April 8, 2016 --
Over
the past four weeks, “The President’s Own” hosted “Sousa’s March Mania,” a
tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online
community to determine which one is the favorite. In the third year of the
competition and after being defeated by Norwegian marches in 2014 and 2015,
John Philip Sousa’s march “The Stars and Stripes Forever” finally won the
tournament.
In late February, the directors of the Marine Band chose 32 marches accessible
on the Marine Band website. The pool of competitors included several composers
and different styles of marches, all hosted in the spirit of the band’s 17th
Director John Philip Sousa, also known as “The March King.”
Throughout
the competition, participants were introduced to marches they had never heard,
suggested marches and composers to include in next year’s March Mania, and expressed
grief over difficult voting decisions. There were several tight matches in the
first round, with three Sousa marches knocked out of the tournament by less
than 15 votes.
Band
Directors and music educators incorporated the mania into their classrooms
utilizing it as an educational resource, holding daily games with their
students to expose them to new music while having fun and enjoying the spirit
of the competition. A middle school band director from Brunswick, Ga., said,
“Thank you for putting together March Mania. It is a great way to introduce
these famous marches to my students. We vote at the start of class each day and
highlight our winning picks. … The kids are really getting into it and ask
first thing every day which march won from the day before.”
A
high school band director in Washington, Ind., said, “My students love
listening to the marches each day and voting. [They] are beginning to
understand that music goes beyond their school walls.”
Band
Director Jason Arnold, a three-year participant of Sousa’s March Mania, broke down the whole bracket during band rehearsal on
Wednesday. “I'm giddy,” he said.
According
to one music educator, her students “had a blast
voting for their favorites. There was even a little smack talk especially when
Circus Bee beat Thunderer.”
“Stars and Stripes” had two back-to-back matches
against reigning Mania champs. In the third round, after spending most of
the day trailing, Stars rallied overnight to defeat the 2014 competition champ,
Johannes
Halvorsen’s “Entry March of the Boyares” 597 to 452. Following
the march, with a winking emoticon, Nicolas Marquez said, “It’s a fix! #iwearbitterwell.”
Fans
followed closely when “Stars and Stripes” took on the 2015 Mania defending
champ “Valdres.” With almost 2,000 votes cast, Stars battled and came out ahead
1,117 to 836. Following the announcement of the match winner, a band director
in Albuquerque, N.M., said, “My students were
practically crying today. Valdres was their favorite!”
The next day, active duty and former Marines
pushed “Semper Fidelis” as far as they could; the lead changed hands several
times, but “The Washington Post” came out on top, defeating Semper Fidelis 505
to 460. Participant Brendan Oliverio lamented, “How did Washington Post beat
Semper Fidelis?”
It
came down to two marches: “Stars and Stripes” and “The Washington Post.” Stars
and Stripes had a landslide victory over “The Washington Post” to become the
2016 March Mania Champion with a final score of 677 to 273. And Stars always
has its loyal fans and brings back memories for musicians and music lovers
everywhere. Victor Keen said, “I played this my
freshman year of high school. This will always be my favorite march by John
Phillip Sousa.”
Some
fans have been waiting for Stars to finally win Sousa’s March Mania. One
participant said it is “long overdue,” another said “Finally! It’s about time
Stars and Stripes wins!” Patrons called it “Brilliant,” “Flawless.” Even “the
New York Yankees of Marches.” And participant Thomas Wilson called it “The
Bacon of Marches.”
Thanks to everyone for a great
competition! To revisit the marches and bracket, or for the complete albums
from the 2016 Sousa March Mania, click here.