Clarinetist Gunnery Sergeant Joseph LeBlanc of Honolulu, Hawaii, joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in September 2005.

Gunnery Sgt. LeBlanc began his musical instruction at age 10 on saxophone and switched to clarinet at 19. After graduating in 1999 from Moanalua High School in Honolulu, he attended the University of Michigan (U-M) in Ann Arbor where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music in 2003. He also pursued graduate studies at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He studied with Donald Sinta and Fred Ormand of U-M, Cincinnati Symphony principal clarinet Richard Hawley, and Allen Won of New York.

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” he performed with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio and the Honolulu and Detroit Symphony Orchestras.

Gunnery Sgt. LeBlanc 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. In 2012, he performed Carlo della Giacoma’s Fantasy on Themes from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana with the Marine Band.