At the end of the 19th century the name of the American bandmaster and composer John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) was virtually synonymous with the music of marches.

John Philip Sousa was born on November 6, 1854, in Washington, D.C. His father was Portuguese, his mother German. At the age of 10 Sousa began violin lessons and later studied music theory and composition. By the time he was 13 he could play a number of band instruments and enlisted in the Marine Band. He was playing in civilian orchestras as well and subsequently got a discharge from the Marine Band. At 18 he became director of the orchestra at a variety house in Washington and later led orchestras for a comedy troupe and for Morgan's Living Pictures.

In 1876 Sousa joined the orchestra conducted by Jacques Offenbach at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The musical sensation of the exposition, however, was Patrick Gilmore, and...