After working in an archive long enough, one gets used to seeing certain types of documents, ephemera, and objects. The University Archives is no different – with collections holding everything from correspondence to ledgers, photographs to posters, and trophies to pins. But there are still times you come across something that peaks your interest and send you down the rabbit hole looking to see why exactly the Archives has that particular item.
Such was the case while reorganizing the Archives’ flat files. Going through numerous folders of photographs, prints, and posters I came across one folder with a small bulge in it. Upon examination I noticed it was for a poster for a 1930 concert by John Phillip Sousa with a director’s baton labeled “John Phillip Sousa’s Baton.” The poster touted a “free Campus Concert” on 1930 November 21 in the “Dormitory Big Quad” which would “mark the last public appearance of the greatest composer of Marches….” Attached to the poster were newspaper clippings with headlines “2500 ACCLAIM SOUSA AT FETE IN ACADEMY” and “HONORS SOUSA HERE AS HE ENDS TOUR.” I was well aware of John Phillip Sousa and his place in American music history. But it was curious why his last public performance would be at Penn.
Anyone who has watched a marching band, attended a Fourth of July concert, or even watched Monty Python’s Flying Circus (where “The Liberty Bell March” plays during the opening credits) has heard a Sousa march. John Phillip Sousa was born 1854 November 6 the son of a musician in the United States Marine Corps Band. By age seven he was taking music lessons, and by thirteen he was enlisted as an apprentice with the Marine Corps Band. When he turned twenty Sousa left the Marine Corps to pursue a private career as a violinist and conductor, eventually settling in Philadelphia arranging music for theater productions. Sousa met Jane van Middlesworth Bellis in early 1879, and the couple were married before the end of the year. In 1880 Sousa became leader of the Marine Corps Band and returned to Washington. Over the next twelve years Sousa would elevate the status of the band, transforming its repertoire by including popular music, and writing marches that would make the Marine Corp Band premier among other military bands of the day. During this time, he wrote some of his most popular marches – “The Gladiator” (1886), “Semper Fidelis” (1888), and “The Thunderer” (1889). It would be “The Washington Post” (1889) that would garner Sousa international fame based on its sheet music sales and association with the dance the two-step. In 1892 Sousa left the Marines and formed the Sousa Band, which held its first concert on 1892 September 26 in Plainfield, NJ. Thus began a continuous tour of the United States by railroad for the next forty years. The Band made its first European tour in 1900, and a world tour in 1910. In addition to Sousa’s marches, the band performances included popular songs, dances, novelty pieces and operatic arias; as well as introducing ragtime and jazz music. After a brief hiatus during World War I – when Sousa was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy – the Sousa Band would continue its tours into the early 1930s.
Which brings us back to Sousa’s 1930 November 21 visit to Penn. This would be his third visit to the University – the first time was in 1921 when Sousa directed the University Band, followed in 1925 when he conducted thirty bands at a music festival in Franklin Field. What brought him to Philadelphia fifteen days after his 76th birthday was the celebration of “Sousa Day”. According to articles in the Daily Pennsylvanian that week, Sousa arrived by train from Washington D.C. at the Pennsylvania Railroad Station where he was met by Mayor Harry A. Mackey and other public officials who escorted him to the University of Pennsylvania. Once at the University, Sousa conducted the University Band in a thirty-minute outdoor concert, which was attended by students, noted guests and University officials including President Thomas S. Gates and Provost Josiah H. Penniman. University Band Leader Howie Berg handed the baton to Sousa who led the band in “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” As part of the ceremony, the University Band presented Sousa with a gold medal, “in recognition of his remarkable contributions to band music and as a token of their high esteem for him.” Speeches were given by Mayor Mackey and the Editor of the Etude – “one of the leading musical publications.” After the concert a luncheon was held at the Acacia fraternity house, where Sousa commented, “It has been my privilege to lead many college bands, and the one I led this afternoon ranks with the best of them.” When asked about this being his last concert tour, he stated, “I think there may be more.” Afterwards, Sousa went on to attended other events in his honor held in Philadelphia. As the Daily Pennsylvanian noted, “Throughout the day officials, organizations and citizens at large paid tribute to Mr. Sousa.” The culmination of the day was a grand concert by the Sousa Band at the Academy of Music.
Despite being the last performance of the Sousa Band, Sousa himself would continue to write marches and conduct performances. He died in Reading, PA on 1932 March 6 while preparing to guest conduct a performance.
The John Philip Sousa baton and poster are part of the University Poster Collection at the University Archives.
Articles related to Sousa’s visit to campus can be found in the Daily Pennsylvanian in the November 17, November 19, November 21, and November 22 issues.
Unique at Penn 