John Philip Sousa - The Liberty Bell March

A pivotal figure in the American military march, John Philip Sousa was also responsible for the invention of the sousaphone. Bridget Mermikides explores the (in)famous Monty Python theme.

- Bridget Mermikides

As Johann Strauss II was to the Viennese Waltz, John Philip Sousa (1854-1932), an American Romantic composer, conductor and US serviceman, was to the military march. Serving the US military for extended periods through his lifetime, Sousa made a huge contribution to the repertoire and idiom of military march music composing not only staple pieces such as The Stars And Stripes Forever (The US National March) and Semper Fidelis (the US Marine official march), but also helped develop the design and invention of the Sousaphone, a tuba type instrument that could project sound upwards and over the band, a standard me