Sousa in the News: From the Pages of America’s Newspapers

Jack Kopstein

John Philip Sousa has been celebrated in both books and articles that have been written by a vast array of writers and music historians. Recently newspapers from across America have been made available, and a treasure chest of Sousa memorabilia has emerged. This article focuses on the Sousa phenomenon as written in newspapers across America and Canada.

The Nebraska State Journal announced the arrival of the Sousa band on February 19, 1899, with a headline reading John Philip Sousa to Lead band in Concert. The article following said: “Since its organization in 1892, the Sousa band has been continuously employed touring throughout the USA and the Dominion of Canada. The secret of his success lies largely on the fact that Mr Sousa has realised the musical preferences of his public.”

The Decatur Review of November 12, 1902, reported Sousa Came to Town.  “John Philip Sousa appeared at the Opera House in Decatur Sunday night and his band was greeted with a surprise. Dad Stearn local hotel proprietor recited a poem he had written, and Mr Sousa made an appropriate response.”

Ceder Rapids, Iowa was the site of another great Sousa concert. On Thursday, November 16, 1911, the local paper, the Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, announced Sousa Greatest of all bandmasters was Here-” Rich and varied program Given at Green’s Hall last night, Audience was delighted- John Philip Sousa , the march King and peerless band leader brought his unrivalled musical organization to Cedar Rapids last night and won enthusiastic applause.”

Canadian audiences loved the music of Sousa as evidenced by this article in the Manitoba (Winnipeg)Free Press of July 19, 1919. Six fine programmes Announced for Sousa Band Concerts Here.-”famous bandmaster visited Winnipeg in 1899, Remarkable popularity gained since then”..The well-known cornetist Frank Simon was listed as a soloist in the programmes which were published.

Sousa was extremely popular in the three “I” States, and played Davenport, Iowa several times in the forty years of the his band’s existence. On October 16, 1924, the Davenport Leader said, “No bandmaster has developed more soloists it has been said than John Philip Sousa, whose annual concert in Davenport highlights the cities musical activities. At the concert Monday evening at the Masonic Temple, Lt Sousa will feature John Dolan, cornet soloist. Sousa was often referred to by his World War 1 rank which he had as bandmaster at the Chicago Navy Yard where he organized a band for the United States Navy.”

The Sousa band always advertised their concerts in advance and the November 7, 1926 edition of the Charleston Gazette announced his arrival with a large 3 column ad saying HEAR SOUSA AND HIS BAND and the ad went on to advise patrons of his upcoming programmes with three of his marches -The Sequa-Centennial march, the Gridiron Club March and the march Pride of the Wolverines.

Following Sousa’s passing on March 6, 1932, newspapers from across the entire nation offered salutes to America’s greatest bandmaster. As a testament to his popularity, musical ensembles across North America continue to celebrate his music and his creativity with concerts and memorials. It can be said that his name still provides the capacity to be seen in the news and hundreds of feature stories in America’s newspapers.  This is a true test of the impact that Sousa has had upon music in the United States.

For more on the SOUSA phenomenon, order The Incredible Band of John Philip Sousa by Paul Bierly from the Altissimo Catalog.

Welcome to the Altissimo! Community Band Spotlight for June. Each month we look at community bands across the nation, and this month we’re pleased to present a band from right here at home in Tennessee, the Tennessee Valley Winds from Murfreesboro, TN. Our very own Assistant Director of Licensing, Stacy, plays the oboe in the band, and it was at her suggestion that we decided to check out the Valley Winds.

photo courtesy of Schenk Photography

The Tennessee Valley Winds is a non-profit, all volunteer community band founded in 1984 by Joseph T. Smith and also led by Smith until 2000. The band averages 60-65 performers in concert, but the roster numbers close to 100 members. Of the 61 members performing in a recent concert, 10 members represent the various military branches, 3 of whom played in the bands, and 1 who still does play.

The age range has started as young as 16, but currently ranges from 19 to 79 years of age. These musicians are from high schools, colleges, all types of professions and the retired, people who love to play and may not have any outlet to participate in live music. Playing with the TVW is a great way to connect with musicians from all walks of life and from the earliest of talent to the most seasoned performer. Several smaller bands have been started out of the TVW roster, including a clarinet ensemble and a brass quintet, and these bands perform their own concerts and also concerts for the community in local ceremonies as well as locales like nursing homes.

The band has been fortunate to play a performance in London, England, and also to receive invitations to participate in several events and conferences, including the 2009 American School Band Director’s Association convention. The music the TVW plays is as diverse as any other band, but something interesting they do for Wind Band conferences is to bring in a guest conductor and perform his compositions or music of the conductor’s choosing. The overall goal of the Tennessee Valley Winds is simply to entertain and engage the audience through music; by choosing music from Broadway to Sousa as well as pieces that challenge them, they easily achieve this goal.

Being a good steward of the community is something else the TVW look to do. It is only with the help of the community that the TVW can exist, with local schools and churches opening their doors as rehearsal sites and concert venues. Several band directors and teachers perform with the band, and they learn and take ideas back to use in their own school bands. Middle Tennessee State University hosts a Wind Band Conference where the TVW perform and show that band is still cool and not just for those young enough to be enrolled in secondary school.

Keeping the band cool is director Terry Jolley. Exposed to music at a young age by his musically inclined parents, Jolley naturally fell into the path of music. He performed in school bands throughout his youth before going on to MTSU for music education. He has been the recipient of multiple awards, including four citations of excellence by the National Band Association, four-time induction into Who’s Who Among American Teachers, and also served as Director of the Governor’s School for the Arts. In addition to these honors, he also serves on the board for the Music City Youth in Performing Arts.

