Pennsylvania company celebrates legacy of crafting the nation's first sousaphone

EXTON, Pa. (WPVI) -- A Pennsylvania music company credited with creating the first sousaphone in the United States is highlighting its historic roots more than a century after the instrument helped reshape the sound of marching bands.

JW Pepper, founded in the 19th century, continues to showcase the original brass instrument that began its legacy.

The sousaphone, known for its deep rumbling tone, was first manufactured in Philadelphia in 1895. Cathy Fernandes said famed bandleader John Philip Sousa approached J.W. Pepper with a request for a custom instrument.

"John Philip Sousa, one of the most famous musicians in the world in the 1880s, approached Pepper and asked if Pepper would manufacture an instrument for him that was designed to create the sound he wanted in his very famous band," she said.

The original design differed from the modern sousaphone.

"We know the sousaphone as an instrument where the bell faces forward, creating a very direct sound push to the audience or to the crowd," Fernandes said. "In the original sousaphone, Sousa looked for something different. He had the bell upright because he wanted the sound to diffuse over the band."

The instrument was built at 8th and Walnut streets in Philadelphia, and its bell still bears an engraving of Sousa's name. Fernandes said Pepper named the instrument after Sousa because he inspired its creation.

"Because of its distinctive shape and the size of it, it sticks out above other instruments," she said.

After years of use in Sousa's band, the sousaphone resurfaced unexpectedly at a flea market. A tuba player named John Bailey, a West Chester University graduate, spotted it and bought it for $50. He kept it for two decades before contacting the company.

"A young man named John Bailey looked up, saw it and went home and got 50 bucks to buy it," Fernandes said. "And then he contacted the Pepper company to see if we were interested in purchasing the instrument, which, of course, we were."

Now known as JW Pepper and Sons, the company has grown into the world's largest sheet music retailer, offering 1.5 million titles in physical and digital formats. Its products are widely used in rehearsal rooms and performance spaces across the country.

To Fernandes, the company's Pennsylvania roots remain central to its identity.

"To know that we're grounded in Pennsylvania means something because there's a marriage of pride," she said. "Thank goodness people did the work. They did. Thank goodness they had the craftsmanship. Thank goodness they cared about music. They cared about their communities. Right? We stand on that. And then we look forward and say, well, what does that mean today?"