Evening star., 1925-08-30


City Post Office: Louis NJ. Sousa Of
63l L street southeast: Mrs. A. e.
Varela of $50 Sixth street southeast,
and Mrs. Bower, wife of Lieut.. j
Nick. Bower, a retired naval officer
who lives in Chicago
Mrs. Sousa was a member OF
Christ Protestant Episcopal Church
on G street southeast. and has always
been active in the charitable work of
that parish. She visited the sick and
needy constantly and did much to
help them. Mrs. Sousa was espe-
cially proud of her son John Philip.
the famous bandmaster. Their last
meeting was two weeks ago. He
has been notified of his mothers
death and will arrive in time for the
funeral services Wednesday morning
at 10 o'clock in the chapel at Con
gressional Cemetery. Rev. Arthur s.
Jones of Christ P. L. Church. Navv
Yard, officiating"
THE Marine Band began giving con.
certs at the White House and
Capitol in 1854 At the beginning of
the concert season Antonio Pons was
leader, but on July IL, 1854, Francis
Scala became leader. He had also
been fife major or leader of the band
before PonS. Great-grandmothers
and greatgrandfathers of some OF
the Rambler's patient customers were
counting couples at those concerts.
Antonio Sousa was playing the from
bone in the band As age came to
Antonio he suffered from asthma
Between practiCing at THE Garrison
as your grandparents called the
Marine BarraCkS-taking part in cere-
monies and parades and teaching
music. Antonio Sousa practiced cabi-
netmaking in a little wooden house
he built facing u street. next his home
on the southeast corner of Seventh
and Z southeast. As his boys came
along he taught them music, and
Johns progress with the violin was
pleasing to him. John learned from
his father TO play the trombone, but
on the violin he was pupil of Prof.
John ESputa. who lived at the south
west corner of Eighth and f south
east, a block east of the Sousa home.
NeighbOrS have told the Rambler that
little John was not marvel on the
violin and not industrious in his praC-
tlce, but he got on 50 we'll that Pro-.
.Esputa let him play, or made him
play, in concerts. One of those con
certS was at the Government Hos
pltal for the Insane. John was 10
years old, and there is a little story
about John and that concert. The
Rambler I" 1t several weeks ago
when : rote of the Esputa family.
and aithough il IS a good story the
Rambler lacks the nerve to tell il
again You have some other friends
whose conscience is not so tender
about putting over the same storf
twice. Some men have a curious, OF
vicious. knack of telling the same
story a number of times, or oftener.
John went to school at the Wallach
~ -s.rI-.
writing, arithmetic, geography and
history. II find that | have skipped
line in my notesl John first went
to school at secondary school, No. .
at Third and \ streets southeast
His teacher there was Hannah John
son and in 1865 Miss Johnson gave
little John prize for exemplary con
duct and punCtuality. Somehow the
Rambler gets the impression that John
was not strong in his studies When
boy pulls down prizes for good con
duct and puctuality 1t seems to argue
that there was something irregular
about him. But he got on we'll a.
school and / hope he had his share OF
those delightful fights which boys so
much enjoy. ! find that I have neg
lected to get for YOU the names Of
Johns teachers at Wallach School, but
between 1865 and 1870 teachers there
tor: Mary f. Ramsay, preceptress:
Charles Roys. Frances Elvans, Addie
Thompson, Lucy =. Davis E. A.
Allen. Josephine Bird. Symphonic
Lusby and Kate Morphy. Perhaps all
these knew John SouSa. and several Of
them must have had a hand in 'shap-
ing the plastic mind of youth" bend
ing the twig as the tree should grow,
and all that.
<
A John Philip got in his teens he
= hung TO the violin and began TO
blow the trombone with zeal that
unnerved neiShbors on the next
square. When he was Is years old he
enlisted in the Marine Band and played
the trombone. Some of his admirers
in the Southeast say that as a from.
bone player John was a disappoint-
ment to his father One of his old
friends on the Navy Yard looked at
the Rambler with sad eyes, wagged
his head dolefully and said: John
was about the worst trombone player
| have heard" Years ago the Ram
bier wrote this: There seems to have
been resentement~ in the neighborhood
against Johns trombone. Some of the
neighbors said that John was run
ming down the price of real estate in
that part of Washington.
John seemed to realize, and his
friends urged him to the realization
th1' he never would become President
b. rlaying the trombone, and he be
came more dutiful to his violin. In
addition to his lessons with Prof. John
Esputa. he took up the study of har-
mony with a Mr.. Benkert Of George
town, and. by the way, the Rambler
must get some information of that
celebrated old teacher for use in this
set of stories. When John was young
quite handsome and very dapper he
left the Marine Band and Washington
for a place as a violin player in a
Philadelphia theater orchestra. Soon
he became the leader of that orches-
ira. Next, he moved to New York
as an orchestra leader and a little
later went on the road" with Often
bach'S Orchestra, famous band
OF course, / mean to tell you when
and how John became leader of the
Marine Band. and composed "The
Queen of Hearts which was put on at
Albaugh's in April. 1896 but you viii