The University of Illinois Marching Illini is the nation's premiere college marching band whose unique performance style on and off the field is derived from time-honored traditions and exciting innovations. This unique ensemble has always been a very select and close-knit organization which annually includes nearly 350 students from virtually every college, discipline and major on the University's diverse Urbana-Champaign campus. With the exception of the years during World War II when female students were allowed to perform with the marching band because of the shortage of male students, women were not permitted to join the Marching Illini until 1971. The University of Illinois became the first Big Ten school music organization, under the leadership of Harry Begian as director of University Bands, to admit women to its marching ranks. Discover some of the stories of the challenges and triumphs that these pioneering students faced as the first ladies of the Marching Orange and Blue.

Martha J. "Martye" Awkerman (1928-2008), cornet soloist with the Women in the Air Force Band (WAF Band), the Long Beach Municipal Band, and the Hormel Girls Band, grew up in Pennsylvania and received trumpet performance degrees from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in the early 1950s, where she studied with Frank Simon and Harold Mitchell. From 1955 to 1961 she played lead cornet and trumpet with the 543rd Air Force Band under the leadership of Captain Marybelle J. Nissley. During her tenure with this ensemble she traveled around the world on USO tours and invitational engagements performing for both military and civilian audiences. Following the deactivation of the WAF Band in 1961 she became the first woman to be accepted into the famed Long Beach Municipal Band, where she played with many former members of the John Phillip Sousa Band until her retirement in 1983. Discover the behind-the-scenes touring life of the members of the Womens Air Force Band through the eyes of the Martha Awkerman.

Eleanor Virginia Root (1884-1980) was the featured soprano soloist with John Philip Sousas Band between 1910 and 1916, and performed throughout Sousas extensive 1910-1911 World Tour. Roots musical artistry captivated both Sousa and his audiences, winning her critical acclaim wherever she performed. While she trained as an operatic singer, much of her performance repertoire during her years with the Sousa Band consisted of popular parlor songs and Sousa operetta arias. Roots career followed in the nineteenth century singing tradition of Jenny Lind (1820-1887), the "Swedish Nightingale" who toured throughout Europe and the United States. Toward the end of her professional career Root witnessed the gradual decline of the Golden Age of concert singing as the American opera tradition became the predominant form of vocal performance. Explore the private and public life of one of Sousas most recognized "nightingales."

Special Exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center Helen May Butler (1867-1957) was a virtuoso cornetist, violinist, and renowned bandleader who performed many summer concerts in Willow Grove along side Conway, Creatore, Clarke and John Philip Sousa. In 1891, she formed and conducted the Talma Ladies Orchestra, but in 1898 began conducting a smaller group of musicians from within the orchestra who later became the U.S. Talma Ladies Military Band. Better known as the Helen May Butlers Ladies Band, this unique all-women brass bands reputation for musical excellence earned them coveted performances at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition, the 1902 Womens Exposition held at Madison Square Gardens, and the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair. In addition her Cosmopolitan America March became the official march of the National Republican Party during the 1904 Presidential Campaign for Theodore Roosevelt. As a result she was frequently referred to as the Female Sousa until her band broke up in 1912. Learn more about this overlooked band leader and her impact on the role of women band musicians during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Exhibition made possible with a generous gift from David Kamm, Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering, University of Illnois, 1958. Artifacts on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center.

Marcel Proust (1871-1922) has been called the greatest novelist of the twentieth century.? The Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Kolb-Proust Archive together own one of the world's leading research collections of Marcel Proust materials.? This exhibition includes original manuscripts, correspondence, and prints from these collections that expose traces of the compositional process, revealing the creative play of Marcel Proust's artistry and the artist himself. Guest Curators: Caroline Szylowicz and Chatham Ewing