Clarinet player Master Gunnery Sergeant Michelle Urzynicok of San Antonio joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in August 2000.

Master Gunnery Sgt. Urzynicok began her musical instruction at age 12. Upon graduating from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan in 1990, she attended the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1994 and studied with the late Peter Hadcock and Stanley Hasty. She earned a master’s degree in 1996 from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she studied with Deborah Chodacki. She also attended the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin, Germany, where in 1999 she earned a Diplom Orchester Musiker and a performer’s certificate in 2000.

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Master Gunnery Sgt. Urzynicok was a freelance musician in Berlin and performed with the Preußisches Kammerorchester in Prenzlau, Germany.

Master Gunnery Sgt. Urzynicok 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. Her solos with “The President’s Own” include Carl Maria von Weber’s Fantasia and Rondo, Witold Lutoslawski’s Dance Preludes, and J. M. Molter’s Concerto No. 1. In 2012, Master Gunnery Sgt. Urzynicok performed Vincenzo Bellini’s Gran Duetto Concertato “La Sonnambula” for E-flat at the International ClarinetFest in Lincoln, Neb. In addition to her musical duties, Master Gunnery Sgt. Urzynicok has served as a Tour Coordinator since 2016, advancing and serving as on-site manager during the band’s annual concert tour.