John Philip Sousa composes The Stars and Stripes Forever

Background. John Philip Sousa, an American composer and conductor known primarily for US military marches, wrote The Stars and Stripes Forever in 1896. The work follows the standard U.S. military march form, with repeated phrasing of different melodies performed in strains. Sousa organized The Sousa Band, which toured from 1892 to 1931, performing in the United States and internationally, including at the World Exposition in Paris and the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Conception. Sousa stated in his 1928 autobiography that he composed the march on Christmas Day, 1896. However, he conceived the melody in his head during a voyage and only committed the notes to paper upon arriving in the United States. This distinction separates the mental composition from the physical transcription.

Premiere. The march was first performed at the Philadelphia Academy of Music on May 14, 1897, and was immediately greeted with enthusiasm. In a separate account connected to the final days of Sousa's life, the Sousa biography passage reports that Sousa had conducted a rehearsal of the march the day before with the Ringgold Band as its guest conductor; the passages do not tie that rehearsal to the 1897 premiere.