Born in
Erdesbach, Germany, Drumm learned
violin at an early age and, by 14, had become a noted solo virtuoso. In about 1898 he married his wife, Caroline, and later moved to Ireland, working at the Empire Theater in
Dublin and taking the role of musical director at
Dublin Castle. In 1904 he came to the United States as director of Ireland's Own Band, which had been booked to perform at the
St. Louis World's Fair. Among the performers in that group was the noted Irish tenor
John McCormack. At the end of the engagement, Drumm elected to remain in the United States. He settled in New York City where he worked as the bandmaster at a theater in the Bronx and guest conducted at several Broadway venues. Drumm was naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1911. In 1917 Drumm composed "Hail, America" as part of an apparent effort to rebut questions as to his national loyalty following the
1917 United States declaration of war on Germany. Its first public performance was the following year during a park concert in
New York City. In 1935, Drumm was named the best bandmaster in the United States by the
New York Evening Journal. ==References==