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Marine Band Members
Clarinet
Staff Sgt. Nicholas Thompson

Clarinet player Staff Sgt. Nicholas Thompson of Great Falls, Va., joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in October 2022.

Staff Sgt. Thompson began his musical training on clarinet at age 11. After graduating in 2012 from Langley High School, he attended George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where he studied under Kathy Mulcahy and earned a bachelor’s degree in clarinet performance in 2016. He continued his studies with Chad Burrow and Dan Gilbert at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he earned a master’s degree in clarinet performance in 2018.

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Staff Sgt. Thompson performed as principal clarinet with the Lima and Youngstown Symphonies in Ohio, and acting principal with the Flint Symphony in Michigan. He has also subbed with a number of other ensembles in Ohio and Michigan, including the Akron, Canton, Toledo, Ann Arbor, Detroit and Kalamazoo Symphonies. Staff Sgt. Thompson has also performed with the Berkshire Festival Opera Orchestra in Massachusetts.

Staff Sgt. Thompson performs with the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and across the country during the band’s annual concert tour.