John Philip Sousa | |
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 Sousa in 1922 | |
| Born | (1854-11-06)November 6, 1854 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | March 6, 1932(1932-03-06) (aged 77) Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Burial place | Congressional Cemetery |
| Other names | "The (American) March King" |
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| Notable work | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
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John Philip Sousa (/ˈsuːzə,ˈsuːsə/SOO-zə,SOO-sə,[1][2]Portuguese:[ˈso(w)zɐ]; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an U.S. composer and conductor of the lateRomantic era known primarily for U.S. militarymarches.[3] He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to distinguish him from his British counterpartKenneth J. Alford. Among Sousa's best-known marches are "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (National March of theUnited States of America), "Semper Fidelis" (official march of theUnited States Marine Corps), "The Liberty Bell", "The Thunderer", and "The Washington Post".
Sousa began his career playing violin and studying music theory and composition under John Esputa and George Felix Benkert. In 1868, Sousa's father enlisted him in theUnited States Marine Band as an apprentice. Sousa left the band in 1875, and over the next five years, he performed as a violinist and learned to conduct. In 1880, Sousa rejoined the Marine Band and served there for 12 years as director. In 1892, he left the Marine Band and organized the civilian Sousa Band. From 1880 until his death, Sousa focused exclusively on conducting and writing music. He aided in the development of thesousaphone, a large brass instrument similar to thehelicon andtuba.
Upon the United States joiningWorld War I, Sousa was awarded a wartime commission of lieutenant to lead the Naval Reserve Band in Illinois. He then returned to conduct the Sousa Band until his death in 1932. In the 1920s, Sousa was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant commander in the naval reserve.
John Philip Sousa was born inWashington, D.C., the third of 10 children of João António de Sousa (John Anthony Sousa) (September 22, 1824 – April 27, 1892), who was born in Spain to Portuguese parents, and his wife Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus (May 20, 1826 – August 25, 1908), who was German and fromBavaria.[4][5][6] Sousa began his music education under the tuition of John Esputa Sr., who taught himsolfeggio.[7] This was short-lived due to the teacher's frequent bad temper.[7]
Sousa's real music education began in 1861 or 1862 as a pupil of John Esputa Jr., the son of his previous teacher under whom Sousa studied violin, piano, flute, several brass instruments, and singing.[7] Esputa shared his father's bad temper, and the relationship between teacher and pupil was often strained, but Sousa progressed very rapidly and was also found to haveperfect pitch.[7] During this period, Sousa wrote his first composition, "An Album Leaf", but Esputa dismissed it as "bread and cheese", and the composition was subsequently lost.[7]
Sousa's father was a trombonist in the Marine Band, and he enlisted Sousa in the United States Marine Corps as an apprentice at age 13 to keep him from joining a circus band.[8] That same year, Sousa began studying music under George Felix Benkert.[9] Sousa was enlisted under a minority enlistment, meaning that he would not be discharged until his 21st birthday.
In 1868,[10] Sousa enlisted in the Marine Corps at age 13 as an apprentice musician (his rank listed as "boy").[5] Sousa completed his apprenticeship and left the Marine Corps in 1875.[10] He then began performing on the violin and joined a theatrical pit orchestra where he learned to conduct.[11]
Sousa returned to the Marine Band as its head in 1880 and remained as its conductor until 1892. During this period, Sousa led the Marine Band through its development into the country's premier military band.[5][10] He led "The President's Own" band under five presidents fromRutherford B. Hayes toBenjamin Harrison. Sousa's band played at theinaugural balls of James A. Garfield in 1881 andBenjamin Harrison in 1889.[12][13]
In July 1892, Sousa requested a discharge from the Marine Corps to pursue a financially promising civilian career as a band leader.[14] Sousa organized The Sousa Band the year that he left the Marine Band, and it toured from 1892 to 1931 and performed at 15,623 concerts,[15] both in the United States and internationally,[16] including at theWorld Exposition in Paris and at theRoyal Albert Hall in London.[5][17]Jascha Gurewich, an early popularizer of the saxophone in the concert hall, was soloist for Sousa's band in the early 1920s.[18] In Paris, the Sousa Band marched through the streets to theArc de Triomphe, one of only eight parades that the band marched in during its 40 years.[19]
Sousa was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve on May 31, 1917, shortly after the United States declared war on Germany and enteredWorld War I. He was 62 years old, the mandatory retirement age for Navy officers. During the war, Sousa led the Navy Band at theGreat Lakes Naval Station near Chicago,[5][20] and he donated all of his naval salary except a token $1 per month to the Sailors' and Marines' Relief Fund.[21]
Sousa was discharged from active duty after theend of the war in November 1918 and returned to conducting his own band. In the early 1920s, Sousa was promoted to lieutenant commander in the Naval Reserve but did not return to active duty. He frequently wore his Navy uniform during performances for the remainder of his life.[10]
For his service during the war, Sousa received theWorld War I Victory Medal and was elected as a Veteran Companion of theMilitary Order of Foreign Wars. He was also a member of theNew York Athletic Club and Post 754 of theAmerican Legion.
