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JOHN PHILIP SOUSA The Marine Leader United States Marine Band, 1880-1892 Born: Washington, DC, November 6, 1854 Died: Reading, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1932 On the wall of John Philip Sousa's home on Long Island was a humorous account of his Marine Band's popularity ~ yes earlier in Washington, DC. The writer related that when the band paraded through the streets it was followed by a small army of boys. Close behind the boys came some businessmen and other citizens. Following those were Congressmen, all mesmerized by the stirring sounds of Sousa's marches. While this might have been an exaggeration, it gave an indication of the Marine Band's great popularity while Sousa was leader. John Philip Sousa did not begin his Marine career as leader; he began it as an apprentice musician. His father Antonio, a trombonist in the Marine Band, learned that young Philip was planning to run away from home and join a circus band. The elder Sousa promptly had him enlisted in the Marine Corps on June 9, 1868. He was 13 years of age at the time. Even at age 13, Philip was not a stranger to the Marine Band. His father had been a member of the band since before the Civil War and had traveled to Gettysburg with the band when President Lincoln made his famous address there. Since the family lived just a few short blocks from the Marine Barracks, Philip had been a visitor during many rehearsals and had even played cymbals, triangle, and E-flat alto horn at times. It must be assumed that his sudden enlistment, although a surprise, was not disagreeable. The fact is that he loved bands. While an apprentice, Sousa received both music and scholastic training, for which $3.00 was deducted from his pay each month. He learned to play all of the band instruments, but the violin was his primary instrument. Meanwhile, he studied advanced music subjects with private teachers and performed nights in local theater orchestras. This early period of his Marine service ended at age 20 in 1875, where upon he set out to expand his career as a violinist and conductor of theater orchestras. During America's Centennial celebration in Philadelphia in 1876, he was a member of the first violin section in the orchestra of the celebrated French composer Jacques Offenbach. Sousa later received wide acclaim as a director of an HMS Pinafore company. By the time a vacancy for leader of the US Marine Band was created, Sousa's exploits had been noticed by Marine Corps officials, including the Commandant, who went to Philadelphia to see Sousa conduct a musical revue. After some deliberation, they offered the position to him. Sousa's father probably played a role in the appointment He had retired from the Marine Band a year earlier but stayed in touch with the bandsmen. More importantly, he had contact with the Commandant by doing cabinet work for him. It is reasonable to assume that the elder Sousa kept the Commandant informed of his son's triumphs as a conductor and that he told his son of an impending change in the leadership of the band. At age 25, Sousa became the 17th leader of the Marine Band, and for the first time in his life, he was conducting a military band. The band numbered about 40 at that time, and most of the musicians were older men from Germany and Italy. Sousa updated what was an antiquated music library by acquiring modern classics, adding some new marches and transcriptions of his own, and beginning rigorous rehearsals. This displeased some of the older musicians, so he made arrangements for their immediate discharge upon written request. The band temporarily shrank in size to 30 members, but the improvements were dramatic. He recruited several young friends from Philadelphia to fill the vacancies. After being in charge for a year, Sousa had conditioned the band to the point where performances around Washington were delightfully different from what they had been before. Presidents of the United States were among the many who took notice, because it was the Marine Band's job to perform at White House functions. Sousa had more than passing acquaintances with the five Presidents he served under and tried diligently to present quality music offerings which would be both dignified and appropriate. His observations on the five presidents he served, as related in his autobiography, Marching Along, make for very interesting reading. The five Presidents in office while Sousa was leader of the band were Hayes, Garfield, Arthur; Cleveland, and Harrison. The President closest to him was James A Garfield, since they both belonged to the same Masonic lodge. When Garfield was assassinated, Sousa probably felt the loss more keenly than most anyone else in Washington. Upon receiving the news, he left his house and walked aimlessly about town all through the night. Upon returning home, he composed his solemn dirge, In Memoriam The Marine Band accompanied Garfield's body to Cleveland for burial. Being members of Masonic organizations was not only very important to