Perspectives on john philip sousa biography

Born November 6, 1854, in Washington, DC; died of heart failure, March 6, 1932, in Reading, PA; son of John Antonio (a trombonist with the U.S. Marine Band) and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus Sousa; married Jane van Middlesworth Bellis (an amateur vocalist), 1879; children: John Philip, Jane Priscilla, Helen Sousa Abert.

Education: Attended music conservatory run by John Esputa, Jr., for four years; studied music with George Felix. Enlisted in U.S. Marine Corps as apprentice to Marine Band, 1868; toured with musical companies and vaudeville show, worked in Philadelphia theaters, taught music, composed, and corrected proofs for a publisher, 1875-1879; led amateur musical theater company that became professional under his tutelage, c.

1879; led Marine Band, 1880-1892; formed Sousa Band, 1892; toured U.S. and abroad with Sousa Band, 1900-1911; wrote autobiography, Marching Along, 1928.

Among America's greatest treasures is the legacy of John Philip Sousa, "The March King." The music of