Sabre and Spurs by John Philip Sousa for Brass Quintet. Arranged by Jari Villanueva

Score
2 Trumpets in Bb
Horn in F (Eb Alto Horn)
Trombone (Baritone T.C.)
Tuba
Drums (opt)

SCORE AND PARTS DOWNLOADED UPON PAYMENT

During WWI, John Philip Sousa served as the Director of Music at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in the U.S. Naval Reserve, a position he held at age 62. He trained musicians for the Navy, led the large Great Lakes "Bluejacket Band", and conducted concerts that helped raise funds for the war effort, including over $21 million for Liberty Loans and the Red Cross. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant and promoted to Lieutenant Commander at the end of the war.

According to the inscription on the sheet music and on both of Sousa’s known manuscripts, this was to be the “March of the American Cavalry.” It was dedicated to the officers and men of the 311th Cavalry, commanded by Colonel George W. K. Kirkpatrick. It is another of Sousa’s World War I efforts that retained its popularity after the war.

Today, it may seem amusing that a scroll of appreciation designated Sousa “honorary life member of the Officers’ Mess of the 311th Cavalry.” But in Army terminology of the day, this meant that he was made an honorary life member of the regiment, the highest honor they could bestow.