military bandmasters during that era, it was expected. When significant Masonic events took place in Washington, the Marine Band (often called the National Band or the Government Band) usually furnished the music with Brother Mason Sousa deciding which selections were appropriate. Several of his marches were inspired by these Masonic gatherings-perhaps more than we know about today. Sousa endeared himself to his musicians because he had their welfare at heart. He made numerous attempts to have their salaries increased and even encouraged the men to take outside music jobs to augment their meager government pay. The bands wide acceptance in the community was especially good for the musicians morale, as was playing for a composer who would be known internationally as the "March King" before leaving his post. The musicians no doubt felt privileged to premiere many of Sousa's marches which were to become some of the finest ever written such as 'The Washington Post," "Semper-Fidelis," and "The Thunderer." The military ranks Sousa held as a Marine during his 12 years as leader have not been definitely established, but it is known that he was never a commissioned officer. Sousa resented this because band-masters in many foreign countries were commissioned officers. At the end of his Marine career, it is believed that he was a warrant officer. As Sousa's reputation spread, so did the reputation of the band. Toward the end of his 12 years as leader, the band was considered the finest military band in America and had grown to 49 members. Their concerts drew huge crowds, particularly the Saturday evening open air concerts, which became public social events. When Sousa resigned from the Marine Corps to form his own civilian band in 1892, there was public outrage. Much of the criticism was directed at his manager David Blakely and a syndicate of Chicago businessmen who made him an offer that would have been hard to decline. The Marine Band made entertainment history during Sousa's last two years as leader, but did so without his active participation. The phonograph had just recently been invented, and the band made numerous recordings on wax cylinders. Sousa believed the poor quality of the cylinders was in no way representative of his band's sound, and not once did he set foot in the recording studio. Only about one third of the band could be crowded into the small recording studio, with 10 individual acoustic recording devices (microphones had not yet been invented) placed around the periphery of the studio. This of course yielded 10 different sounding recordings. If 400 recordings of a selection were desired, the musicians had to record the selection 40 times, because a way to produce the cylinders en masse had not been worked out. These primitive recordings were used mostly in the "nickel-in-the-slot" parlors. Sousa would have no part of the business, which he thought rather amusing, and he did not make his peace with the recording industry until a quarter of a century later. Aside from his objection on artistic grounds, he pointed out that he was not paid for the use of his music; instead, the producers benefited from the fruits of his labor He did, however, permit hand members to make the recordings. It is believed that conductors were not used for the recording sessions; presumably the solo cornet player gave a signal to start playing. The Marine Band had traveled very little during most of the years Sousa was leader. Gradually, he changed that, and lengthy cross country tours were made during his final two years as leader. The bands first tour was conducted in 1891 and lasted five weeks; the 1892 tour went from coast to coast and lasted seven weeks. The success of the two tours inspired David Blakely, the tour manager, to lure Sousa away from the military service and form his own band. Sousa's career as a Marine ended with a concert on Friday, July 29,1892. His first formal concert as conductor of the band had been at a New Year's reception in 1881. His total Marine service, counting the years spent as an apprentice musician, was 18 years, 3 months. "Semper-Fidelis" (Always Faithful)-the title of one of his finest marches, certainly applied to Sousa. Following his death on March 6, 1932, Marine honor guards stood by Sousa's body in the hand rehearsal hall at Marine Barracks, and the Marine Band led the funeral procession to Congressional Cemetery four days later. Sousa was buried with full military honors, and each year on the anniversary of his birth the Marine Band performs a ceremony there. John Philip Sousa got his humble beginning in the band world as a Marine, and he was always quick to acknowledge that debt. Without that start, he undoubtedly would have made his mark in the music world, perhaps as a composer and conductor of operetta and theater music. But such was not his destiny. The world will long remember him as the "March King" This would not have been possible without the opportunity provided by the United States Marine Corps.
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