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Robert O. Briggs

Robert Orlando Briggs was the longtime director of the University of California Marching Band. He was the fourth full time director since the founding of the band in the 1880's.

Briggs was born in Modesto, Calif. on Aug. 20, 1927, the great-grandson of pioneer James Briggs, who cofounded the town. He graduated from Modesto High School and briefly attended Modesto Junior College before entering UC Berkeley in 1947. Briggs joined the Cal Band, played the cornet and took up the French horn. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in music in 1951, he joined the U.S. Army and served in the Korean War, joining U.S. Army bands at Ford Ord, Monterey and Okinawa, Japan. Later, he earned a master's degree in music from San Francisco State University.

After his military service, he landed the post of band director of Armijo High School in Fairfield, Calif. which he held until 1967 when he returned to UC Berkeley to assist Cal Band director James Berdahl. When Berdahl took a leave of absence in 1971, Briggs filled in as acting director before being officially appointed Cal Band director in 1973.

Bob continued as director until his retirement 1995. Retirement was spent starting a local community concert band in Fairfield the Solano Winds.