Strictly Oompah: Penn State University Sousaphones

Friday, June 9, 2017

Penn State University Sousaphones

My son, Jonathan, will be attending Penn State this fall, and he plans to play Sousaphone in the Blue Band. I was checking out the band building with my parents yesterday, and got to see one of the Conn 20K's that are used on game day (the horns in the rack behind me are the practice horns - mostly old Kings, as far as I can tell).

We also found something of an historic Sousaphone among the Land-Grant Frescoes in the lobby of Old Main, which were painted in 1940:

Here's the exterior of Old Main - we enjoyed a glorious June day in State College, PA. This life-long USC Trojan is starting to grow quite fond of Penn State (of course, winning the epic Rose Bowl this past January helps)!

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Sousa on the Sousaphone

"The Sousaphone received its name through a suggestion made by me to J. W. Pepper, the instrument manufacturer of Philadelphia, fully 30 odd years ago. At that time, the United States Marine Band of Washington, D. C., of which I was conductor, used a double B-flat bass tuba of circular form know as a 'Helicon.' It was all right enough for street-parade work, but its tone was apt to shoot ahead too prominently and explosively to suit me for concert performances, so I spoke to Mr. Pepper relative to constructing a bass instrument in which the bell would turn upwards and be adjustable for concert purposes. He built one, and grateful to me for the suggestion, called it a Sousaphone. It was immediately taken up by other instrument makers, and is today manufactured in its greatest degree of perfection by the C. G. Conn Company, of Elkhart, Ind." (John Philip Sousa, Christian Science Monitor, August 30, 1922, p. 8)