On December 30, 1879, Sousa married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis (February 22, 1862 – March 11, 1944), who was descended from Adam Bellis who served in the New Jersey troops during theAmerican Revolutionary War.[22][5] They had three children: John Jr. (April 1, 1881 – May 18, 1937), Jane Priscilla (August 7, 1882 – October 28, 1958), and Helen (January 21, 1887 – October 14, 1975).[23]
On July 15, 1881, the "March King" was initiated intoFreemasonry by Hiram Lodge No. 10 (Now Hiram-Takoma Lodge No. 10) inWashington, D.C., where Sousa remained an active member until his death in 1932. Among other Masonic honors, Sousa was named the Honorary Band Leader of the Temple Band of Almas Shriners, the DC-based Chapter ofShriners International.[24] A number of his compositions were for the organization, including the"Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" March.
In his later years, Sousa lived inSands Point, New York. On March 6, 1932, he died of heart failure at age 77 in his room at theAbraham Lincoln Hotel inReading, Pennsylvania. Sousa had conducted a rehearsal of "The Stars and Stripes Forever" the day before with the Ringgold Band as its guest conductor.[25] Sousa is buried atCongressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[26] Every year on November 6, the Marine Band performsSemper Fidelis at Sousa's grave. His houseWildbank has been designated as a National Historic Landmark, although it remains a private home and is not open to the public.[27]
Sousa has surviving descendants today; one of his great-grandsons, John Philip Sousa IV, works as a political activist for the Republican Party.[28]
Sousa was decorated with the palms of theOrder of Public Instruction of Portugal and theOrder of Academic Palms of France. He also received theRoyal Victorian Medal fromKing Edward VII of the United Kingdom in December 1901 for conducting a private birthday concert forQueen Alexandra.[29][30]
In 1922, Sousa accepted the invitation of the national chapter to become an honorary member ofKappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band fraternity.[31] In 1932, he was initiated as an honorary member ofPhi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national fraternity for men in music, by the fraternity's Alpha Xi chapter at theUniversity of Illinois.[32]
TheWorld War IILiberty shipSS John Philip Sousa was named in Sousa's honor. The Marine Band possesses the ship's bell, using it in performances of the "Liberty Bell March".[33]
In 1952,20th Century Fox honored Sousa in their Technicolor feature filmStars and Stripes Forever withClifton Webb portraying him. It was loosely based on Sousa's memoirsMarching Along.[34]
In 1987, an act of Congress named "The Stars and Stripes Forever" as the national march of the United States.[35]
In 2012, acrater on the planet Mercury was named in Sousa's honor. He was posthumously enshrined in theHall of Fame for Great Americans in 1976.[5]
Sousa was a member of theSons of the Revolution,Military Order of Foreign Wars,Freemasons, and theSociety of Authors and Composers. He was also a member of theSalmagundi,Players,Musicians,New York Athletic, andLambs clubs of New York City and theArmy and Navy and theGridiron clubs of Washington.[25]
Sousa wrote over 130 marches, 15operettas, 5overtures, 11suites, 24 dances, 28 fantasies, and countless arrangements of nineteenth-century western European symphonic works.[36]
Sousa wrote over 130 marches, published by Harry Coleman of Philadelphia,Carl Fischer Music, theJohn Church Company, and theSam Fox Publishing Company, the last association beginning in 1917 and continuing until his death.[37] Some of his more well-known marches include:
Sousa wrote marches for several U.S. universities, including theUniversity of Minnesota,[47]University of Illinois,[48]University of Nebraska,[49]Kansas State University,[50]Marquette University,[51] Pennsylvania Military College (Widener University), and theUniversity of Michigan.
