90th anniversary of Royal Artillery Band at the Minnesota State Fair

Sunday is the 90th anniversary of the Royal Artillery Band's performance of "Minnesota," a march written for the University of Minnesota by the legendary conductor and composer John Phillip Sousa at the Minnesota State Fair grandstand.

That's when Sousa debuted the piece in front of 12,000 spectators.

The Minneapolis Tribune reported that "quiet settled over the arena while the march was being played. Even a lineman, working on a light pole in preparation for the fireworks exhibition in the evening, hushed his pounding while the march was being played. When the band crashed into the finale, there was a burst of applause from the audience that continued while the bandsmen gathered up their instruments and moved off the platform."

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