John Philip Sousa

“The March King”, as John Philip Sousa was so aptly nicknamed due to the total of 136 military marches he composed over his lifetime, was born in Washington, D.C. on November 6, 1854. From an early age, Sousa had a great deal of parental influence persuading him to let music be a guiding force in his life, as his father played the trombone in the United States Marine Band. The adults in Sousa’s life believed that he possessed a great deal of natural talent even in his youth. At the age of 14, he followed in his father’s footsteps and became an apprentice in the Marine Band. He went on to join the Marines himself and was specially discharged at the age of twenty, after which he decided to try his hand at being a professional musician.

So he decided to start his own band called The Sousa Band. John didn’t really know what type of band he wanted to be so he looked at a lot of different types. From the article The First American Superstar : The Sousa Band, it says that “ Sousa thought about the kinds of bands that were popular at the time: Brass bands, military bands…..and symphony orchestras. Then he combined all of the things that he liked about each type, to form his new Sousa Band.One newspaper called it “a military orchestra” because it had instruments of a military band, but

J.J. Johnson transformed the way his instrument, the trombone, was played. He was born on January 22, 1924, in Indianapolis, IN and died in February 4, 2001, Indianapolis, IN. J.J. Johnson, with his new execution and imagination, was the musician who brought bebop into the trombone. However, after battling cancer and a muscular-skeletal disorder, J.J. Johnson passed away, leaving behind a legacy of groundbreaking work that he had done accomplished with the trombone.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born April 25, 1840, in Votkinsk, Russia. Tchaikovsky was the second of six born children. He started composing when he was four years old. When he was in his teens his mother died. It was at this point that his dad realized that his son had a talent in music. So he sent him off to St. Petersburg Conservatory. After graduating from there he moved to Moscow to teach music theory at the Russian Musical Society. He did not really like teaching, however, he developed a relationship with Nikolay Rubinstein and this is where he started composing symphonies. In his mid-years of his life, he traveled Europe showing off all his beautiful pieces of music. He even traveled to the U.S. to attend the opening of Carnegie Hall. He ended his life living near Moscow and composed music until the day he died. He is the most popular Russian composer of

Much time goes into making a show, and getting every detail and set practiced to perfection. A Marching Band's main goal is to provide entertainment to the people who choose to watch them, through the combination of peppy music and jaw dropping drill sets to get the crowd going.

Different instruments for these songs included; bugles, drums, and fifes. The fife and drum dates back to the 1530’s Swiss Army. It arrived from Europe into the colonial America and instantly became a traditional music for the military. Fife and drums were used as a way of communication in battle. Drummers had to learn 39 different beats. 24 were used for marching cadence and 14 were for general use. The brass band era became popular in the 1850’s.

On October 20, 1880, Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was to the son of two racially mixed Creole parents. He would later become a famous jazz pianist and played a huge role in the Harlem Renaissance.

The band has been asked to march in the Magnolia bowl parade on New Year’s Day.

Hillhouse. It was a Norwegian march named “Valdres” by Robert Jaeger. The piece begins with the trumpets and snare drum with a mezzo piano dynamic. The trumpet repeats the same legato phrase of what seems to be eighth note, dotted quarter, eighth note, eighth note, eighth note then a whole note. Each time this was played by the brass instrument, it ascended by a half step. I personally liked this rhythm because it felt slower and more relaxed than the previous marches. Shortly after, the clarinets join in and layered the trumpet and snare. These woodwinds added a airy timbre to the slower piece and therefore, the dynamics changed from lento to vivace. Soon, all woodwinds, brass and percussion joined into the repeating melody adding a fuller feeling to the march. Shortly, the band crescendoed into a short rest. Then, the french horns to play piano, giving a darker tone and a brassy timbre. During this, a trumpet played a short fanfare that was very well played with use of quieter, legato dynamics to resemble the rest of the brass but still be more prominent with an unequal balance. The trumpet also had a pattern of an ascending then descending scale. Together the brass reminded me of the fullness and darkness of a serene forest or peaceful voyage. Perhaps resembling a sail through a fjord due to the march being Norwegian. A clarinet follows the trumpet’s solo in the same rhythmic fashion and then the band plays tutti. The piece then repeats back to the very beginning at mezzo piano with the trumpets. The piece then closes as it did before the break into a different

For my second concert I attended the Central Methodist University Concert Band at Swinney Conservatory of music. The first piece that they played was titled Cyrus the Great, this piece was composed by Karl King and arrangement by Andrew Glover. Cyrus was a band member in King Fort Dodge Municipal Band from Iowa. This piece is a march. This piece contains low brass lines with minor key tonalities with some interesting harmonic changes. The great thing about this piece is that it gives all sections of the band a chance to shine and show their skills. Mr. King published this piece in 1912 after he finished playing in circus bands.

John Sousa was a 35 year old musican.He first was a leader of the marine band at the age of twelve.Instead of the marine band John wanted to do something diffrent.On July 30,1892 Sosusa resigned from the marine band,to start his own.

It was performed by the CSU Graduate Brass Quintet, consisting of Nikolas Valinsky, Matthew Chanlynn, Emelie Pfaff, William Gamache, and Heather Ewer. While Valinsky and Chanlynn played the trumpet, Pfaff played the horn, Gamache the trombone and Ewer tuba. This quartet accomplished a wonderful work by the different melodies, pitches and dynamics. While the tuba was heard more in the background due to its low pitch, the most significant instruments were the trumpets. Not only did they provide the highest pitch but it was also heard as the main instrument because of their rhythm. Together, this group of brass instruments created a dense rhythm by providing the audience with several layers of music on top of each-other. Altogether, I enjoyed this piece the most. It made me feel happy, excited and joyful.

In 1747 Leopold Mozart married Maria Anna Pertl. Leopold and Maria Anna would have seven children, two of who would survive. Maria Anna born in 1752 who the family called Nannerl . Then in 1756 Wolfgang Amadeus who was nicknamed Wolfgangerl. Wolfgang Amadeus was not his original birth name it was shortened to this from Joannes Chrisostomos Wolfgangus Gottlieb. It is little wonder even two of the children survived; “Given Leopolds insistence that they be brought up on a diet of water and gruel, the wonder is that any survived at all.” (Siepmann, Mozart His life and Music) Leopold Mozart was very musical himself and was a skilled violinist, composer and an author. He wrote a well

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, the Viatka District in Russia on May 7, 1840 to a Russian miner and a mother of French origin. During his early life, Tchaikovsky did receive some musical training from a French governess in the form of piano lessons, but the training did not continue. As a young child, Tchaikovsky's family moved to St. Petersburg because

Peter Tchaikovsky was born May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, Russia. His family was in the upper middle class. He was the second eldest of six children. His father, Ilya, was a mine inspector and metal works manager. At age four he made his first recorded attempt at composition, a song written with his