John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa was born in Southeast Washington, DC, where his father was a musician in the Marine Band. He enrolled in a private conservatory of music, where he studied piano and other instruments. At the age of 13 he tried to join a travelling circus band, but his father enlisted him in the Marine Band as an apprentice instead. And at the age of 25, the Marines appointed Sousa as the Band’s Director, a post he held for 12 years. Later, he organized his own band and toured the U.S. and Europe. Sousa composed the official song of the Marine Corps, “Semper Fidelis,” and “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” the official march of the United States. He produced numerous comic operas, novels, waltzes, songs and symphonic poems. His many marching band pieces earned him the title, “March King.” Sousa became a member of Hiram Lodge No. 10 in 1886. He also joined other Masonic groups during his time in Washington, including Almas Shriners and the Knights Templar. Sousa dedicated one of his most famous songs, “The Thunderer,” after fellow Freemason Myron M. Parker and the thunder sound that emanated from Parker’s spurs as he marched on the hardwood floors of the Masonic hall.