Historedia
Episode 2 of 2

Sousa Concert Performance

When
April 8, 1899
Where
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Part of
The Victors premiered by Sousa's band

"The Victors" was performed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during a concert by John Philip Sousa three days after the first public performance.

Three days after the April 5, 1899, first public performance, "The Victors" was performed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during a concert by John Philip Sousa, leader of the United States Marine Band and known as the "March King." Sousa held the song in high regard, later describing it as "one of the nation's finest military marches and the best original college song" he had ever heard. The specific venue for the concert is not stated in the sources; Hill Auditorium, sometimes cited for this event, opened in 1913 and is anachronistic.

Sources

  1. The Victors Wikipedia, revision of 2026-05-05
  2. University of Michigan Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-02

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.