The North Carolina chapter of ASBDA is one of the oldest and largest in the country.  Its genesis was due to the dedication of Captain James C. Harper (1893-1986).

Captain Harper was a veteran of World War I and the founder of the first high school concert band in North Carolina: the legendary Lenoir High School Band, established in 1924.  During his fifty-three years as Director and Director Emeritus, Captain Harper established a legacy for quality music education unparalleled in the modern world.  Internationally known and revered, the Lenoir High School Band maintained a staggering forty-two year consecutive streak of Superior Ratings in Grade VI literature at the annual North Carolina Concert Band Contest from 1935 until 1977 when Lenoir High School was closed as part of a Caldwell County Schools merger.

Captain Harper was a co-founder of the American School Band Directors Association which was established as a national organization in 1953.  Through his guidance, the North Carolina Chapter of ASBDA quickly grew to one of the most active and prestigious chapters in the nation, allowing the greatest bandmasters in North Carolina the opportunity to serve the cause of music education, a passion to which Captain Harper devoted his life.