John Philip Sousa’s Women Soloists March Podcast

Estelle Liebling, Maud Powell, Marjorie Moody (top row) and Virginia Root and Winifred Bambrick (bottom row).

While the majority of the musicians who played as part of the Sousa Band between 1892 and 1932 were men, many of the exceptional soloists who performed with the traveling ensemble were women who were world-class artists.  Chief among these musicians were Estelle Liebling, Maud Powell, Marjorie Moody, Virginia Root, and Winifred Bambrick.  Celebrating this past March’s Women’s History Month the Center’s volunteer, Carol Berthold, talks about the “ladies in white” of the Sousa in another special episode, “The Glass Ceiling.” This conversation was recorded and aired last month for the University of Illinois Bands monthly Podcasts about America’s and the University’s unique band heritage.   To learn more about Sousa’s extraordinary women soloists listen to the full March 22nd broadcast, Episode 1.6, by visiting https://www.bands.illinois.edu/episodes/.

Updated on