John Philip Sousa (1854–1932)
America’s “March King”: leader of the Marine Band and then of his own band, Sousa wrote rousing marches known all over the world.
Born in Washington in 1854, the son of a Marine Band musician, John Philip Sousa studied violin and harmony and joined that same band very young.
From 1880 to 1892 he led the United States Marine Band, then founded his own concert band, the Sousa Band, which toured the United States and Europe for decades.
He wrote more than a hundred marches, including Semper Fidelis, The Washington Post (1889), The Liberty Bell and The Stars and Stripes Forever (1896), which became the national march of the United States. He also wrote operettas. The sousaphone, a tuba wrapped around the player, bears his name.
The structure of his marches (successive strains, a trio in another key) strongly influenced ragtime. On the piano they call for martial rhythm, solid basses and plenty of energy.
Piano sheet music (7)
- Hands across the Sea · level 4
- The Gladiator · level 4
- The Washington Post (march) · level 5
- Transit of Venus March · level 5
- The Stars and Stripes Forever (march) · level 6
- The Liberty Bell (march) · level 5
- The Invincible Eagle (march) · level 5