What's New!
Fall Chamber Series
White House Fall Garden Tour
Featured Downloads
Vacancies
Fall Chamber Series Features Mozart, Smetana, and Dance Music
 At 2 p.m. this Sunday, Oct. 21, come listen to the virtuoso musicians of “The President’s Own” perform an unmistakable work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the sublimely beautiful music of Bedrich Smetana. The performance will take place at John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex in southeast Washington, D.C., and the concert is free and no tickets are required. Free parking is also available.
Coordinated by violinist Staff Sgt. Christopher Franke, the recital will include Mozart’s Duet in G for Violin and Viola. Mozart composed the piece as a friendly favor to Michael Haydn, Franz Joseph Haydn’s younger brother. While composing six works for Archbishop Colloredo of Salzburg, Michael Haydn fell seriously ill and risked losing his funding as he still had two pieces to complete. Mozart learned of the predicament and quickly completed the remaining two duos for his friend.
Another concert highlight is Smetana’s String Quartet No.1 in E minor, From My Life, written in four movements that musically depict different phases of the composer’s life. Even with a life full of sorrow and tragedies, Smetana’s piece displays expressive content and musical beauty.
The other concert selections are inspired by dance music throughout the ages, including George Fenton’s Five Parts of the Dance, John Mackey’s Breakdown Tango, and William Bolcom’s Virtuosity Rag.
Complete concert program and program notes
Directions and parking information
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White House Fall Garden Tour Includes Music by the Marine Band
The Marine Band will return to serenade guests from 9 a.m. to noon during the second weekend of the White House’s annual Fall Garden Tour, Friday, Oct. 19. During the tour, visitors can see the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, the Rose Garden, the Kitchen Garden, and the South Lawn of the White House while listening to the strains of wind band standards, popular marches, and Broadway favorites performed by “The President’s Own.”
The Fall Garden Tour runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, Oct. 19, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 20. The tours are free and open to the public; however, tickets are required (limit one ticket per person) and will be distributed on a first come, first served basis by the National Park Service at the Ellipse Visitor Pavilion located at 15th and E Streets on tour days beginning at 8 a.m. Call the 24-hour information line at (202) 456-7041 in case of inclement weather.
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October’s Featured Downloads
October’s March of the Month download is Marine Band staff arranger Staff Sgt. Ryan Nowlin's original march “Oh Henry!” Written before Nowlin joined the Marine Band and while he was a band director for Ohio public schools and an instructor at Bowling Green State University, the march reflects his Ohio roots by honoring the band music icon and Cincinnati native Henry Fillmore. The piece captures the spirit of the Fillmore Band with nods to some of band leader’s most well-known and beloved marches.
“I find the marches of Henry Fillmore to be electrifying,” Nowlin said. “I chose to write the march in his style to give him a well-deserved nod for the major role he's played in so many people's lives and their enjoyment of American music and culture.”
The Marine Band, conducted by Col. Michael J. Colburn, recorded the piece in July 2012 in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall at Marine Barracks Annex in southeast Washington, D.C.
Download “Oh Henry!”
The Director’s Choice audio download for October is Randol Alan Bass’s Casey at the Bat, featuring Gunnery Sgt. Kevin Bennear as narrator. The great American pastime of baseball has inspired many great stories with one of the most famous being Ernest L. Thayer’s playful poem “Casey at the Bat.” Bass’s lively and evocative musical backdrop for this poem was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony and premièred in April 2001 by the symphony with television personality Pat Sajak narrating. Bass then transcribed the work for “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band in 2001.
Conducted by Assistant Director Maj. Jason K. Fettig, the Marine Band recorded the piece on April 2, 2006, at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Va.
Download Casey at the Bat
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Vacancies
“The President’s Own” announces vacancies for the following:
Music Librarian: Application materials must be postmarked no later than Nov. 2
Tuba: Dec. 3-4
Piccolo/flute: Dec. 10-11
French horn: Feb. 11-12
Clarinet: March 11-12
Click here for audition information
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Written/compiled by Staff Sergeant Brian Rust
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