Better Know a Composer - Sousa

John Philip Sousa (Nov. 6, 1854 - March 6, 1932)

  Sousa was an American composer, born in Washington D.C., and was known as the "American March King" (Since their was already another British composer, Kenneth J. Alford, who was also known as a "March King").

  Sousa started playing violin at age six to learn about harmony and composition. At age 13 Sousa's father, a trombonist in the Marine Band, enlisted him in the Marines Corps, to keep him from joining a circus band. Sousa spent seven years as an apprentice, and it has been said that he had learned all the wind instruments while there (Perhaps through the hardships of learning the horn, he got so distraught and simply said, "I give up, they'll just get the after-beats!").

  After Sousa was done with his apprenticeship he went to a theater pit to work on his conducting. In 1880 he returned to the Marine Band, and was the head conductor. He led them for 12 years, under five different presidents.

  The year he left the Marines he got his own band together, the Sousa Band. This was an ensemble of the highest caliber and toured around the world performing his marches. In 1893 Sousa approached J.W. Pepper to make a tuba that would be above the band, whether they were sitting or standing. They delivered with the sousaphone. I guess didn't like their's because he ended up using another model made by C.G. Conn in 1898.

  Sousa passed away at age 77, in his room at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. He had just rehearsed Stars and Stripes Forever this previous day. Sousa was buried at Washington D.C.'s Congressional Cemetery.

  Now as horn players, you might find it surprisingly, but yes, Sousa actually does have good melodies in his songs. There is more to his music than just after-beats.

  Now if you're a horn player, I've got a scary fact for you, and if you're anyone else, this will be a fun fact... Sousa wrote 136 marches! Some of the more notable, and well known, are Semper Fidelis, Washington Post, and Stars and Stripes Forever.

  Below is one of my favorite Sousa marches, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. It is, and is not, your typical Sousa march. The layout is the same and you'll see a couple horns rolling their eyes after about a minute of after-beats. What makes this one great is it has a dark and eerie feeling, also, the horns should perk up, because about halfway through we actually don't have after-beats, and we get to play some fun stuff. So if a conductor if taking requests for a Sousa march to play on a concert, this is one you should definitely be rooting for.