G. Oliver Riggs was an accomplished musician and band director who lived during the golden age of bands.  Born in Wapello, Iowa, Riggs studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and taught at the Iowa Wesleyan University Conservatory of Music in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.  His various jobs as a soloist and band organizer took him as far west as Tacoma, Washington, but he spent more than half of his life in Minnesota.

Riggs gained fame first as a cornet and violin soloist.  He eventually gave up solo work and focused on directing boys’ bands.  Known for their precision, discipline and sheer size, Riggs’ bands performed in concerts, for community celebrations, in parades and at state fairs.  Their repertoire included marches, popular songs and classical works.

Several of Riggs’ students went on to greater fame, including legendary trombonist Pullman “Tommy” Pederson, U.S. Army Band Assistant Director Chester Heinzel, and brothers Herbert and Leonard Jung, who both played in the U.S. Navy Band.   Many boys band “graduates” became school band directors, and others continued to play with the St. Cloud Municipal Band as adults, forming the nucleus of that band for more than 50 years.  (The last Riggs band graduate retired from the Municipal Band in fall 2006).

A longtime friend of Maj. George Landers – the father of the Iowa band tax law –  Riggs lobbied for passage of the Minnesota band tax law in 1927.  The law still exists; it allows towns to levy a tax to support community bands, choirs and orchestras.

Riggs also influenced the development of the instrumental music program in Minnesota schools through his involvement with the Minnesota Bandmasters Association.