Semper Fidelis - John Philip Sousa, edited by John R. Bourgeois

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This beloved Sousa march takes its title from the motto of the U.S. Marine Corps: “Semper Fidelis” – “Always Faithful.” The first performance was in the Inaugural Parade for President Benjamin Harrison when Sousa was the Conductor of the U.S. Marine Band – “the President’s Own” and has subsequently gained recognition as the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps. Sousa regarded it as his best march, musically speaking and it has become one of his most popular marches. Sousa once stated that it was the favorite march of Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany – before World War I, of course. To underline the special nature of this piece, it should be noted that the march was played as a funeral march, when the Marine Band accompanied Sousa’s body on his way from the Marine Barracks to the Congressional Cemetery in 1932.

The Oklahoma City Symphonic Band is under the direction of Dr. Mark G. Belcik.