John Philip Sousa for Monty Python's Flying Circus), "The Thunderer" and "The Washington Post". Sousa began his career playing violin and studying music theory and composition under John Esputa and George Felix Benkert. His father enlisted him in the United States Marine Band as an apprentice in 1868. After departing the band in 1875, Sousa learned to conduct. From 1880 until his death, he focused exclusively on conducting and the writing of music. He eventually rejoined the Marine Band and served there for 12 years as director. On leaving the Marine Band, Sousa organized his own band. Sousa aided in the development of
John Philip Sousa Portuguese and Spanish ancestry (son of João António de Sousa and wife Josefina Blanco, from Seville), and his wife Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus (Darmstadt, 20 May 1826 – 25 August 1908), who was of Hessian ancestry (daughter of Peter Trinkhaus and wife Catherine Schafers). Sousa began his music education under the tuition of John Esputa Sr., who taught him solfeggio. This was short-lived, however, due to the teacher's frequent bad temper. His real music education began in 1861 or 1862 as a pupil of John Esputa Jr., the son of his previous teacher, under whom Sousa studied violin, piano, flute, several