Born in Brooklyn to Bavarian immigrants, George Seuffert, Sr. (1875-1964) received his only formal music training from the violinist Joseph Zoellner. Seuffert became a music teacher and concert violinist before establishing the Concordia Military Band in 1894, later becoming the Seuffert Band. They performed on a bandstand on this spot until 1920, when the bandshell was built to replace it. Seuffert worked as a bank executive and personally knew John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), the famous Marine Band leader. Sousa had a large influence on Seuffert’s son, George Seuffert, Jr., who took his father’s place as bandleader in 1931. Seuffert retired in 1945 and died in Ridgewood, Queens, on November 9, 1964. The bandshell was named for him by local law in 1979.
