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Archive: March, 2016
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During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website! - During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website!

MUSICAL FASHION OF GREAT BRITAIN: Friday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. (EDT), National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. Few would argue the musical sway Jean Sibelius held over Nordic composers, but he also significantly impacted the work of many British composers, including Sir William Walton and Ralph Vaughan Williams. So it became the musical fashion of Great Britain to emulate the great Finnish composer. This concert will highlight works by all three composers, including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves; Walton’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, featuring soloist Staff Sgt. Sarah Hart (pictured above); and Sibelius’ Valse triste, Opus 44, No. 1 and Symphony No. 7 in C, Opus 105. The concert is free and no tickets are required. Free parking is available. - MUSICAL FASHION OF GREAT BRITAIN: Friday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. (EDT), National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. Few would argue the musical sway Jean Sibelius held over Nordic composers, but he also significantly impacted the work of many British composers, including Sir William Walton and Ralph Vaughan Williams. So it became the musical fashion of Great Britain to emulate the great Finnish composer. This concert will highlight works by all three composers, including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves; Walton’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, featuring soloist Staff Sgt. Sarah Hart (pictured above); and Sibelius’ Valse triste, Opus 44, No. 1 and Symphony No. 7 in C, Opus 105. The concert is free and no tickets are required. Free parking is available.

POSTCARDS: Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. EST, Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, Bowie, Md. In 1891, John Philip Sousa embarked on the U.S. Marine Band’s first national concert tour, launching a tradition of travel that has continued for the past 125 years. We invite you to hitch a ride with the band as we cross the Atlantic to tour the streets of Paris, immerse ourselves in the history of London and Scotland, and delight in the breathtaking fountains of Rome. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” plays us home, just as it did for Sousa when he first conceived its timeless strains on a return voyage from Europe 110 years ago. The concert is free, no tickets required. Free parking is available. - POSTCARDS: Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. EST, Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, Bowie, Md. In 1891, John Philip Sousa embarked on the U.S. Marine Band’s first national concert tour, launching a tradition of travel that has continued for the past 125 years. We invite you to hitch a ride with the band as we cross the Atlantic to tour the streets of Paris, immerse ourselves in the history of London and Scotland, and delight in the breathtaking fountains of Rome. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” plays us home, just as it did for Sousa when he first conceived its timeless strains on a return voyage from Europe 110 years ago. The concert is free, no tickets required. Free parking is available.

During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website! - During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website!

During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website! - During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website!

MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM: Friday, March 18 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. EST, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. On March 7, 1941, the Marine Band performed at the dedication of the National Gallery of Art, and regular concerts took place there during World War II when the first director, David E. Finley, kept the Gallery open on Sunday nights to accommodate the armed forces personnel who were in Washington at the time. This performance highlights the connections between music and art as well as works from that important time in American history. Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto was penned for the 1941 British film Dangerous Moonlight and Copland’s masterpiece Appalachian Spring was composed just a few years later and premiered at the nearby Library of Congress. One of the three classic Botticelli paintings that inspired Respighi’s Trittico botticelliano presently hangs just a few feet away from where the Marine Chamber Orchestra will perform this special concert at the National Gallery. Concerts at the National Gallery are open to the public, free of charge. Audience is admitted on a first-come, first-served basis 30 minutes before the concert begins. Limited seating is provided for those who cannot stand. For further information, call (202) 842-6941. The National Gallery of Art is located at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW Washington, D.C. For parking information, visit www.nga.gov or call (202) 842-6450.CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES: Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m. EST, John Philip Sousa Band Hall, Washington, DC. This all-Russian program will feature a brass ensemble, marimba duet, piano duet, and strings with clarinet on works by famous composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Alexander Glazunov, Soulima Stravinsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. The concert is free and will take place at John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, Washington, D.C. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street. The concert will also stream live at www. - MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM: Friday, March 18 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. EST, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. On March 7, 1941, the Marine Band performed at the dedication of the National Gallery of Art, and regular concerts took place there during World War II when the first director, David E. Finley, kept the Gallery open on Sunday nights to accommodate the armed forces personnel who were in Washington at the time. This performance highlights the connections between music and art as well as works from that important time in American history. Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto was penned for the 1941 British film Dangerous Moonlight and Copland’s masterpiece Appalachian Spring was composed just a few years later and premiered at the nearby Library of Congress. One of the three classic Botticelli paintings that inspired Respighi’s Trittico botticelliano presently hangs just a few feet away from where the Marine Chamber Orchestra will perform this special concert at the National Gallery. Concerts at the National Gallery are open to the public, free of charge. Audience is admitted on a first-come, first-served basis 30 minutes before the concert begins. Limited seating is provided for those who cannot stand. For further information, call (202) 842-6941. The National Gallery of Art is located at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW Washington, D.C. For parking information, visit www.nga.gov or call (202) 842-6450. CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES: Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m. EST, John Philip Sousa Band Hall, Washington, DC. This all-Russian program will feature a brass ensemble, marimba duet, piano duet, and strings with clarinet on works by famous composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Alexander Glazunov, Soulima Stravinsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. The concert is free and will take place at John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, Washington, D.C. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street. The concert will also stream live at www.

