Trombonist Master Sergeant Preston Hardage of Chesterfield, Mo., joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in October 2004.

Master Sgt. Hardage began his musical career at age 12. After graduating from Parkway Central High School in Chesterfield in 1999, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music and performer’s certificate in 2004 from Indiana University in Bloomington. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. His instructors included Jim Martin of St. Louis, Roger Oyster of the Kansas City Symphony in Missouri, and Carl Lenthe of Indiana University, formerly with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Germany.   

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” he performed with the National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colo.

Master Sgt. Hardage 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. In 2015, he performed Arthur Pryor’s “Blue Bells of Scotland” with the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego Band and reprised the solo and a tribute to Tommy Dorsey with the North Cascades Concert Band in Bellingham, Wash. In addition to his musical duties, he serves as an Anti-Terrorism Force Protection Officer coordinating security for Marine Band concert tours.