John Philip Sousa: The Illinois Collection

Abstract

THE ILLINOIS COLLECTION During the seventy-seven years of his life, John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) served under eight Presidents; witnessed the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and World War. I; followed astounding developments in technology; and saw extraordinary changes in fashion, art, and music. By entertaining as well as educating his audiences, Sousa became one of the most popular public figures of his era. Even though some critics predicted that Sousa would never make anything of himself as a professional musician, he eventually did quite well financially, becoming a millionaire through concert fees, royalties, and sales of compositions and Sousa Band recordings.(1) During his twelve-year tenure as director of the United States Marine Band, Sousa developed President's Own into an outstanding performing ensemble. After leaving the Marine Band in 1892 to conduct his own professional touring band (1892-1931), Sousa was always aware that he was a musical ambassador for the United States and described himself as salesman of Americanism, globetrotter, and musician.(2) Sousa's widespread influence - through his compositions, transcriptions for band, and writings - affected musical thought and practice worldwide. His music has always had universal appeal: throughout the world, both beau monde and bourgeoisie, musician and nonmusician, soldier and civilian, child and adult have been inspired by the rousing strains of his works and by performances of his band. The Sousa Band traveled extensively - according to Sousa lore, more than seven hundred thousand miles - and presented one hundred thousand concerts in ten thousand cities during the thirty-nine annual transcontinental tours (1892-1931), four tours of Europe (1900, 1901, 1903, and 1905), and the thirteen-month World Tour (1910-11). In the 1890s, Sousa's Washington Post march became the standard accompaniment to the two-step, the dance craze that eclipsed the waltz in popularity in Europe and the United States. A century later, Sousa's enduring musical offerings, heard at concerts, sporting events, and military and civilian ceremonies - as well as through electronic media - remain an integral component of the American experience. THE ILLINOIS CONNECTION Sousa planned for his band library to be presented posthumously to the of Illinois. He believed that his friend and colleague Albert Austin Harding (1880-1958), a prominent faculty member and first director of bands (1905-48) at Illinois, would provide the Sousa Band performance collection with the finest care and put it to good use with his band. Sousa and Harding had met in 1906 at a dinner hosted by President Edmund Janes James;(3) the ensuing friendship spanned nearly three decades. Sousa admired Harding's conducting ability, his selection of repertory, the way he treated people, the orderly manner in which he kept his library, and his administrative abilities. Sousa and Harding maintained similar performance standards; through their leadership, they challenged their fellow musicians to achieve the highest levels of performance. Together, the two men served as adjudicators at national music contests, championed the cause of music as an essential element of the public school curriculum, and significantly influenced the school-band movement in the United States. The two colleagues served on the faculty of the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan, and were also charter members of the American Bandmasters Association. Sousa went on record stating that the of Concert Band, under Harding's direction, was the world's greatest college band.(4) In 1929, he composed the University of Illinois march, which he dedicated to the faculty and students of the university. On 20 March 1930, during a concert band performance at the Auditorium, Sousa was proclaimed honorary conductor of the band. On that occasion, Harding and President David Kinley presented Sousa with a medal on which was engraved an excerpt from the University of Illinois march. …