Chief Warrant Officer 4 Bryan P. Sherlock joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and received his commission in June 2018. He was the first Assistant Director in the Marine Band’s history to be appointed directly from the officer corps of the Fleet Marine Force. In 2020 he transitioned to his current role as Operations Officer.
Upon graduating in 1985 from F. J. Reitz High School, Evansville, Ind., CWO4 Sherlock attended the University of Evansville in Indiana where he studied with Dr. William Bootz and Melissa Williams and earned a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1991. He began teaching and freelance performing in Indianapolis before attending Butler University in Indianapolis to earn a master’s degree in trombone performance in 1995 where he studied with Jared Roden and Harvey Benstein. During this time, he held the position of principal trombone in the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, while also performing in the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Monument City Brass Quintet, the Resurrection Brass Quintet, the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra in Kentucky, and regional theater orchestras.
CWO4 Sherlock enlisted in the Marine Corps in November 1996. Upon completing recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego as the Company Honor Graduate, he received a meritorious promotion, completed Marine combat training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California, and reported to the Armed Forces School of Music in Little Creek, Va. There he achieved an accelerated graduation and proceeded to the 2D Marine Division Band at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. By the time he was promoted to corporal, CWO4 Sherlock was principal trombone and section leader in the concert and ceremonial bands, lead trombone in the jazz ensemble, and leader of the brass quintet, while simultaneously serving on the library staff and in the band administration section.
In 2000, CWO4 Sherlock was assigned to the faculty of the Armed Forces School of Music as a theory and ear training instructor and was promoted to sergeant. Over the next several years, he was instrumental in redesigning and writing the theory curriculum before attending the Senior Musician Course. Promoted to staff sergeant in 2004, he returned to the faculty in 2005 and added rehearsal conductor to his duties.
CWO4 Sherlock received his warrant in 2007 while attending The Basic School for Marine Officers in Quantico, Va., where he graduated among the top ten (2%) in his class. He took his first position as Officer in Charge of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific Band (MARFORPAC) in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, in 2007, and was promoted to chief warrant officer 2 in 2008. In 2011, CWO4 Sherlock assumed leadership of the Marine Corps Band New Orleans and was promoted to chief warrant officer 3 in 2014. He returned to the MARFORPAC Band in 2015 prior to joining “The President’s Own.”
As Assistant Director, CWO4 Sherlock’s responsibilities included conducting the Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra in their winter/spring concert series and summer concerts on the National Mall as well as at ceremonies in the national capital region and at the White House. Additionally, he served as a supervisor for the acclaimed fall and winter Chamber Music Series, which features the virtuoso musicians of “The President’s Own,” as well as all pre-concert music.
In his current role as Operations Officer, he is the liaison to the White House Military Office for Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra commitments at the White House and to the Office of Marine Corps Communication for commitments assigned by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He is responsible for proposing and implementing the band’s daily work schedule, coordinating ceremonial events with the Military District of Washington, and overseeing audition procedures.