Musicians - John Philip Sousa

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	Musicians - John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa (November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932), popularly known as "The March King", was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known particularly for military marches.

Early life

Sousa was born in Washington D.C. to John António de Sousa and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus, parents of Portuguese and Bavarian (German) descent. When the young Sousa reached the age of 13, his father enlisted his son in the United States Marine Corps as an apprentice; shortly after he attempted to run away and join a circus.

Several years later, John left his apprenticeship to join a theatrical band. He learned to conduct and returned to the U.S. Marine Band as its head in 1880. Sousa also led the marching band of Gonzaga College High School.

Sousa organized his own band in 1892. It toured widely, and in 1900, represented the United States at the Paris Exposition before touring Europe. Sousa repeatedly refused to conduct on the radio, fearing a lack of personal contact with the audience. He was finally persuaded to do so in 1929 and became a smash hit.

Music

Marches

He wrote well over 100 marches; some of his most popular are:

"Transit of Venus March" (1883)
"Semper Fidelis" (1888)
"The Washington Post March" (1889)
"The Thunderer" (1889)
"The Liberty Bell" (1893) (credits theme for Monty Python's Flying Circus)
"Manhattan Beach March" (1893)
"King Cotton" (1895)
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" (1896)
"El Capitan" (1896)
"Hands Across the Sea" (1899)
"Fairest of the Fair" (1908)
"U.S. Field Artillery" (1917)
"The Gallant Seventh" (1922)
"The Black Horse Troop" (1924)
"Daughters of Texas" (1929)

The marching brass bass, or sousaphone, is named after him.

Operettas

The Queen of Hearts (1885), also known as Royalty and Roguery
The Smugglers (1882)
Desiree (1883)
El Capitan (1895)
The Bride Elect (1897), libretto by Sousa.
The Charlatan (1898), also known as The Mystical Miss, lyrics by Sousa.
Chris and the Wonderful Lamp (1899)
The Free Lance (1905)
The American Maid (1909), also known as The Glass Blowers.

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, and The Wolf.

The operetta El Capitan is the best known of the operettas. It has been in production somewhere in the world ever since it was written. Desiree and The Glass Blowers have had revivals. The music of the operettas is light and cheerful. Many of the marches are derived from themes of the operettas.

Other music

In addition to hundreds of marches, Sousa wrote ten operas and a number of musical suites.

Sousa the Freemason

One year after the 1882 Transit of Venus, Sousa was commissioned to compose a processional for the unveiling of a bronze statue of American physicist Joseph Henry, who had died in 1878. Henry, who had developed the first electric motor, was also the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

A Freemason, Sousa was fascinated by what the group considered mystical qualities in otherwise natural phenomena. According to Sten Odenwald of the NASA IMAGE Science Center, this played a significant role in the selection of the time and date of the performance, April 19, 1883, at 4:00 P.M. Dr. Odenwald points out that Venus and Mars, invisible to the participants, were setting in the west. At the same time, the moon, Uranus, and Virgo were rising in the east, Saturn had crossed the meridian, and Jupiter was directly overhead. According to Masonic lore, Venus was associated with the element copper, and Joseph Henry had used large quantities of copper to build his electric motors.

The "" never caught on during Sousa's lifetime. It went unplayed for more than 100 years, after Sousa's copies of the music were destroyed in a flood. As reported in The Washington Post, Library of Congress employee Loras Schissel recently found copies of the old sheet music for Venus "languishing in the library's files." The piece was resurrected recently, in time for the 2004 Transit.

Sousa also composed a march, "Nobles of the Mystic Shrine", dedicated to the high degree freemasonry Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Other writing, skills, and interests

Sousa exhibited many talents aside from music. He wrote three novels and a full length autobiography as well as a great number of articles and letters-to-the-editor on a variety of subjects. As a trapshooter, he ranks as one of the all-time greats, and his skill as a horseman met championship criteria.

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