Double Bassist Staff Sergeant Kevin Thompson of Fairfax, Va., joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in April 2022.

Staff Sgt. Thompson began his musical training on guitar at age 8, double bass at 10 and electric bass at 13. After graduating in 2013 from Robinson Secondary School, he attended Ithaca College where he earned a bachelor’s of music in 2017. In 2019 he received a professional studies diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). His teachers included Nicholas Walker at Ithaca College and Scott Dixon at CIM.

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Staff Sgt. Thompson performed with a number of Ohio ensembles, including the Akron, Canton and Firelands Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Cleveland Opera Theater. He was also a freelance jazz musician in the Cleveland area and did extensive musical theater work with the Players Guild Theatre in Canton and the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, N.Y.

Staff Sgt. Thompson 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.