“ is well and favorably known by a large class of our best citizens and all doubts as to his capabilities on the score of youth or inexperience may be dismissed, as persons capable of judging will soon learn for themselves." Īny skeptical Washingtonians soon saw Sousa not only elevate the quality of the Marine Band, but also dedicate himself to bolstering the D.C. The Octoedition of the Washington Post announced: (Photo Source: Library of Congress)įrom his very start as music director of the Marine Band, he was well-loved and respected. Sousa served in the Marine Band as a musician for 7 years before he would go on to direct the ensemble in 1880 at the age of 26. John Philip Sousa in his Marine Band uniform taken in the 1880s. In 1880 at the age of 26, he was offered and accepted-by telegram-leadership of the Marine Band, making him the ensemble’s 17 th, and first American-born, leader. Minus a six month absence, Sousa played in the Marine Band until he was 20 years old. In fact, he was born “under the very shadow of the Marine Barracks” in Washington, and “among the first sounds to greet his infant ears were the strains of the Marine Band." His father, Antonio Sousa, had played trombone in the Marine Band from 1854 until 1879, and he made 13-year-old John Phillip Sousa enlist into the ensemble as an apprentice in order to keep him from joining a circus band. His ties to the ensemble were deeply engrained and dated all the way back to his birth in 1854. Sousa’s decision to leave the Marine Band had been a difficult one, based mainly on salary conflicts with Congress. He was leaving for Chicago, where he accepted an offer to serve as musical director of the “finest military concert band that the world can produce” (later named “Sousa’s Band”). native and beloved conductor, submitted his resignation to the U.S. After 12 years of conducting the United States Marine Band, John Philip Sousa, D.C. In the summer of 1892 Washingtonians had their hearts broken. She has the World’s Fair, Theodore Thomas, and now she has John Philip Sousa, Washington’s scholarly and accomplished musician, brilliant and versatile composer, and, more, the director par excellence of the United States Marine Band” “Chicago wants the earth and the fullness thereof. This photo was taken just one year before Sousa would resign to lead a civilian band after 12 years serving as music director of the Marine Band. If you believe that any review contained on our site infringes upon your copyright, please email us.John Philip Sousa (center) and the US Marine Band in 1891.
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