Oklahoma University hosted a tribute to John Philip Sousa in 1987 and recorded it for posterity. What makes this show interesting is that the symphonic band didn’t just play his marches, they attemtped to recreate a perfomance by having authentic costumes and a conductor to impersonate Mr. Sousa.
John Philip Sousa III acted as host for the evening and provided a living link to the composer.
In addition to his famous marches, Sousa wrote books, operattas, and was a noted trapshooter.
The real, original Sousa band played in Brattleboro on November 25, 1912. Perhaps the performance was something similar to this.
