Oboe and English Horn Player Gunnery Sergeant Tessa Gross of Santa Monica, Calif., joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in October 2008.
Gunnery Sgt. Gross began her musical training at age 8. Upon graduating from Santa Monica High School in 2001, she attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she studied with Stuart Horne of the Los Angeles Opera. In 2005, she earned a bachelor’s degree in music from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. She continued her education at the Manhattan School of Music, and earned a master’s degree in orchestral performance in 2007. Her instructors include David Weiss of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Robert Botti and Joseph Robinson of the New York Philharmonic.
Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” she performed with the New York City Opera, The Aeros Quintet, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas. She also held a residency at the 92nd Street Y’s Music Unlocked Project and served as the associate oboe teacher for the Manhattan School of Music.
Gunnery Sgt. Gross performs with the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House, in the Washington, D.C., area, and across the country during the band’s annual concert tour.