Trombonist Staff Sgt. Alex Ertl of Waukee, Iowa, joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in November 2024.
Staff Sgt. Ertl began his musical training on trombone at age 10 and graduated from Waukee High School in May 2018. He attended DePaul University, where he studied with Mark Fisher and Charlie Vernon, and received his bachelor’s degree in music performance. In 2024, he earned a master’s degree in performance from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he studied with Michael Mulcahy, R. Douglas Wright, Randy Hawes and Reed Capshaw.
Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Staff Sgt. Ertl was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and a substitute musician for the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera Orchestra in Chicago, Toledo Symphony in Ohio, Des Moines Symphony in Iowa and Elgin Symphony in Illinois. He was a fellow at multiple summer festivals, including the Music Academy of the West Santa Barbara, California, in 2023 and 2024 and the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado in 2021 and 2022. In 2023, he was a finalist for the Music Academy of the West Duo Competition and won the DePaul University Concerto Competition in 2022.
Staff Sgt. Ertl performs with the Marine Band at the White House, in the Washington metropolitan area and across the country during the band’s national concert tour. In 2025, he represented the Marine Band in a solo performance at the American Trombone Workshop in Washington.