HR0761 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0761 LRB093 21578 HSS 49029 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, America's music commands boundless artistic reflections of this country's past and future legacies; and

WHEREAS, America's music transcends culture, gender, race, class, and creed, and thrives freely as it is continually reinvented, rearranged, transformed, and infused by a universe of memories and imaginations; it draws on the personal experiences of men and women and aspires to approximate the complexities of humanity in all degrees of inelegance and beauty; and

WHEREAS, America's music expresses our country's vital cultural and social identities and empowers us to assert and preserve our past for the future; it transforms our wondrous and harsh experiences into potent messages that freely declare democratic choice and freedom of expression; it inspires social justice, enlivens collective action, and reflects our nation's dynamic social movements; and

WHEREAS, John Philip Sousa's music embodies the unflagging spirit of this nation; his music, a product of a renaissance in American art and technology, affirmed our parents' contagious patriotism and profound love of country even as they witnessed the brutalities of a nation at war; his music was a fanfare about and for all men and women of these United States; his rousing melodies celebrated the best and worst of our diverse cultures and emerging histories; Sousa's music, both now and then, entertained and telegraphed our nation's indomitable sense of spirit to the world; and

WHEREAS, John Philip Sousa performed over 275 concerts in this great State; his band spread the wealth of his music and a nation's spirit from the humble banks of Illinois' Wabash to its mighty Mississippi, and from Chicago's Great Lake to the Ohio's "La Belle Riviere"; his profound devotion to America moved him in May of 1917, at the age of 62, to enlist in the United States Navy and serve as the coordinator of the music program at Chicago's Great Lakes Naval Training Center; as one of Illinois' most celebrated residents, Sousa championed music education throughout the State as well as the nation; and

WHEREAS, John Philip Sousa and his band served as the model for the University of Illinois' innovative band program; the university's vital band program eventually established the standard for all college and university bands throughout the United States; Sousa was named "Honorary Conductor" of the University's Concert Band on March 20, 1930, and upon his death in 1932, he bequeathed to the University his band's entire performance library; he believed his music and legacy could be preserved only through active performance by a band and its director as capable as his own ensemble; and

WHEREAS, Today the State of Illinois and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are home to the single greatest collection of original music compositions and arrangements by John Philip Sousa; the university is also the residence of one of this country's most recognized university bands and music programs and the largest public university library in the world; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare the month of November American Music Month to celebrate both John Philip Sousa's birth on November 6, 1854, and his monumental contributions to America's and the State of Illinois' music heritage; and be it further

RESOLVED, That all forms of America's music will be honored, celebrated, and preserved for future generations as expressions of the democratic freedoms that John Philip Sousa so eloquently embodied through his music, and his music remains a hallmark of this nation's indomitable spirit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a memento of the celebration of this month.