Marshall's Civic Band

Incomplete; contains no saxophone or trombone parts.  Donated to Marshall's band 
by Scott Bradley, director of the Onaga High School band. 
 
Composed in 1896. "With the possible exception of 'The Star Spangled Banner,' no 
musical composition has done more to arouse the patriotic spirit of America than 
this, John Philip Sousa's most beloved composition. It is sometimes taken to be 
the national march of the United States, although it has never officially been 
so designated. Symbolic of flag-waving in general, it has been used with 
considerable effectiveness to generate patriotic feeling ever since its 
introduction in Philadelphia on May 14, 1897, when the staid 'Public Ledger' 
reported: '...It is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, 
and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora 
borealis.' 
    Aside from this flowery review, the march's reception was only slightly 
above average for a new Sousa march. It grew gradually in public acceptance, and 
with the advent of the Spanish-American War the nation suddenly needed such 
patriotic music. Capitalizing on this situation, Sousa used it with maximum 
effect to climax his moving pageant, 'The Trooping of the Colors'. 
    "'The Stars and Stripes Forever' had found its place in history. There was a 
vigorous response wherever it was performed, and audiences began to rise as 
though it were the national anthem. This became traditional at Sousa Band 
concerts. It was his practice to have the cornets, trumpets, trombones, and 
piccolos line up at the front of the stage for the final trio, and this added to 
the excitement. Many bands still perform the piece this way. 
    "With the passing years the march has endeared itself to the American 
people. The sight of Sousa conducting his own great band in this most glorious 
composition always triggered an emotional response. The piece was expected - and 
sometimes openly demanded - at every concert of the Sousa Band. Usually it was 
played unanounced as an encore. Many former Sousa Band members have stated that 
they could not recall a concert in which it was not played, and that they too 
were inspired by looking into the misty eyes of those in the audience. That the 
players never tired of it is surely a measure of its greatness. 
    "Sousa was very emotional in speaking of his own patriotism. When asked why 
he composed this march, he would insist that its strains were divinely inspired. 
In a Sousa Band program at Willow Grove we find this account: 
 
    Someone asked, 'Who influenced you to compose 'Stars and Stripes Forever,' 
and before the question was hardly asked, Sousa replied, 'God - and I say this 
in all reverence! I was in Europe and I got a cablegram that my manager was 
dead. I was in Italy and I wished to get home as soon as possible. I rushed to 
Genoa, then to Paris and to England and sailed for America. On board the steamer 
as I walked miles up and down the deck, back and forth, a mental band was 
playing 'Stars and Stripes Forever.' Day after day as I walked it persisted in 
crashing into my very soul. I wrote it on Christmas Day, 1896'"  (the text 
continues...) 
 
The Works of John Philip Sousa 
pgs. 84-89 
Paul E. Bierley 
Integrity Press 
1984