John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis on December 30, 1879; the couple had three children; John Philip, Jane Priscilla, and Helen.

On March 6, 1932, at the age of 77, John Philip Sousa died of heart failure in Reading, Pennsylvania. Just the day before, he had led the ‘Ringgold Band’ in a rehearsal of ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever’. He was buried in the ‘Congressional Cemetery’, Washington, D.C. in his family plot.

The Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. was dedicated to the memory of John Philip Sousa on December 9, 1939.

John Philip Sousa was born in Washington D.C. on November 6, 1854, to John Antonio Sousa and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus. His father was a Portuguese and his mother a Bavarian. John was the third of the ten children of his parents.

His father played the trombone in the U.S. Marine Band and consequently, young John grew up in an environment of military band music.

During his childhood, he attended several public schools in Washington and from the tender age of six also enrolled at a private conservatory, where he studied music for four years.

It was during this time that he became familiar with vocal music and also learned to play a number of instruments like the violin, flute, piano, baritone, cornet, alto horn, and trombone, often receiving instruction from his father too. His extraordinary talent was noticeable even at that age.

From the age of ten, he began attending the rehearsals of the ‘Marine Band’ along with his father. The Civil War had transformed Washington into an army camp and he was deeply influenced by the sights and sounds of war, including the music of military bands.

In 1875, at the age of 21, John Philip Sousa took his discharge from the Marines and began his musical career as a civilian, performing with the violin, touring and going on to conduct theater orchestras.

In 1890, he, however, rejoined the U.S. Marine Band, this time as its head, a position he would occupy for the next 12 years during which, he led the band under no less than five presidents.

Under Sousa’s leadership, the Marine Band became nationally famous and was considered to be the best military band in the country. During this time, Sousa composed some of his most celebrated marches, including ‘The Thunderer’, ‘The Washington Post’, and ‘Semper Fidelis’ that remain popular even today.

The Marine Band recorded its very first recordings with the Columbia Phonograph Company. The company released 60 cylinders of recordings in the autumn of 1890. The tours in 1891 and 1892 also helped considerably to popularize military music.

After the conclusion of the 1892 tour, Sousa was persuaded by David Blakely, a promoter, to resign from the Marine Band and form his own civilian concert band; ‘Sousa's New Marine Band’. On July 30, 1892, he conducted a farewell concert before the president at the White House and took his discharge the very next day.

'Semper Fidelis’ (1888) – the Official March of the United States Marine Corps.

'Washington Post’ (1889) – hugely popular with the public as the music of the two-step dance, new at that time.

'The Stars and Stripes Forever’ (1896) – the National March of the United States.