SBO+: In our May 2026 issue, we announced that the American Bandmasters Association has created the Alton Adams Legacy Recognition to be presented to outstanding concert band conductors and composers who had not previously been recognized by ABA.
It was not that many years ago that many organizations were only open to membership by white men. The result was that generations of women and people of color were either denied entry to those professions or faced obstacles and challenges to their success and in the case of music education, the success of their students.
One of the two inaugural recipients of the Alton Adams Legacy Recognition is MaryBelle Johns Nissly.
MaryBelle Johns Nissly (1916-1999) is an inspirational figure for women in leadership everywhere. Nissly received her baccalaureate degree in Music Education from West Chester State Teachers College and a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She was immediately hired to be a high school band director. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, she enlisted in the Women’s Army Corps. In 1942, she attended the U.S. Army Music School and was ranked as the top female graduate (scoring higher than many of the men) and was assigned as the first conductor of the 401st Army Band as a Master Sergeant, as women were not authorized the rank of Warrant Officer as were the male graduates. In 1944, through an Act of Congress, she became among the first women in United States history to earn a warrant officer bandleader appointment. Initiating and directing the first armed forces band composed only of women, Nissly was an ambassador of our country at home and abroad, setting the stage for the expansion of women’s roles both within and outside the military.
Ms.Nissly left the military in 1947 to lead the Manheim Township School District band program, where as one of the few female band directors in the nation she oversaw a period of tremendous growth and success, including tripling the number of participating students, establishing the middle school’s band program, and winning the program’s first performance awards.
Responding to the call of the military again in 1952, Ms. Nissly joined the U.S. Air Force at the rank of Captain, continuing to develop and direct all-women bands, including the famed Women of the Air Force Band (“WAF”) – a groundbreaking 50-member band that toured the world as ambassadors for our country. Fighting and overcoming significant limitations on women in the armed forces, Ms. Nissly and WAF spread American values and goodwill around the globe while entertaining both soldiers and world dignitaries. An alumni WAF still performs today. By breaking through barriers to women in the military and in our society at large MaryBelle Johns Nissly is an inspiration for women seeking to develop their potential as next generation leaders.
Two hundred thirty-five women musicians performed in the band over its ten-year history, and several would go on to become music educators themselves. In addition, the WAF Band was featured in America’s most famous venues and marched for three Presidential inaugurations.
No matter where they performed, they were acclaimed for their musicianship and professionalism. During the 1961 ABA Convention held in Long Beach, CA, the WAF Band gave one of their most notable performances. In 1968, just before she retired from the military, Nissly was promoted to Major. She then went on to become a professor of music at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Ms. Nissly founded the university’s orchestra and directed numerous musical theater productions, retiring from the university in 1982. However, she remained active in the Little Rock music community directing handbell choirs and other community groups.
Because of her lifelong dedication to music in America, her tenacious interest in organizing and preserving the WAF Band’s historical documents, and her groundbreaking service as a female bandleader in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force, Major MaryBelle Nissly was recognized by the American Bandmasters Association with the Alton Adams Legacy Recognition.