America’s Court Composer

Abstract

This chapter shows how, while he was still serving as leader of the Marine Band, John Philip Sousa's reputation began to spread beyond Washington. In the efforts to regularize America's official music, Sousa's achievements would have been noticed only by other military musicians. In 1889, however, he undertook a project that would garner his first exposure in the national press. Because the Marine Band was often required to perform the national anthems of visiting dignitaries, Sousa suggested to the secretary of the navy that the nation's military would be well served by a volume that collected together such anthems. After contacting foreign consuls, consulting with music publishers, and visiting dozens of libraries, Sousa published National, Patriotic, and Typical Airs of All Lands in 1890.