Because of their commitment to excellence in music and their efforts to keep music alive and spread it throughout their community, we are proud to present the Tennessee Valley Winds as our Community Band Spotlight for June. If you would like more information about the Tennessee Valley Winds, please visit their website www.tnvalleywinds.org

*Special thanks to Vicky Williams, TVW Publicity Director, for being a great correspondent and to the Tennessee Valley Winds for being a part of our Spotlight!

**If you know of any community bands we could feature in our Spotlight, please email Krista at krista@militarymusic.com with the subject line “CBS Suggestion”

The Bandmaster Files
Jack Kopstein

Military directors and bandmasters are often faced with nearly impossible tasks to provide music almost in an instant. As a former bandmaster, I can vouch for the difficulties associated with music requests on impulse. On one occasion I was requested on a slip of paper passed to me while performing with a small dinner group in the officers mess to play the tune “Drop me Jesus through the Goal Post of Life©” by country artist Bobby Bare. Fortunately, one of the musicians in the group knew the tune and within a few minutes he had one-fingered the tune on the piano. We quickly wrote down the simple 3/4 melody and a few chords, and I sat down and scored it out for our small seven piece group on some scrap manuscript paper. We blared it out to the officers who were dining in the main dining room on the next set. They applauded as if we had played Beethoven’s ninth, and I had a great laugh with the musicians.

The great John Philip Sousa no less had a similar request by the President of the United States when he was the leader of the United States Marine Band. President Chester Arthur handed Sousa a request while the band was playing at the White House. The President announced to Sousa that a professional dancer from Spain was to entertain the invited guests for a dinner. She would dance to the “Cachuca,” a word that was scribbled on a piece of paper. Sousa responded that he did not have the music for the tune, but the President replied to Sousa by saying, “Well, Sousa, I thought you could play anything,” and returned to his guests.

Sousa was dismayed by the request because he felt it his duty to honour all Presidential wishes when one of his musicians, a cornetist, rose quickly and declared that he knew the tune and played it softly for bandmaster Sousa. He immediately sat down and wrote out several main parts for trumpet, clarinet, and saxophone and told the rest of the band to vamp, meaning of course to just play the chord tones. Thus the piece was scored on the spot. The Spanish dancer appeared and moved to center floor, and the band burst forth confidently with the tune, both bcoming instant hits.

The American composer Meredith Wilson was a member of the Sousa band in the 1920′s. His wonderful musical ‘The Music Man” gave him an opportunity to introduce some of Sousa lore into his production, and as a result the “Cachuca” “was used as a dance number in the stage version.

2.National Anthem Debacles and Grace-Saving Events

It was only last year that a bandmaster in Grenada became confused about the national anthem of the Peoples Republic of China and the Taiwanese national anthem, “The Republic of China.”

Prime Minister Keith Mitchell promised an investigation into the diplomatic incident, in which the Taiwanese national anthem was played at the official handing over of the Chinese-funded national stadium. The gaffe by the Royal Grenada Police Force Band caused deep embarrassment to officials of the government and the Chinese ambassador and other representatives who attended the ceremony on Saturday.

A most unfortunate incident

Mr. Pierre called it a most unfortunate incident which had left the country’s prime minister and the police commissioner with ‘egg on their faces.’ But there were harsher comments from Grenadians on the streets. One man told BBC Caribbean, “I’m not accepting any apology from the police force; this is a sabotage by the police,,” and another woman observed, “Whether it was sabotage or mixup, I think it’s distasteful.”

The police received some support when one man insisted that they shouldn’t be made a scapegoat: “Somebody gave the police the national anthem to practice.”

Correct anthem played eventually

The correct Chinese anthem was played after Saturday’s ceremony to hand over the US $40 million facility which will host matches of the cricket world cup which starts next month.

China does not recognise Taiwan as an independent country, regarding it instead as a renagade breakaway province.

The two have played out their diplomatic struggle in the Caribbean, and Grenada had again switched their support.

They resumed diplomatic relations with Beijing in 2005, breaking off a 15-year relationship with Taiwan.

Prime Minister apologises

Dr. Mitchell, who alerted the hundreds of invited guests at the ceremony to the mistake, said it saddened a happy moment.

“On behalf of the Government and people of this very happy country, a country that recognizes the warmth of its friends and respect its friends, I deeply apologize to the Chinese Ambassador and the entire Chinese people,” Dr. Mitchell said.

The Colonel Bogey Fiasco

Programmes of music by bands often have to be clearly thought out . This is particularly important when a guest is from a foreign country. It is even more important as well if the country was a war time enemy. On May 5, 1980, a top-ranking visitor from Japan came to Canada on a formal visit. Everything went well until the Japanese minister agreed to a special arrival at the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. The military band selected for the occasion marched from the east gate and proceeded to play the COLONEL BOGEY march by Kenneth J Alford.

Here is the article which appeared in numerous newspapers in North America

If Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira was offended, he didn’t show it. But Canadian officials were red-faced when the armed forces marching band greeted. Ohira in Ottawa with the “Colonel Bogey March,” the tune whistled by defiant British prisoners of war captured by the Japanese in the film “Bridge Oa the River Kwai.” Ohira had not yet arrived yesterday for the ceremonies on Parliament Hill when the band began to play, but assembled Japanese dignitaries heard strains of the march. “We are extremely embarrassed,” an armed forces spokesman said. “In the long, meticulous planning for this visit, this particular portion slipped by.” The Japanese delegation has said nothing about the incident, the Canadian spokesman added.

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