The Life of John Philip Sousa

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On November 6th, 1854, John Philip Sousa was born in Washington D.C. His Father, John Antonio Sousa was Portuguese, while His Mother Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus Was Bavarian. The first instrument John ever played was the violin. He also sang, and played instruments such as the piano, flute, trombone, and baritone. When John was 13, his father enlisted him in the Marine Corps Band so he wouldn’t join the circus, however he did play drums for Pt Barnum, the Circus King. John remained with the Marines until he was twenty years old.

When John was no longer with the Marine Corps, he a pit orchestra. This is where John learned how to conduct. After that he went back to the Marine Corps as their head conductor for 12 years. He also led the “President's Own” band from Presidents Ruthord B. Hayes and Benjamin Harrison. He also re-created the sousaphone which is one thing he is very famous for. Whether or not you are sitting or standing, John wanted it to be able to be heard over the whole band. That is when the sousaphone is re-created in 1898 by C.G. Conn. the year John left the Marine Band he organized The Sousa Band. They toured for a total of 39 years and performed a total of 15,623 concerts. They played for sold-out crowds all around the world including the World Expansion in Paris, France.

On December 30th 1879 John got married to his wife Jane. They had three children, John Philip Jr, Jane Priscilla, and Helen. When they all died, they were all buried in the John Philip Sousa plot in the Congressional Cemetery. On March 6th, 1932, John died of heart failure at the age of 77. John was also an apprentice musician for 8 years in the Marine Corps. He was then the head of the Marine Band for 13 years John also lead the Navy Band duri...

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...John’s most famous pieces of music is the American march “Stars and Stripes forever”. In an act of 1987 by the U.S Congress, this song is now officially the National March of the United States of America. This song was composed on Christmas Day in 1896. He composed it just after he learned of the recent death of his band manager, David Blakely. The song was first performed at Willow Grove Park on May 14th 1897. The song is performed in the key of A-flat and follows the standard military march form.

In the end, John Philip Sousa was the best of the best when it came to composing marches, hence the nickname “The March King”. He has written 136 marches and has a lot of which were very famous and are still very famous today. He served with the Navy and Military for several years as well. Unfortunately, on March 6th, 1932 John died from heart failure at the age of 77.

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