National Sons Day – John Philip Sousa Jr.

National Sons Day – John Philip Sousa Jr.

September 28th is National Sons Day so this post is dedicated not to The March King and his father, Antonio, but rather to John Philip Sousa, Jr. John, Jr,. was the first of three Sousa children and was born on April 1st, 1881. He was educated in Washington, New York...
Anniversary of the Sousa Band

Anniversary of the Sousa Band

September 26th marks the 130th anniversary of the initial concert of Sousa’s New Marine Band held at the Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, NJ. This would be the first of more than 15,550 concerts that would follow over the next thirty nine years which included four...
Happy birthday, Arthur Pryor!

Happy birthday, Arthur Pryor!

Today, September 22nd, 1869 or 1870, marks the birth of Arthur Willard Pryor, who, due to his pyrotechnical abilities on the slide trombone, was crowned “trombone king;” or the “poet” or “Paganini” of the trombone while twelve years soloist with John Philip Sousa’s...
The March King Played Before Royalty

The March King Played Before Royalty

The recent passing of Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and all the pomp and pageantry that has followed her over her 70-year reign had me reflecting on the two occasions that John Philip Sousa and His Band performed before The Royal Family. Within the pages of one...