John Phillip Sousa was America’s first great musical composer and most notable director of the U.S. Marine Corp Band. He composed many great American marches and military pieces and brought the Marine Band into national and international fame. The Marine Band became known as “The President’s Own” and Sousa became known as the “March King.” After military service he organized his own concert band, which toured and gained worldwide fame and popularity. In addition to being a renowned composer of the American marches, Sousa also composed many other types of music, including symphonies, operettas and operas. Sousa also became a published author and made many other contributions to society. This report focuses on the musical and personal life of John Phillip Sousa including some of his most notable successes. American composer, John Phillip Sousa was born on November 6th, 1854 in Washington, D.C. He died on March 6th, 1932 in Reading, PA at the age of 77. Sousa was born and raised on G street in Washington, DC just a few blocks for the U.S. Marine barracks where is father, Antonio served as a trombone player in the Marine Band. The third of ten children, John Phillip Sousa was born to immigrant parents. His father, John Antonio Sousa whose parents were Portuguese, was born in Spain. He mother, Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus was born in Bavaria. …show more content…
In 1896, Sousa’s first operetta “El Capitan” was performed and became one of his most successful works. He also wrote a number of comic operas including “The Bride Elect” and “The Free Lance.” Sousa’s band continued to tour across the U.S. and Europe and eventually around the world in 1910. After the beginning of World War I, Sousa join the Navy and began leading naval bands however, in 1920 he left the Navy and returned to his band.
The ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ is a march by an American composer Sousa Phillip (Blackburn, 2004). The piece was premiered in 1897. It is one of the famous compositions among the composer’s works. Sousa and his band performed this piece regularly at their concerts. The piece commences with a short, exciting introduction, trailed by three contrasting melodies of different moods. Although Sousa had established his own poetry in the music, the piece is mostly heard in its instrumental structure. In 1987, the piece was nominated as the official march in the United States (Blackburn, 2004).
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.
Peyser, J. (1986) The Orchestra: Origins and Transformations. New York: Charles Scribner’s and Sons. Sadie, S. (1980) New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
It is a song that many children remember by singing " be kind to your web-footed friends.". In his lengthy career he conducted over 100 operettas, 11 suites, and 2 concert pieces. Not a man to sit on the sidelines for long. Sousa joined the Naval Reserves at the ripe old age of 62. He sure was not in it for money.
Frederic Chopin, the Polish composer and pianist, was born on March 1,1810, according to the statements of the artist himself and his family, but according to his baptismal certificate, which was written several weeks after his birth, the date was 22 February. His birthplace was the village of Zelazowa Wola, part of the Duchy of Warsaw.
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, more commonly known as Jelly Roll Morton, was born to a creole family in a poor neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Morton lived with several family members in different areas of New Orleans, exposing him to different musical worlds including European and classical music, dance music, and the blues (Gushee, 394). Morton tried to play several different instruments including the guitar; however, unsatisfied with the teachers’ lack of training, he decided to teach himself how to play instruments without formal training (Lomax, 8). ...
"He just got his music out of the air," said one neighbor. One cannot hear the word "ragtime" without thinking of the "King of Ragtime," Scott Joplin. He is clearly one forerunner in the field of American music, particularly at the turn of the twentieth century.
Nearly a century’s worth of compositions has earned Aaron Copland extensive recognition as the foremost American composer of his time. Ironically, Copland was raised the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and inhabitant of a colorless city environment, yet would become known for producing the music of “rugged-souled Americans” (Mellers 4). Unbounded by historical musical constraints such as those present in the culture of France, where Copland studied for many years, Copland found himself free to explore and experiment in pursuit of a unique, undoubtedly American sound.
Sousa hasn’t been forgotten, on December 9, 1939, the new Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge across the Anacostia River in Washington D.C. was dedicated to the memory of John Philip Sousa. In a tribute to its seventeenth leader, in 1974, the Marine Band rededicated its historic band hall at the Marine Barracks as “John Philip Sousa Band Hall.” Overall, John Philip Sousa was a great band leader, and a superb part of music’s history. (Sousa)
In the 1920s a new kind of music rose in New Orleans. Different from the ballroom songs popular in that day, former slaves and their families created this new music called jazz, which spread like wildfire. Many artists influenced the growth of this great type of music including Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Louis Armstrong played as one of these great men. Growing up in a poor section of the “Birthplace of Jazz”, Armstrong taught himself to play the trumpet, also known as the cornet. Louis Armstrong was the most influential jazz trumpet player to walk this earth due to his own created style of jazz including many songs that are still used today.
Amy Beach was a very famous and influential composer and pianist from New Hampshire, United States. She fought long and hard to get to where she got in her lifetime. Back in the late 1800’s, it was hard for women to get noticed because they believe that their role in society was to stay at home and take care of the family. Amy Beach defeated all the odds of a female gender role in her lifetime. She became a role model for young girls wanting to become a composer or becoming anything they wanted to be, as long as they fought for it. She has made an enormous impact on music in America. The following paper will discuss Beach’s life, her struggles, her musical training, how her music was shaped by the society she lived in and famous compositions
The history of the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble will be reflected through a timeline of events, including an analysis of significant events, groups, composers, and advancements. When society envisions a Wind Ensemble, talented musicians, grand music halls, and difficult arrangements typically come to mind. However, a modern-day Wind Ensemble includes a variety of musicians, each with positive and negative aspects. In society today, music is greatly appreciated and accepted. It is considered an honor and a privilege to expose our ears to the music.
Tick, Judith, and Paul E. Beaudoin. Music in the USA: a Documentary Companion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
In their books: Copland: 1900 through 1942 and Copland: Since 1943, Aaron Copland and Vivian Perlis give a detailed account of the life of one of America’s most influential composers. The books are arranged similarly to the Shostakovich biography that our class reviewed earlier this semester. That is, through personal accounts by Copland himself along with accounts of Copland’s friends and acquaintances, the authors manage to paint an accurate and interesting picture detailing the life of the great composer. When combined, the two books recount Copland’s entire life, dividing it into two periods for the purpose of easier organization and reading.
Mozart was born on Jan. 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria. His father was Leopold Mozart, a composer and a popular violinist. Mozart received his early musical training from his father. At the early age of 3 Mozart showed signs of being a musical genius. Then, at the age of five Mozart started composing. Beginning in 1762 Mozart’s father took young Mozart and his older sister, Maria Anna, on tours in Europe where they played the piano, harpsichord, violin, and organ, together and separately. Mozart learned to play the piano, harpsichord, and violin from his father. He gave public concerts and played at numerous courts and received several commissions.