The Liberty Bell March for Brass Quintet by John Philip Sousa
Arranged by Jari Villanueva

Score
2 Trumpets in Bb
Horn in F (Eb Alto Horn)
Trombone (Baritone TC)
Tuba
Drums (optional)
Substitute parts provided

Music downloaded in PDF Format upon payment

It may be associated with Monty Python's Flying Circus but "The Liberty Bell" was written for Sousa's unfinished operetta The Devil's Deputy in 1893. Financing for the show fell through and shortly afterwards, Sousa and his band manager George Hinton attended the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. As they watched the spectacle "America", in which a backdrop depicting the Liberty Bell was lowered, Hinton suggested "The Liberty Bell" as the title of Sousa's recently completed march. Coincidentally, Sousa received a letter from his wife, saying their son had marched in a parade in honor of the Liberty Bell which had been on a nation-wide tour. Sousa agreed. He sold "The Liberty Bell" to the John Church Company for publication, and it was an immediate success.

The origin of the tune comes from the time Sousa heard Marcella Lindh, one of his soprano soloists, whistling a tune of her own creation. Sousa couldn’t get the melody out of his head and asked his soprano if he might use it in a march. She agreed, but didn’t know that her tune had been used until several years later when she happened to hear a European band perform the march.