Monday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m., Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, Md. - The best film scores in history pack an emotional power such that the music itself has transcended the moving pictures they were originally created to accompany. Many of these famous themes were composed by a group of distinguished international composers who came to Hollywood to ply their trade in the movies, and the sweeping symphonic scores they provided have since proven equally effective in performance on the concert stage. This special concert highlights music from films that span nearly 75 years, from the Golden Age of Hollywood to the cinema of our time, anchored by some of the greatest film music ever written in John Williams’ score to Star Wars. In addition to featuring some of the series’ iconic themes, this special concert will include brand new music from the recently released episode Star Wars: The Force Awakens. **Free tickets required and are limited to two per request. Tickets can be requested from the Strathmore Box Office at: https://www.strathmore.org/events-and-tickets/us-marine-band - Monday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m., Music Center at Strathmore, North Bethesda, Md. - The best film scores in history pack an emotional power such that the music itself has transcended the moving pictures they were originally created to accompany. Many of these famous themes were composed by a group of distinguished international composers who came to Hollywood to ply their trade in the movies, and the sweeping symphonic scores they provided have since proven equally effective in performance on the concert stage. This special concert highlights music from films that span nearly 75 years, from the Golden Age of Hollywood to the cinema of our time, anchored by some of the greatest film music ever written in John Williams’ score to Star Wars. In addition to featuring some of the series’ iconic themes, this special concert will include brand new music from the recently released episode Star Wars: The Force Awakens. **Free tickets required and are limited to two per request. Tickets can be requested from the Strathmore Box Office at: https://www.strathmore.org/events-and-tickets/us-marine-band

ROMANTICS: Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. EST, NOVA, Alexandria, Va. The musical and personal lives of Romantic composers Robert and Clara Schumann and their contemporary Johannes Brahms were inextricably intertwined. At their very first meeting, Robert invited the relatively unknown twenty-year-old Brahms to his piano and was so taken that he ran to get his wife, Clara, to hear what he described as “genius.” That night Clara took to her diary, writing, “Here is one who comes as if sent from God.” Thereafter, Robert served as Brahms’ mentor, dear friend, and unabashed supporter, even calling him “the next Beethoven.” Following Robert Schumann’s tragic suicide attempt and committal to an asylum several months later, Brahms vowed to stay with Clara until Robert’s recovery. In the intervening two and a half years until Robert’s death at age 46, Brahms realized he had found his “one great love” in Clara. The two never married, Brahms instead choosing to live by the motto “Frei Aber Einsam” [Lonely but Free]. Their unconsummated relationship continued for 40 years until Clara’s death in 1896. Stricken with grief, Brahms was physically unable to attend her funeral procession. After her burial, Brahms took ill and followed Clara to the grave less than 11 months later. The three composers’ mutual love and influence lives on in their music. The concert is free, no tickets are required. Free parking is available. - ROMANTICS: Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. EST, NOVA, Alexandria, Va. The musical and personal lives of Romantic composers Robert and Clara Schumann and their contemporary Johannes Brahms were inextricably intertwined. At their very first meeting, Robert invited the relatively unknown twenty-year-old Brahms to his piano and was so taken that he ran to get his wife, Clara, to hear what he described as “genius.” That night Clara took to her diary, writing, “Here is one who comes as if sent from God.” Thereafter, Robert served as Brahms’ mentor, dear friend, and unabashed supporter, even calling him “the next Beethoven.” Following Robert Schumann’s tragic suicide attempt and committal to an asylum several months later, Brahms vowed to stay with Clara until Robert’s recovery. In the intervening two and a half years until Robert’s death at age 46, Brahms realized he had found his “one great love” in Clara. The two never married, Brahms instead choosing to live by the motto “Frei Aber Einsam” [Lonely but Free]. Their unconsummated relationship continued for 40 years until Clara’s death in 1896. Stricken with grief, Brahms was physically unable to attend her funeral procession. After her burial, Brahms took ill and followed Clara to the grave less than 11 months later. The three composers’ mutual love and influence lives on in their music. The concert is free, no tickets are required. Free parking is available.