Presidents and the Potomac
For the politicians, civil servants, and accompanying citizenry of the new federal government—freshly arrived in 1800 from comfortable, sophisticated Philadelphia—the...
The United States Marine Band: John Philip Sousa
How Long? 1 minute
Gallery
-
1 of 3
At the request of President Chester Arthur, who believed Hail to the Chief undignified, John Philip Sousa played his own Presidential Polonaise (1866) for a brief period as the presidential march.
United States Marine Band -
2 of 3
John Philip Sousa's father Antonio, a Marine Band trombonist, enlisted his 13-year-old son in the organization as an apprentice musician. At age 20, John Philip Sousa left the band to tour the country as a violinist and orchestra director and returned as age 25 to become Marine Band Director.
Library of Congress -
3 of 3
President Chester Arthur once asked John Philip Sousa to perform a Spanish dance tune called the cachucha. When Sousa noted that it was not part of the Marine Band's repertoire, the president responded, "Why Sousa, I thought you could play anything." A bandsman remembered the melody, and Sousa hastily wrote out several parts for the leading instruments and played the tune to the satisfaction of the president.
White House Historical Association (White House Collection)
John Philip Sousa, Director (1880-1892), brought world fame to "The President's Own." While the organization was already considered a national institution, Sousa's dynamic leadership transformed the Marine Band's repertoire, emphasized symphonic music, changed the instrumentation, and made rehearsals exceptionally strict. He conducted the band's first sound recordings, initiated its first national concert tour, and began to write the marches that earned him international acclaim and the title "The March King." Sousa continued composing and conducting until his death in 1932. He left America a treasured musical legacy of marches that, as columnist Hugh Sidey noted, ". . . say more about liberty than a dozen orators."
You Might Also Like
-
-
Presidents and the Hey Day of Horse Racing in the Federal City
President Richard M. Nixon was the first sitting president to attend the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 1969. In his party that...
-
Presidents and College Football
Nearly 150 years after its beginnings college football season is in full swing. The sport has attracted countless players and even...
-
The American Presidents and Shakespeare
On April 23, 1932, Shakespeare-lovers from around the country flocked to Washington, D.C., to attend the dedication of the handsome new...
-
Presidents' Day at the White House
Just how does the president celebrate Presidents’ Day? Throughout the more than 200-year history of the White House, presidents themselves ha...
-
Secret Service and the Presidents
Historian William Seale has described presidential protection as a learning process, with presidents and their families and the Secret Service...
-
Bio Chester A. Arthur
Dignified, tall, and handsome, with clean-shaven chin and side-whiskers, Chester A. Arthur "looked like a president." The son of a...
-
Bio Rutherford B. Hayes
Beneficiary of one of the most fiercely disputed elections in American history, Rutherford B. Hayes brought to the Executive Mansion...
-
Bio Ronald Reagan
Through Ronald Reagan's eight years in office, the cold war came to an end, the country seemed to regain its...
-
Bio Benjamin Harrison
Nominated for president on the eighth ballot at the 1888 Republican Convention, Benjamin Harrison conducted one of the first "front-porch" campaigns,...
-
Bio Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore became president upon the death of Zachary Taylor in July 1850. Born in the Finger Lakes country of New...
-
Bio Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address, "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine,...