John Philip Sousa
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John was the 3rd of 10 children. His father played trombone in the U.S. Marine Band.
He began to study music at age 6. He learned to sing and to play the violin, piano, flute, cornet, baritone, trombone, and alto horn. When he was 13, he tried to run away to join a circus band. After that his father helped him join the Marines as an apprentice. Later he became the conductor of the U.S. Marine Corps Band, sometimes called "The President's Own." His band toured Europe 3 times. "The Stars and Stripes Forever" was his most famous march, but he wrote many more. |