This morning I was alerted to the fact that it was not only Election Day (Vote!), but also John Philip Sousa’s birthday! How apropos.

So in honor of the occasion, here are some of the works of the American March King, in some very informative videos by the Marine Band. God bless our troops.

Digital high five if you can’t listen to “The Washington Post” without hearing lyrics by Sondheim.

A funny story about marches and birthdays: A beloved professor of mine’s birthday occurred on the same day we were learning about Sousa and his marches in Music History. We asked our instructor why the trio section was so named. He jokingly replied that it was in 3. Well, we believed him, and the Trio section of the March I wrote for the other professor’s birthday, was, and is, in 3!

The Wonderly Fanfare, by Nathan Hathaway Adams, performed by Dr. Anthony Moore

A Romantic Era composer, while famous for his military band marches, he also wrote operettas and was a fan of the work of Gilbert & Sullivan. He wrote an orchestration of the team’s H.M.S. Pinafore, and composed a march using the themes of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado, which is particularly interesting to me as I just auditioned for a local production of said operetta.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! I plan to keep reading about and listening to this uniquely American composer. Are you a fan of Sousa? Interested, like me, in learning more? Then drop me a line and let’s talk sometime.

Marching,
Nathan Hathaway Adams