way. Finally, I want to thank the University of Southern California for giving me the opportunity, support and freedom to build the greatest marching band in the history of the universe!
Then Jake said it is his honor to end this show like we end every single thing we do with the Trojan Marching Band and ... that is, with the SoCal spell out!
