Bridging Cultures Through Music: The Untold Story of the U.S. Virgin Islands & Alton Augustus Adams Sr.

When the United States purchased the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) from Denmark in 1917, it was a strategic wartime move—but also the beginning of a profound cultural transition for the islands and their people. The journey from colonial outpost to integrated U.S. territory was anything but simple—and music played an unexpected but powerful role.

Enter Alton Augustus Adams Sr., a pioneering bandleader from St. Thomas who became the first African-American bandmaster in the U.S. Navy. Within a month of the U.S. takeover, Adams and his local band were enlisted—not just as musicians, but as cultural diplomats.

As scholar Mark Clague describes in Instruments of Identity, Adams became a “cultural interpreter, a mediator poised between the United States and the Virgin Islands.” His band became a "bridge of communication" between the white naval administrators and the predominantly Black population. By integrating local musical styles with classical form, Adams created music that was deeply rooted in Virgin Islands culture yet accessible to broader audiences. His composition, "Virgin Islands March", remains the national anthem of the territory to this day. More than just notes on a page, Adams’ work was a strategy of empowerment. He once said, “It was my hope that an awareness of distinctiveness could be revived through music.” And he succeeded—both culturally and commercially. His story reminds us of the power of local leadership, the arts, and cross-cultural understanding during times of change. At a time when global transitions and identity are front and center, we can learn a lot from Adams' legacy.