(Meredith Music Resource). The performing style that created the "Sousa Sound" and made his music pre-eminent in the golden age of bands is revealed in this thought-provoking exploration by Keith Brion, founder and conductor of his own New Sousa Band. The band was formed in 1986 for a nationally televised PBS special, The New Sousa Band on Stage at Wolf Trap . It has since toured in every section of the United States and performed overseas tours in Japan and China. Since 1980, Mr. Brion has conducted his popular "Sousa at the Symphony" concerts with nearly every American major and regional symphony orchestra, often in repeat performances. Brion's insight into the musical depth of Sousa marches will enlighten any serious reader. Includes: * Sousa'a Marches As He Conducted Them * Parts of a Sousa March * Articulations, Dynamics, Phrasing, Harmony and Counterpoint * Blend, Color, Balance and Tempo * The Importance of After-Beats and Bass Lines * Instruments and Instrumentations * Percussion in Sousa's Marches * Patterns for Conducting Marches * Background and Analysis of The Stars and Stripes Forever 2/2 * Background and Analysis of The Invincible Eagle 6/8 * A Summary of Sousa Performance Techniques * Performance Suggestions * New Sousa Band Style Sheet and Guidelines * A List of References: Books and Recordings * Facts and Misconceptions About Sousa and His Concerts

Most famous for his military marches, John Philip Sousa led a group of devoted musicians around the world and shaped a new cultural landscape. This book documents almost every aspect of the "March King's" band: its history, its star performers, its appearances on recordings, and the problems the group faced on their 1911 trip around the world.

On Saturday, November 14, 1944, radio listeners heard an enthusiastic broadcast announcer describe something they had never heard before: Women singing the "Marines' Hymn" instead of the traditional all-male United States Marine Band. The singers were actually members of its sister organization, The Marine Corps Women's Reserve Band of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Today, few remember these all-female military bands because only a small number of their performances were broadcast or pressed to vinyl. But, as Jill Sullivan argues in Bands of Sisters: U.S. Women's Military Bands during World War II, these gaps in the historical record can hardly be treated as the measure of their success. The novelty of these bands—initially employed by the U.S. military to support bond drives—drew enough spectators for the bands to be placed on tour, raising money for the war and boosting morale. The women, once discharged at the war's end, refused to fade into post-war domesticity. Instead, the strong bond fostered by youthful enthusiasm and the rare opportunity to serve in the military while making professional caliber music would come to last some 60 years. Based on interviews with over 70 surviving band members, Bands of Sisters tells the tale of this remarkable period in the history of American women. Sullivan covers the history of these ensembles, tracing accounts such as the female music teachers who would leave their positions to become professional musicians—no easy matter for female instrumentalists of the pre-war era. Sullivan further traces how some band members would later be among the first post-war music therapists based on their experience working with medical personnel in hospitals to treat injured soldiers. The opportunities presented by military service inevitably promoted new perspectives on what women could accomplish outside of the home, resulting in a lifetime of lasting relationships that would inspire future generations of musicians.

John Philip Sousa's mature career as the indomitable leader of his own touring band is well known, but the years leading up to his emergence as a celebrity have escaped serious attention. In this revealing biography, Patrick Warfield explains how the March King came to be by documenting Sousa's early life and career. Covering the period 1854 to 1893, this study focuses on the community and training that created Sousa, exploring the musical life of late nineteenth-century Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia as a context for Sousa's development. Warfield examines Sousa's wide-ranging experience composing, conducting, and performing in the theater, opera house, concert hall, and salons, as well as his leadership of the United States Marine Band and the later Sousa Band, early twentieth-century America's most famous and successful ensemble. Sousa composed not only marches during this period but also parlor, minstrel, and art songs; parade, concert, and medley marches; schottisches, waltzes, and polkas; and incidental music, operettas, and descriptive pieces. Warfield's examination of Sousa's output reveals a versatile composer much broader in stylistic range than the bandmaster extraordinaire remembered as the March King. In particular, Making the March King demonstrates how Sousa used his theatrical training to create the character of the March King. The exuberant bandmaster who pleased audiences was both a skilled and charismatic conductor and a theatrical character whose past and very identity suggested drama, spectacle, and excitement. Sousa's success was also the result of perseverance and lessons learned from older colleagues on how to court, win, and keep an audience. Warfield presents the story of Sousa as a self-made business success, a gifted performer and composer who deftly capitalized on his talents to create one of the most entertaining, enduring figures in American music.

Music at Hand shows how sound, action, and perception are connected in instrumental performance, asking how this integration affects listening, improvisation, and composition. Traversing disciplinary boundaries and diverse musical styles, this innovative book analyzes forms of musical experience that are both embodied and conditioned by technology.

Provides a pioneering interdisciplinary overview of the literature and music of nine centuriesOffers research essays by literary specialists and musicologists that provides access to the best current interdisciplinary scholarship on connections between literature and musicIncludes five historical sections from the Middle Ages to the present, with editorial introductions to enhance understanding of relationships between literature and music in each periodCharts and extends work in this expanding interdisciplinary field to provide an essential resource for researchers with an interest in literature and other mediaBringing together seventy-one newly commissioned original chapters by literary specialists and musicologists, this book presents the most recent interdisciplinary research into literature and music. In five parts, the chapters cover the Middle Ages to the present. The volume introduction and methodology chapters define key concepts for investigating the interdependence of these two art forms and a concluding chapter looks to the future of this interdisciplinary field. An editorial introduction to each historical part explains the main features of the relationships between literature and music in the period and outlines recent developments in scholarship. Contributions represent a multiplicity of approaches: theoretical, contextual and close reading. Case studies reach beyond literature and music to engage with related fields including philosophy, history of science, theatre, broadcast media and popular culture.This trailblazing companion charts and extends the work in this expanding interdisciplinary field and is an essential resource for researchers with an interest in literature and other media.