Librarian Staff Sergeant Elena Specht of Manhasset, N.Y., joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in July 2023.

Staff Sgt. Specht began her musical training on piano at age 7 and French horn at age 10. She graduated from Manhasset High School in 2011 and then attended Vanderbilt University where she earned a bachelor’s in music composition in 2015. Staff Sgt. Specht also holds a master’s of music composition (2017) from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), as well as a master’s of music theory (2021) and doctorate of musical arts in composition (2022) from Michigan State University (MSU). Her instructors included Michael Slayton and Leslie Norton at Vanderbilt University, Carter Pann and Daniel Kellogg at CU Boulder, and David Biedenbener and Alexis Bacon at MSU.

Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Staff Sgt. Specht worked as a self-published composer, a visiting assistant professor of music at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and a graduate teaching assistant in music theory and composition at CU Boulder and MSU.

As a Marine Band Librarian, Staff Sgt. Specht prepares music for performances by the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra, serves as the music acquisition specialist, and assists with maintaining the music library and historic archives.