Strictly Oompah: Who remembered Conrad in 1945?

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Who remembered Conrad in 1945?

I came across this random newspaper clip the other day, from the February 14, 1945 edition of The Missoulian - almost 25 years after Herman Conrad died. Note the last question:

I'm encouraged to know that the person who wrote this clearly remembered Conrad, who was an immigrant from West Prussia, all those years later. Although, technically, he was not "first Sousaphone" with Sousa; Conrad played the one and only Sousaphone featured in that great band during the time he was in it (1893-1903). The other basses during that decade were all standard tubas.

And, hey, since this clip came out on Valentine's Day 1945, I'll go ahead and post this doctored up photo of Conrad from a few years ago!:

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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)