Sara Elgayar
Ms. Kousombos
American History
17 December 2015
John Philip Sousa John Philip Sousa is a composer who started his music career in 1867. He started playing music by studying the violin then later decided to learn the trombone. Sousa joined the United States Marine Band as an apprentice at the age of 13. After being with this band for 5 years, he returned to the violin. At the age of 18 he branched out even more; he played and conducted theater orchestras for the next few years. He then returned to the Marine Band but this time as a conductor. John Philip Sousa continued to improve his technique and became a very famous musical personality. He became known as “The March King.” Sousa composed many famous pieces which includes the “Washington Post March”, “The Liberty Bell March”, and “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”…show more content… John Kelly, a columnist stated the owners of The Washington Post newspaper requested that John Philip Sousa compose a march for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. In the article, “Here’s the story behind Sousa’s famous ‘Washington Post March’, states "The Washington Post March" was introduced at the ceremony on June 15, 1889, and it became very popular. It led to a British journalist naming Sousa "The March King". Sousa is honored in The Washington Post building for his contribution to the newspaper and his country. The opening strain of the march is famous and familiar to many. This recognizable march is written in standard form AABBCCDCDC. The march is played at a tempo of 110 to 120 beats per minute, rarely any
