John Philip Sousa was an American composer and conductor of the late Romantic era known primarily for American military marches. He is known as "The March King" or the "American March King", to distinguish him from his British counterpart Kenneth J. Alford. Among Sousa's best-known marches are "The Stars and Stripes Forever", "Semper Fidelis", "The Liberty Bell", "The Thunderer", and "The Washington Post".
The Pomp and Circumstance Marches, Op. 39, are a series of five marches for orchestra composed by Sir Edward Elgar. The first four were published between 1901 and 1907, when Elgar was in his forties; the fifth was published in 1930, a few years before his death; and a sixth, compiled posthumously from sketches, was published in 1956 and in 2005–2006. They include some of Elgar's best-known compositions.
American march music is march music written and/or performed in the United States. Its origins are those of European composers borrowing from the military music of the Ottoman Empire in place there from the 16th century. The American genre developed after the British model during the colonial and Revolutionary periods, then later as military ceremonials and for civilian entertainment events.
A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion families of instruments, and occasionally including the harp, double bass, or bass guitar. On rare occasions, additional, non-traditional instruments may be added to such ensembles such as piano, synthesizer, or electric guitar.
"The Washington Post" is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889. Since then, it has remained as one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and many other countries.
Russian Christmas Music is a musical piece for symphonic band, written by Alfred Reed in 1944. It is one of the most frequently performed pieces of concert band literature.
English Folk Song Suite is one of English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams' most famous works. It was first published for the military band as Folk Song Suite and its premiere was given at Kneller Hall on 4 July 1923, conducted by Lt Hector Adkins. The piece was then arranged for full orchestra in 1924 by Vaughan Williams' student Gordon Jacob and published as English Folk Song Suite. The piece was later arranged for British-style brass band in 1956 by Frank Wright and published as English Folk Songs Suite. All three versions were published by Boosey & Hawkes; note the use of three different titles for the three different versions. The suite uses the melodies of nine English folk songs, six of which were drawn from the collection made by Vaughan Williams’ friend and colleague Cecil Sharp.
"National Emblem", also known as the National Emblem March, is a U.S. march composed in 1902 and published in 1906 by Edwin Eugene Bagley. It is a standard of the U.S. march repertoire, appearing in eleven published editions. The U.S. military uses the trio section as ceremonial music for the entry of the ceremony's official party.
"Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" is a jazz composition written in 1937 by Duke Ellington and recorded for the first time on May 15, 1937 by the Duke Ellington Orchestra with Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams (trumpet), Rex Stewart (cornet), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Laurence Brown, Joe Nanton (trombone), Harry Carney, Sonny Greer (drums), Wellmann Braud (bass), Freddie Guy (guitar), and Duke Ellington (piano). No tenor saxophone was present in this recording section, nor in "Crescendo in Blue," which was recorded the same day. In its early form, the two individual pieces, "Diminuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue," were recorded on opposite sides of a 78 rpm record. The 1956 performance at the Newport Jazz Festival revitalized Ellington's career, making newspaper headlines when seated audience members chaotically began rising to dance and stand on their chairs during Paul Gonsalves's tenor saxophone solo.
The Second Suite in F for Military Band is Gustav Holst's second of his two suites for concert band. Although performed less frequently than the First Suite in E♭, it is still a staple of the band repertoire. The Second Suite, written in 1911 and first published in 1922, dedicated to James Causley Windram, is longer and considered more difficult to play than its sister suite.
The Gallant Seventh is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1922 whilst recovering from a broken neck. The march takes its name from the 7th Regiment of the New York National Guard. The conductor of the Regiment band was Major Francis Sutherland, a former cornetist in Sousa's own civilian band.
Orb and Sceptre is a march for orchestra written by William Walton for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, London, on 2 June 1953. It follows the pattern of earlier concert marches by Elgar and Walton himself in consisting of a brisk opening section followed by a broad melody in the middle, trio, section and a return to the lively first theme to conclude the piece after a second appearance of the big tune.
"The High School Cadets" is a march written in 1890 by John Philip Sousa in honor of the cadet drill team of Washington High School in the District of Columbia. It is in regimental march form (I-AA-BB-CC-DD) and is a popular selection for school concert and marching bands, as well as for professional orchestras and bands. The march has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles, and has been frequently recorded, including at least two recorded performances by Sousa's own band. The march's final strains were featured in the 1939 film The Under-Pup.
Imperial March is a piece for full orchestra written by the English composer Edward Elgar to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, as his Op. 32.
"Barnum and Bailey's Favorite" is a circus march written by Karl King for the circus of the same name in 1913.
The Year of the Dragon is a musical composition by Philip Sparke originally written for brass band in 1984, and later transcribed for wind band. There are many rhythms and chord progressions throughout the piece that would suggest a slight jazz influence, mostly in the style of George Gershwin.
"Nobles of the Mystic Shrine" is a march composed by John Philip Sousa upon the request of his nephew, A. R. Varela. Sousa dedicated the march to the Almas Temple and the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. It was first conducted in June 1923, with a band of around 6,200 members—the largest Sousa had ever conducted. It is one of the few Sousa marches with the first strain written in the minor mode. Contemporary versions of the march recorded by the Ottoman military band also use the Jingling Johnny in the final strain.
Boy Scouts of America is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1916 upon the request of Charles D. Hart. Sousa dedicated it to the Boy Scouts of America. It was premiered in October 1916 at the Metropolitan Opera House. The cover sheet features a photograph of a statuette R. Tait McKenzie's The Ideal Scout. It is considered one of the best marches Sousa ever composed, with The Reading Times writing that the march proved that the "noted composer still retains the name of 'March King'".
Divertimento, or Divertimento for Orchestra, is a suite of eight orchestral bagatelles by American composer Leonard Bernstein. Completed in 1980 and written to celebrate the centenary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it is well-known for featuring the notes B and C in most of its melodic material.
"The Dauntless Battalion" is an American military march by John Philip Sousa, published in 1922 and dedicated to the faculty and cadets of the Pennsylvania Military College in Chester, Pennsylvania, known today as Widener University. Sousa received an honorary doctorate from the college in February 1920 alongside future president Warren G. Harding.
