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The White Rose March
The White Rose March from The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa: Vol. 5

 

The White Rose (1917)

   

At a concert by the Sousa Band in York, Pennsylvania, a civic committee requested this Sousa march. The march was to be used at the York Flower Festival, commemorating White Rose Day. The white rose is the emblem of the House of York, in England, from which York, Pennsylvania, took its name. The White Rose Day celebration was canceled, owing to priorities of World War I. Nevertheless, Sousa’s march was played at a public concert by combined bands and given some measure of publicity in a recording by the Victor Talking Machine Company. It never became popular, however. By request, Sousa incorporated several themes from the opera Nittaunis, composed by York banker C. C. Frick.

Paul E. Bierley, The Works of John Philip Sousa (Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1984), 96. Used by permission.