John Phillip

Sousa
Daniella Ayala
Period 3
Music
Dates- Time line
• John Philip Sousa born on November 6
• Father: John Antonio Sousa (1824-1892)
• Mother: Marie Elisabeth (Trinkaus) Sousa (1826-1908)
• 1861
• Begins music and violin studies with John Esputa
• 1868
• Enlists as an “apprentice” in the U.S. Marine Band on June 9
• 1871
• Honorably discharged from the Marines on December 31
• 1872
• Begins second enlistment in the Marines on July 8
• 1873
• Copyrights early compositions, “The Review March” and “The
Cuckoo Galop”
• 1874
• Honorably discharged from the Marines on May 18
• Studies composition with George Felix Benkert (until 1876)
• Becomes conductor of the Washington, D.C., Opera House (until 1877)
• Conducts road company in Matt Morgan’s Living Pictures (until 1878) Plays
1st violin under Offenbach at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia (until
1878)
• Plays in Mrs. Drew’s Arch Street Theater Orchestra in Philadelphia (until
1879)
• 1875
• Conducts road company in The Phoenix throughout the U.S.
• 1876
• Plays in Chestnut Street Theater Orchestra in Philadelphia
• 1879
• Becomes music director of Gorman’s Philadelphia Church Choir Company in H.M.S.
Pinafore
• Tours with H.M.S. Pinafore
• 1879
• Marries Jane van Middlesworth (Bellis) on December 30, 1879
• 1880
• Composes Our Flirtations (a play with music) and tours as conductor
of the group
• Enlists in the Marines for a third time as leader, or principal musician
• Sousa in 18901880-92
• Serves as conductor of “The President’s Own,” the U.S. Marine Band
under presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison
• 1891
• Takes the U.S. Marine Band on its first tour of the U.S.
• 1892
• Honorably discharged from the Marines on July 30
• First concert by Sousa’s New Marine Band in Plainfield, NJ, on September 26
• Sousa Band tours annually, performing more than 15,000 concerts (until 1931)
• Sousa Band performs at the dedication of buildings at the World’s Columbian
Exposition (World’s Fair) in Chicago in October
• 1893
• Engaged by Theodore Thomas to play in concerts at World’s Columbian Exposition, May-June
• 1895
• Completes full score for operetta El Capitan
• 1896
• David Blakely (Sousa’s manager) dies in New York while Sousa is on vacation in Europe
• First performance of operetta El Capitan in Boston on April 13
• Completes piano score for “The Stars and Stripes Forever” on Christmas Day
• 1897
• Completes band score for “The Stars and Stripes Forever” in Boston on April 26
• First performance of operetta The Bride Elect in New Haven, CT, on December 28
• 1898
• First performance of operetta The Charlatan in Montreal, Canada, on August 29
• 1900
• Begins engagement as the official American band at the Universal Exposition (World’s
Fair) in Paris, France (also tours Europe), May-September
• 1901
• Sousa Band tours Great Britain; first command performance at Sandringham on
December 1
• 1903
• Sousa Band again tours Great Britain
• 1910
• Sousa Band begins world tour on December 24
• 1911
• World tour is completed at the New York Hippodrome on December 10
• 1913
• First performance of operetta The American Maid in Rochester, NY, on January 27
• 1915
• Sousa Band performs at Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, CA, May-July
• 1917
• Sousa enlists in the U.S. Navy at the age of 62 and forms the 300-piece
“Jackie” Band at the Great Lakes Naval
• Training Center near Chicago. Discharged as a lieutenant commander
• 1921
• Receives injury upon fall from his horse at Willow Grove, PA, on September 6
• 1922
• Sousa Band tours Cuba
• 1928
• Sousa celebrates golden jubilee as conductor; band begins Golden Jubilee Tour
• 1929
• Sousa Band begins broadcasting on NBC on May 6
• 1930
• Sousa travels to England to give performances of “The Royal Welch Fusiliers March,” June-July
• 1931
• Completes last published march, “The Circumnavigators Club,” on October 29
• 1932
• Rehearses with the Ringgold Band in Reading, PA, March 5; the final piece rehearsed is “The Stars and Stripes Forever”
march
• Dies in Reading, PA, on March 6
• Buried in Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C., on March 10