John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousa
John Philip Sousazɐ]; November 6, 1854 – March 6, 1932) was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era, known primarily for American military and patriotic marches. Because of his mastery of march composition, he is known as "The March King", or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J. Alford also being known by the former nickname. Among his best-known marches are "The Stars and Stripes Forever", "Semper Fidelis", "The Liberty Bell", "The Thunderer" and...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth6 November 1854
CountryUnited States of America
I still feel the impulse to give young writers a hearing, and I believe I have played more unpublished compositions than any other band leader in the country.
America can well expect to develop a goodly amount of composers for she has a goodly number of people.
Jazz will endure just as long people hear it through their feet instead of their brains.
From childhood I was passionately fond of music and wanted to be a musician. I have no recollection of any real desire ever to be anything else.
Remember always that the composer's pen is still mightier than the bow of the violinist; in you lie all the possibilities of the creation of beauty.
A band is only as good as its euphonium section.
Anybody can write music of a sort. But touching the public heart is quite another thing.
I have always believed that 98% of a student's progress is due to his own efforts, and 2% to his teacher.
The red and white and starry blue Is freedom's shield and hope.
The office of President is a great one; to every true American it seems the greatest on earth. And to me, as I was engaged in weaving a background of music for the pageantry of it, there came a deeper realization of the effect of that office on the man.
To the average mind popular music would mean compositions vulgarly conceived and commonplace in their treatment. That is absolutely false.
No nation as young as America can be expected to become immediately a power in the arts.
I think that the quality of all bands is steadily improving and it is a pleasant thought to me that perhaps the efforts of Sousa's Band have quickened that interest and improved that quality.
Composers are the only people who can hear good music above bad sounds.