Celebrating the life of The March King

Today, I'm celebrating the birthday of John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), a great American world-famous conductor and composer. Sousa was a leader of the US Marine Band. If you visit Washington DC in the summer, make it a point to watch the US Marine Band perform! Known fondly as The March King, John Philip Sousa composed 136 marches that are still performed today by some of the finest marching bands. Where would our Texas Aggie band be without the works of Sousa? Sousa also organized a civilian concert band. Sousa's Band was the most popular musical act in the world for over 30 years. It was the first American musical organization to go on world tour, the first to travel more than a million miles, and the first to perform for more than a million people. Sousa composed The Stars & Stripes Forever! which has been named as the official march of the USA. How could we celebrate with fireworks on July 4th without Sousa's music?!? The complete works of Sousa are available online for your listening pleasure. Below is a video to celebrate the freedom within our USA to the amazing music of John Philip Sousa.

Here's the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra performing Stars & Stripes Forever:


Video by tomcollinsworth from YouTube