John Philip Sousa was born in Washington, D.C. on November 6, 1854.
John Philip was the third of ten children of João António de Sousa, who was of Portuguese and Spanish ancestry and his German wife Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus. His father was a trombonist by profession who played with the Marine Band.
John Philip showed an early interest in music and started his music education by playing the violin as a pupil of John Esputa and George Felix Benkert for harmony and musical composition at the age of six. He was found to have absolute pitch.
Growing up in Civil War era Washington, John Philip heard, and was influenced by, the sounds of drummers and military bands.
His career as a performer began at age 11, when he played the violin in a dance band.
When he was 13 Sousa was offered a job as a musician in a circus, and tried to run away. His father stopped him by signing the lad up to be apprenticed to the Marine Band, the official band of the president of the United States, instead. For five years he played with the Marine Band before taking up the violin again as a conductor of theater orchestras.
By the early 1870s Sousa writing his own music and conducting small orchestras in Washington
In 1876 he played in the orchestra of the French composer Jacques Offenbach at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Sousa stayed on in Philadelphia throughout the late 1870s.
Sousa married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis (1862–1944). on December 30, 1879. They had three children: John Philip, Jr. (April 1, 1881 – May 18, 1937), Jane Priscilla (August 7, 1882 – October 28, 1958), and Helen (January 21, 1887 – October 14, 1975)
Appointed leader of the Marine Band in 1880, Sousa's Band, as it was called, achieved great popularity during many tours of the United States and Europe. Sousa directed the Marine Band until 1892.
A perfectionist, Sousa raised the level of performance and richness of instrumentation of the concert band. He took pride in conducting his band in full military uniform.
When Sousa left the Marine Band in 1892 to form his own orchestra, the news merited a front-page story in the New York Times.
John Philip Sousa's stirring marches will survive as long as band music is played. He raised band music to a distinguished level, making it a very American musical form. During his 12 years as director of the United States Marine Band, Sousa composed Semper Fidelis (1888), The Thunderer (1889) The Washington Post (1889), South Africa March (1889), and Liberty Bell (1893). Altogether he composed about 140 military marches, earning him the title "March King."
In 1889, the Washington Post March, named after the newspaper, the Washington Post gave birth to the two-step in a metre, with a quick marching step with skips. It has remained as one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and is played regularly by marching bands at college football games.
Sousa's most famous work is The Stars and Stripes Forever. In 1897 a statue of George Washington was unveiled in Philadelphia. To commemorate the occasion, John Philip Sousa’s march, The Stars and Stripes Forever, was performed. It was the first public performance for Sousa’s march and the President of the U.S., William McKinley, was in the audience.
The Stars and Stripes Forever was designated the official march of the United States in 1987.
Between 1879 and 1915 Sousa composed 11 comic operas, of which El Capitan and The Bride-Elect are the best known. Sousa also wrote two symphonic poems and invented the sousaphone, a large bass tuba with circular coiling and an upright bell.
When the Spanish-American War began in 1898 Sousa was appointed music director for the Sixth Army Corps.
During World War I Sousa enlisted in the United States Navy and took charge of the band training center at the Great Lakes naval base in Illinois. After the war he continued his band tours.
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| Sousa in 1900 |
John Philip was the third of ten children of João António de Sousa, who was of Portuguese and Spanish ancestry and his German wife Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus. His father was a trombonist by profession who played with the Marine Band.
John Philip showed an early interest in music and started his music education by playing the violin as a pupil of John Esputa and George Felix Benkert for harmony and musical composition at the age of six. He was found to have absolute pitch.
Growing up in Civil War era Washington, John Philip heard, and was influenced by, the sounds of drummers and military bands.
His career as a performer began at age 11, when he played the violin in a dance band.
When he was 13 Sousa was offered a job as a musician in a circus, and tried to run away. His father stopped him by signing the lad up to be apprenticed to the Marine Band, the official band of the president of the United States, instead. For five years he played with the Marine Band before taking up the violin again as a conductor of theater orchestras.
By the early 1870s Sousa writing his own music and conducting small orchestras in Washington
In 1876 he played in the orchestra of the French composer Jacques Offenbach at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Sousa stayed on in Philadelphia throughout the late 1870s.
Sousa married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis (1862–1944). on December 30, 1879. They had three children: John Philip, Jr. (April 1, 1881 – May 18, 1937), Jane Priscilla (August 7, 1882 – October 28, 1958), and Helen (January 21, 1887 – October 14, 1975)
Appointed leader of the Marine Band in 1880, Sousa's Band, as it was called, achieved great popularity during many tours of the United States and Europe. Sousa directed the Marine Band until 1892.
A perfectionist, Sousa raised the level of performance and richness of instrumentation of the concert band. He took pride in conducting his band in full military uniform.
When Sousa left the Marine Band in 1892 to form his own orchestra, the news merited a front-page story in the New York Times.
 |
| Sousa and his newly formed civilian band, 1893 |
John Philip Sousa's stirring marches will survive as long as band music is played. He raised band music to a distinguished level, making it a very American musical form. During his 12 years as director of the United States Marine Band, Sousa composed Semper Fidelis (1888), The Thunderer (1889) The Washington Post (1889), South Africa March (1889), and Liberty Bell (1893). Altogether he composed about 140 military marches, earning him the title "March King."
In 1889, the Washington Post March, named after the newspaper, the Washington Post gave birth to the two-step in a metre, with a quick marching step with skips. It has remained as one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and is played regularly by marching bands at college football games.
Sousa's most famous work is The Stars and Stripes Forever. In 1897 a statue of George Washington was unveiled in Philadelphia. To commemorate the occasion, John Philip Sousa’s march, The Stars and Stripes Forever, was performed. It was the first public performance for Sousa’s march and the President of the U.S., William McKinley, was in the audience.
The Stars and Stripes Forever was designated the official march of the United States in 1987.
Between 1879 and 1915 Sousa composed 11 comic operas, of which El Capitan and The Bride-Elect are the best known. Sousa also wrote two symphonic poems and invented the sousaphone, a large bass tuba with circular coiling and an upright bell.
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| Sheet music |
When the Spanish-American War began in 1898 Sousa was appointed music director for the Sixth Army Corps.
During World War I Sousa enlisted in the United States Navy and took charge of the band training center at the Great Lakes naval base in Illinois. After the war he continued his band tours.
"Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" was a march composed by John Philip Sousa upon the request of his nephew, A. R. Varela. It was first conducted with a band of around 6,200 members in June 1923, the largest band John Philip Sousa ever conducted.
In addition to his music Sousa wrote three novels and an autobiography, Marching Along, published in 1928.
Sources About.com, Compton's Encyclopedia
In addition to his music Sousa wrote three novels and an autobiography, Marching Along, published in 1928.
Sousa died of a heart attack in his room at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania, on March 6, 1932, while on tour with his band. His death was national news, and he was mourned by people across the country.
He was given a hero's funeral. Sousa's funeral was held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. on March 10, 1932, and was attended by and was attended by a large number of people, including President Herbert Hoover and many other dignitaries. A crowd of 50,000 people watched the procession, led by a riderless horse and a military band playing a funeral march composed by Sousa himself.
He was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C., and his grave is marked by a simple stone with the inscription "John Philip Sousa, Bandmaster, Musician, Composer."
Sources About.com, Compton's Encyclopedia
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