Richard W. Bowles Manuscript Music

Richard W. "Dick" Bowles was the director of University of Florida bands. He came to the University in 1958 as an assistant director and became the director of all UF bands in 1961. As a professor of music and chairman of the wind instrument division of the Department of Music, he taught various instruments including trombone and several music courses. In 1975, he retired as director of bands, but continued to teach in the Department of Music. He retired from the University of Florida in 1985 and became a journalist, photographer, and environmental advocate. Bowles was inducted into the Florida Bandmasters Association Roll of Distinction in 2001. He was honored numerous times by the Florida Outdoor Writers Association for columns, photography, and feature writing. Dick Bowles died on December 7, 2009 in Gainesville, Florida.

The two condensed scores in the collection at "Sword and Shield Concert March" and "The Invisible Boundary." "Sword and Shield," was inspired by a shoulder patch of the U.S. Tactical Air Command according to the composer. While a guest conductor at the International Music Camp in International Music Gardens between the United States and Canada in 1968, Bowles wrote "The Invisible Boundary," dedicated to the music camp and which he conducted standing on the U.S.-Canadian border.