Quotes by John Philip Sousa

About John Philip Sousa:

John Philip Sousa is known as "The March King" or the "American March King" due to his British counterpart Kenneth J. Alford also being known by the former nickname. Among his best-known marches are "The Liberty Bell", "The Thunderer", "The Washington Post", "Semper Fidelis" (Official March of the United States Marine Corps), and "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (National March of the United States of America).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

I had found English audiences highly satisfactory. They are the best listeners in the world. Perhaps the music-lovers of some of our larger cities equal the English, but I do not believe they can be surpassed in that respect.

John Philip Sousa

Remember always that the composer's pen is still mightier than the bow of the violinist; in you lie all the possibilities of the creation of beauty.

John Philip Sousa

Grand opera is the most powerful of stage appeals and that almost entirely through the beauty of music.

John Philip Sousa

Is it not the business of the conductor to convey to the public in its dramatic form the central idea of a composition; and how can he convey that idea successfully if he does not enter heart and soul into the life of the music and the tale it unfold...

John Philip Sousa

The office of President is a great one; to every true American it seems the greatest on earth. And to me, as I was engaged in weaving a background of music for the pageantry of it, there came a deeper realization of the effect of that office on the m...

John Philip Sousa

Composers are the only people who can hear good music above bad sounds.

John Philip Sousa

I firmly believe that we have more latent musical talent in America than there is in any other country. But to dig it out there must be good music throughout the land, a lot of it. Everyone must hear it, and such a process takes time.

John Philip Sousa

Sincere composers believe in God.

John Philip Sousa

Jazz will endure just as long people hear it through their feet instead of their brains.

John Philip Sousa

I am happy now, to recall that I was not only his son but his companion, and whenever there was a hunting expedition or any other pleasure, I was always with him.

John Philip Sousa

I think that the quality of all bands is steadily improving and it is a pleasant thought to me that perhaps the efforts of Sousa's Band have quickened that interest and improved that quality.

John Philip Sousa

Any composer who is gloriously conscious that he is a composer must believe that he receives his inspiration from a source higher than himself.

John Philip Sousa

The average music-lover hears only the production under prevailing conditions.

John Philip Sousa

I still feel the impulse to give young writers a hearing, and I believe I have played more unpublished compositions than any other band leader in the country.

John Philip Sousa

There is one thing that freezes a musician more than the deadliest physical cold, and that is the spiritual chill of an unresponsive audience!

John Philip Sousa

America can well expect to develop a goodly amount of composers for she has a goodly number of people.

John Philip Sousa

American teachers have one indisputable advantage over foreign ones; they understand the American temperament and can judge its unevenness, its lights and its shadows.

John Philip Sousa

Governmental aid is a drawback rather than an assistance, as, although it may facilitate in the routine of artistic production, it is an impediment to the development of true artistic genius.

John Philip Sousa

Jazz will endure as long as people hear it through their feet instead of their brains

John Philip Sousa

The movements which I make I cannot possibly repress because, at the time, I am actually the idea I am interpreting, and naturally I picture my players and auditors as in accord with me. I know, of course, that my mannerisms have been widely discusse...

John Philip Sousa

Author Bio

  • NameJohn Philip Sousa
  • DescriptionAmerican conductor
  • BornNovember 6, 1854
  • DiedMarch 6, 1932
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionConductor; Officer; Composer; Author; Musician; Sport Shooter
  • WorksEl Capitan; Semper Fidelis
  • AwardsOrder Of Public Instruction; Royal Victorian Medal