An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


News

Sign up for the Marine Band newsletter HERE.

Photo Information

A Marine Brass and Percussion Ensemble will perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City for the choir's Music and the Spoken Word broadcast Sunday, Sept. 21. (Image ©2014 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved)

Photo by Marine Band Public Affairs

Brass and Percussion Ensemble Perform with Mormon Tabernacle Choir

17 Sep 2014 | Staff Sgt. Brian Rust United States Marine Band

On Sunday, Sept. 21, at 9:30 a.m. (MST)/11:30 a.m. (EST), a Marine Brass and Percussion Ensemble, conducted by Director Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig, will perform live with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the choir’s weekly “Music and the Spoken Word” broadcast at the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City. The weekly broadcast began in 1929 and has continued uninterrupted for 85 years, making it the longest, continuous broadcast on the air. “Music and the Spoken Word” has been inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the National Radio Hall of Fame and features music and inspiration for everyday living, often commemorating holidays and including guest artists.

Lt. Col. Fettig will conduct the Marine Brass and Percussion ensemble in Aaron Copland’s powerful Fanfare for the Common Man and Marine Band Assistant Director 1st Lt. Ryan J. Nowlin’s “Let Freedom Ring,” an original arrangement of the patriotic hymn “My Country ‘tis of Thee.” Having drawn his inspiration for the arrangement directly from the patriotic words of the hymn’s author, Samuel F. Smith, Nowlin said his “simplistic treatment of the theme is to portray a deep reverence.” 

Mormon Tabernacle Choir director Mack Wilberg will conduct both the choir and the brass and percussion ensemble in several arrangements of patriotic favorites, including “America, the Beautiful,” “This Is My Country,” and the Armed Forces Medley. The two ensembles will also perform the arrangement Cohan’s Big Three, featuring “The Yankee Doodle Boy,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” three popular songs by American composer and entertainer George M. Cohan.

Marine Band bass trombonist Gunnery Sgt. Karl Johnson, an alum of nearby Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, helped arrange the joint performance as the Marine Band was going to be in the Salt Lake City area during its National Concert Tour.

“I had several opportunities to accompany the Mormon Tabernacle Choir when I was a BYU student and have always admired that organization,” Johnson said. “I always thought that it made perfect sense to connect America's band with America's choir and I am excited that we finally have an opportunity to collaborate."

Visitors can attend the broadcast live in the Tabernacle or watch the broadcast on television or online. Attendance is free and no tickets are required. For complete broadcast information, visit www.mormontabernaclechoir.org.

Attend the broadcast in person (Link: http://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/events/music-and-the-spoken-word?lang=eng)

Watch the broadcast live (Link: http://www.mormontabernaclechoir.org/videos/music-and-the-spoken-word-live?lang=eng)