Invercargill March for Brass Quintet by Jari A. Villanueva Brass Quintet - Digital Sheet Music

SKU: A0.1730031

Invercargill March, composed by Alex Lithgow and named after his hometown of Invercargill in New Zealand's South Island, is considered one of the most popular marches worldwide. It ranks alongside John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," Kenneth Alford's "Colonel Bogey March," and Johann Strauss' "Radetsky March."

Alex F. Lithgow (December 1, 1870, Glasgow, Scotland - July 12, 1929, Launceston, Australia) was known as the so-called March King of the Antipodes. Although born in Scotland, his family moved to Invercargill, New Zealand, when he was six years old. At 16, he became the principal cornet soloist, and four years later, after winning the cornet solo championship at the first national band contest (in Dunedin, 1890), he was promoted to bandmaster. In addition to the cornet, he was also an excellent violinist and, beginning when he was 15, he worked with several symphonies during his career.

Lithgow’s first published march, Wairoa, was written when he was 15 and served as a second cornet player in the Invercargill Garrison Band. Out of his more than 50 marches, his Invercargill March became a global hit after an arrangement for wind band by L. P. Laurendeau was published by Carl Fisher in 1913. Besides marches, Lithgow composed music for orchestra, piano, voice, and concert band. Among his many concert works, band researcher Stanley Newcomb from New Zealand considers the suites In Sunny Australia and At the Movies, the march intermezzo Australia Today, and the waltzes Tasma’s Beauties, Bessica, and To Vera to be some of his best compositions.

However, the composer’s royalties did not sustain his family. Lithgow’s health began to decline in his early 50s, and he was compelled to cease most of his conducting activities. Determined to keep composing, he worked as a printer for the Examiner newspaper during the day and composed music at night. The exhausting schedule soon took its toll; he became an invalid and died in 1929, leaving behind his widow, one son, and two daughters. Highly respected as a cornetist, composer, and conductor, and admired as a kind and patient person, Lithgow’s funeral service was attended by thousands of people who walked the three miles to the cemetery. Since his death, memorial plaques have been placed in both Tasmania and New Zealand.