 Very
little is known about the first four years of John Philip's life. When
he was five he exhibited the intense determination for which he was to
be recognized in manhood. He deliberately soaked himself in a cold rain
in protest against his mother's refusal to give him his fill of
doughnuts. The resulting pneumonia rendered him an invalid for over a
year and a half. He was home schooled during this time. Almost
coincidental with John Philip's years in the conservatory of music
operated by John Esputa was the American Civil War. The horrors of war
were impressed upon him as he accompanied his parents on visits to
wounded men in hospitals and by the nearness of battles outside
Washington. Also impressed upon him, however, was the sound of the
military bands which found their way to Washington, and this contributed
to what was to become a great passion for band music. A
Marine at 13. The enlistment in the Marine Corps was not planned, and
one of Sousa's favorite stories was the account of how it came about.
He had been practicing his violin at home and was approached by the
leader of a circus band who had been listening to his playing from
outside. The flattering bandleader persuaded him to join his troupe
secretly for a tour starting the next day. Circus life would be
attractive and exciting, John Philip thought, having visions of being
the leader of a circus band himself some day. The plot was discovered
by his father, however, who arose before the scheduled departure time
and casually escorted him to Marine Corps headquarters. Arrangements
had already been made with the commandant, and on Tuesday, June 9, 1868,
John Philip Sousa was enlisted as a “boy,” or apprentice, in the band
of the U.S. Marine Corps for a tentative period of seven years, five
months, and twenty-seven days. Conductor
of theater orchestras. By the time Sousa was 20, his formal musical
training was coming to an end, and he was playing the violin
professionally. In addition to his appearances with Benkert's small
symphony orchestra, he performed in the orchestras of Ford's Theatre
(Ford's Opera House) and the Washington Theatre Comique (Comique Summer
Theatre). His position at the Washington Theatre Comique was that of
conductor and first violinist, a positionhe accepted readily even though
the fare was vaudeville. It was his first regular conducting
experience. On May 18, 1875, Sousa received a special discharge from
the Marine Corps. Opportunities
in Philadelphia. Arriving in Philadelphia early in June, 1876, Sousa
had difficulty securing a job. He took the opportunity to hear the
orchestra of Theodore Thomas and the band of Patrick S. Gilmore. Both
groups deeply impress him, and he later adopted some of the conducting
styles of both men. He auditioned for Simon Hassler, a music jobber,
who promptly placed him in the first violin section of the official
centennial orchestra, or International Exhibition Orchestra, which
Hassler conducted. The fact that Hassler had heard of Sousa's work in
Washington was of some benefit. For
two weeks commencing June 19, the guest conductor was the French
composer Jacques Offenbach. There is some evidence that Sousa may also
have made a short tour of the East with Offenbach, but not with this
same orchestra, which remained in Philadelphia. Sousa was never
introduced to Offenbach while playing in the orchestra, but during one
performance Offenbach requested an impromptu medley of international
airs, and Sousa was asked to supply it. He responded with his first
fantasy, “The International Congress.” Sometime
during 1879 Sousa apparently completed his first operetta, Katherine.
It was a collaboration with Wilson J. Vance, a Washington journalist
and government clerk. The work was never produced and was withheld from
the public except for rare performances of the overture many years
later by the Sousa Band. Gilbert
and Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore had become immensely popular in the
United States by this time. One exceptionally fine new company, the
Amateur Opera Company, needed a musical director, and Sousa was
selected. Under his alert and demanding direction, the company rapidly
took shape and produced several fine performances. His masterful
orchestration contributed to its success. Marriage.
During a rehearsal of the Pinafore company on February 22, 1879,
Sousa met his wife-to-be. Miss Jane van Middlesworth Bellis, the
daughter of a Philadelphia carpenter. She was celebrating her 16th or
possibly 17th birthday. “Jennie,” as he always called her, was a
beautiful girl, and it was love at first sight. On Tuesday, December
30, 1879, John Philip was married to Jane in a semi-private affair at
her home. She was 16 (or 17) and he was 25. Jennie had not completed
her schooling and knew little about such things as cooking, but to Sousa
these things were almost totally unimportant. Conductor
of the United States Marine Band. Sousa's Our Flirtations was playing
in St. Louis when Sousa learned by telegram that he was being considered
for leadership of the U.S. Marine Band. A series of telegrams between
him and his father resulted in his father accepting the position by
proxy, although John Philip had difficulty securing his release from the
show. Sousa and his wife arrived in Washington on the last day of
September, 1880, and the next day he enlisted in the Marine Corps.
Technically, this was his third enlistment. |
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