Looking back over 15 years of marriage, I have to say one of my favorites dates with my husband was to an all-Sousa concert at Braden Auditorium. This was not our "typical" date, but the cost of the tickets and the necessity of acting somewhat sophisticated was worth every minute.
Growing up in rural and small town Illinois, my earliest exposure to "culture" was my dad's early morning serenades, which I later discovered were tidbits ranging from songs of the 60's, TV specials, and various musicals including Oklahoma. ("Oh, what a beautiful morning"...somehow when I watched the musical and heard how the song should really go, it just didn't sound nearly as good. I also remember thinking the Miss America song was one he had made up to sing to me alone. I felt like a star, waking up as a young girl to "There she is, Miss America..." It was quite a sobering wake-up call to realize my dad wasn't the original composer of these tunes and that I wasn't the lone audience for which they were originally intended. Ah, the dashed visions of childhood.)
I first discovered Sousa in high school band, the context of my next great exposure to the arts and culture. Wouldn't you know, my dad knew about Sousa's marches before I found them as well? We certainly shared our appreciation of his music. I fell in love with every one of Sousa's pieces and loved attempting to play them with the rich sound of the band even more.
There is something about Sousa that seems to run in the genes. Tonight, as I watched a 19 -year-old interview of my great-grandparents, captured by my mom on videotape just a four years before my grandpa passed away, I was delighted to discover their first date was to a Sousa concert. The Sousa. John Philip Sousa, and his band. As I strained to hear more about this event, it was a disappointment to learn that for whatever reason, the band didn't show up, so instead my grandparents-to-be took in a movie. But to know that an appreciation for Sousa extends through both sides of my family is one of those things that seems very right about life.
On Saturday night, Sept. 5 at Miller Park, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra will be presenting a free concert at 6:00. We will be there with the kids, trying to give them an ear for great music. Come on out and join us! Who knows, you may even hear some Sousa and start something that will be passed on to future generations.
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