Sousa wrote many notable operettas, including:
Marches and waltzes have been derived from many of these stage-works. Sousa also composed the music for six operettas that were either unfinished or not produced:The Devils' Deputy,Florine,The Irish Dragoon,Katherine,The Victory, andThe Wolf.[53]
In addition, Sousa wrote a march based on themes fromGilbert and Sullivan's comic operaThe Mikado, the elegant overtureOur Flirtations, several musical suites, etc.[54] He frequently added Sullivan opera overtures or other Sullivan pieces to his concerts.[55]
Sousa ranked as one of the all-time greattrapshooters and was enshrined in the Trapshooting Hall of Fame.[56] He organized the first national trapshooting organization, a forerunner to today'sAmateur Trapshooting Association (ATA). He also wrote numerous articles about trapshooting.[56] He was a regular competitor representing the Navy in trapshooting competitions, particularly against the Army. Records indicate that Sousa registered more than 35,000 targets during his shooting career.[29] The Trapshooter Hall of Fame quotes him as saying "Let me say that just about the sweetest music to me is when I call, 'pull,' the old gun barks, and the referee in perfect key announces, 'dead'."[56]
In Sousa's 1902 novellaThe Fifth String, a virtuoso violinist makes a deal with the Devil for a magic violin with five strings. The first four strings excite the emotions of Pity, Hope, Love, and Joy but the fifth string, made from the hair of Eve, will cause the player's death once played. The violinist wins the love of the woman he desires but out of jealous suspicion, she commands him to play the death string, which he does.[57]
In 1905, Sousa publishedPipetown Sandy, which includes a satirical poem titled "The Feast of the Monkeys".[58] In 1920, he wrote a 40,000-word story entitled "The Transit of Venus".[59] Sousa also wrote the booklet "A manual for trumpet and drum", published by theLudwig Drum Company with advice for playing drums and trumpet. An early version of the trumpet solo to "Semper Fidelis" was included in this volume.[60]
The marching brass bass orsousaphone is a modifiedhelicon created in 1893 by Philadelphia instrument makerJ. W. Pepper at Sousa's request, using several of his suggestions in its design. Sousa wanted atuba that could sound upward and over the band whether its player was seated or marching.C.G. Conn recreated the instrument in 1898 and this was the model that Sousa preferred to use.[61]
Sousa held a very low opinion of the emerging recording industry. He derided recordings as "canned music", a reference to the early waxcylinder records that came in can-like cylindrical cardboard boxes. He argued to a congressional hearing in 1906:
These talking machines are going to ruin the artistic development of music in this country. When I was a boy... in front of every house in the summer evenings, you would find young people together singing the songs of the day or old songs. Today you hear these infernal machines going night and day. We will not have a vocal cord left. The vocal cord will be eliminated by a process of evolution, as was the tail of man when he came from the ape.
Sousa's antipathy to recording was such that he very rarely conducted his band when it was being recorded.[62] Nevertheless, the band made numerous recordings, the earliest being issued on cylinders by several companies, followed by many recordings on discs by theBerliner Gramophone Company and its successor, theVictor Talking Machine Company (laterRCA Victor). The Berliner recordings were conducted by Henry Higgins (one of Sousa's cornet soloists) andArthur Pryor (Sousa's trombone soloist and assistant conductor).[63] Sousa claimed that he had "never been in the gramophone company's office in my life".[64]
Sousa conducted a few of the Victor recordings but most were conducted by Pryor,Herbert L. Clarke, Edwin H. Clarke,Walter B. Rogers (who had also been a cornet soloist with Sousa),Rosario Bourdon,Josef Pasternack, orNathaniel Shilkret.[63] Details of the Victor recordings are available in the external link below to the EDVR.
After the introduction ofelectrical recording in 1925 Sousa changed his mind about phonograph records. After a demonstration of theOrthophonic Victrola on October 6, 1925, at theWaldorf-Astoria Hotel he said, "[Gentlemen], that is a band. This is the first time I have ever heard music with any soul to it produced by a mechanical talking machine."[65]
Sousa refused to appear on radio broadcasts for many years, but relented beginning with a 1929 nationwide broadcast.[25]
Even after his death, Sousa continues to be remembered as "The March King" through theJohn Philip Sousa Foundation. The non-profit organization, founded in 1981, recognizes one superior student in marching band for "musicianship, dependability, loyalty, and cooperation."[66]
The John Philip Sousa Foundation provides awards, scholarships, and projects such as The Sudler Trophy, The Sudler Shield, The Sudler Silver Scroll, The Sudler Flag of Honor, The Historic Roll of Honor, The Sudler Cup, The Hawkins Scholarship, National Young Artists, The National Community Band, and The Junior Honor Band Project.[67] He won many honorable awards across his lifetime.
Paul E. Bierley is a member of Whitehall No. 761, Whitehall, Ohio.
His musical education began at 7. He had already made up his mind that he wanted to be a musician, and four years later he won all the medals at the conservatory, the beginning of his collection of decorations, which is said to be the largest in his field in the world. That same year he became a violin soloist.
Adapted from the U of M Marching Band Centennial Book, Minnesota Hats Off to Thee, ©1992
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