The President's Own United States Marine Band
The United States Marine Band, also known by the moniker "The President's Own," is an organization of about 160 members, 130 of whom are musicians. The USMB also includes the Marine Chamber Orchestra, various Marine chamber ensembles, the Marine Jazz Orchestra, and the country music offshoot Free Country. These ensembles typically perform more than 500 concert events each year, including at the White House, Pentagon ceremonies, state funerals, and various other government and public events. Not surprisingly, the number of musicians appearing at an event can vary widely, with some performances featuring as few as two or three members, and others, like the spectacular displays put on for presidential inaugurations typically involving about 100 players. Bandmembers serve at least four years, and some as long as 20 or more. Though they are members of the United States Marines, they do not receive basic training or most other military training. Their repertoire is obviously broad, taking in John Philip Sousa and other American composers, as well as Hindemith, Prokofiev, Ives, Stravinsky, and, via transcription, Wagner, Richard Strauss, Schoenberg, and a host of others.
The USMB was founded in accordance with a July 11, 1798 Act of Congress. It is thus not only the oldest American military band, but the oldest professional American musical organization. Although the USMB made its debut on August 21, 1800, its first major concert was given at the White House at the invitation of President John Adams on January 1, 1801. The ensemble also played for the inauguration of Thomas Jefferson that year (March 4) and has played for every presidential inauguration since.
There have been 27 directors of the USMB up through 2007, the first being William Farr, and the most famous being its 14th, composer John Philip Sousa, who led the group from 1880-1892. He is generally credited with building the ensemble into the finest American band of its time. Other famous directors include: John R. Bourgeois (1979-1996), Timothy W. Foley (1996-2004), and Michael J. Colburn (2004-2014).
On May 17, 1922, the USMB appeared on its first radio broadcast and thereafter gave frequent performances over the airwaves. Over the years the ensemble grew in prominence and expanded in size, making numerous recordings and appearing at countless televised events. Its recordings are available on the USMB's own label and from Naxos, Albany Records, Musical Heritage Society, and others.
© Robert Cummings /TiVo
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Schoepper, Vol. 18 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Johann Strauss II - Ludwig van Beethoven - Jean-Baptiste Arban)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoepper, Vol. 8 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Ludwig van Beethoven - Johann Strauss II - Johann Sebastian Bach)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Bicentennial Collection, Vol. 8 (Karel Husa - Michael Colgrass - Warren Benson)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Bicentennial Collection, Vol. 1: Early Acoustic Recordings (John Philip Sousa - Felix Mendelssohn - Tom Clark)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
President's Own United States Marine Band: Grand Scenes
The President's Own United States Marine Band, Timothy W. Foley
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 29 jan. 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
United States Marine Band: Great Marches Not by John Philip Sousa, Vol. 2 (Richard Thiele - Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore - Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 28 okt. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
President'S Own United States Marine Band: Original Sousa, Vol. 2 (John Philip Sousa)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 2 jun. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Heritage of John Philip Sousa, Vol. 5 (John Philip Sousa - Gay Corrie)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jan. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Fifty-Eighth Annual Midwest Clinic, 2004
The President's Own United States Marine Band, Christopher Rose, Michael J. Colburn
Klassiek - Released by Mark Records on 1 nov. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Music of Warren Benson, Vol. 1 (Live)
The President's Own United States Marine Band, Michael J. Colburn, Timothy W. Foley, Jason K. Fettig, John R. Bourgeois
Klassiek - Released by Mark Records on 18 jan. 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Santelmann, Vol. 1 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Historic Recording)
The President's Own United States Marine Band, William F. Santelmann
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 aug. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Santelmann, Vol. 10 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Ambroise Thomas - Victor Herbert - Reynaldo Hahn)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Santelmann, Vol. 9 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Richard Wagner - Victor Herbert - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Santelmann, Vol. 8 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Gioachino Rossini - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky - Frank W. Meacham)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Santelmann, Vol. 2 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Historic Recording) (Camille Saint-Saens - Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov - Charles-Francois Gounod)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 aug. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoepper, Vol. 3 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Alexander Porfir'yevich Borodin - M. Pohle - Richard Wagner)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
President's Own United States Marine Band: Music from the Land of Hope and Glory
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jan. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoepper, Vol. 21 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Joseph Willcox Jenkins - Richard Wagner - John Bourgeois)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoepper, Vol. 19 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky - Richard Strauss - Ludwig van Beethoven)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoepper, Vol. 17 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Jean Sibelius - Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky - Carl Maria von Weber)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schoepper, Vol. 16 of the Robert Hoe Collection (Carl Maria von Weber - Henry Hadley - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor)
The President's Own United States Marine Band
Klassiek - Released by Altissimo on 1 jul. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo