Assistant Chief Recording Engineer Staff Sgt. Ophir Paz of Cleveland, joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in November 2018 as a recording engineer, and .

Staff Sgt. Paz began his musical training on saxophone at age 6. After graduating in 2014 from Orange High School in Pepper Pike, Ohio, he attended the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in audio recording, with a minor in saxophone performance, in 2018. He studied audio at CIM with Bruce Egre, Alan Bise, and Jack Renner, and saxophone with Greg Banaszak of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Staff Sgt. Paz started a production company in 2014 where he provided audio and video services for students and artists. From 2014-18 he was an audio engineer for the CIM Recording Arts & Services, where he recorded the CIM Orchestra, operas, and student recitals. In 2016 he recorded the Juilliard Quartet, renowned young musicians, and the summer concert series for the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music School and Festival in Blue Hill, Maine. Most recently, in 2017, he interned at WNYC/WQXR radio station in New York, where he assisted in productions such as the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America at Carnegie Hall, the Knights at Central Park, 2 Dope Queens podcast, and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark on Soundcheck podcast.

As Assistant Chief Recording Engineer, Staff Sgt. Paz records various Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra concerts and sessions and provides sound reinforcement for performances. In addition, he is responsible for the preservation of the band’s recorded archive collections.