Percussionist Staff Sgt. Austin Cantrell of Charlotte, North Carolina, joined “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band in July 2025.
Cantrell began his musical training on percussion at age 6 and graduated from Providence Day School in Charlotte in 2017. He attended Indiana University Bloomington in Indiana where he earned bachelor’s degrees in percussion performance and mathematics in 2022. He then attended the Manhattan School of Music in New York where he earned a master’s degree in classical percussion in 2024. Cantrell studied with Joseph Gramley, John Tafoya and Kevin Bobo while at IU and Christopher Lamb, Duncan Patton, She-e Wu and Steve White at the MSM.
Prior to joining “The President’s Own,” Cantrell performed with the Kansas City Symphony, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and National Repertory Orchestra in Breckenridge, Colorado. He was a section member of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and received first place at the 2023 Modern Snare Drum Competition, hosted by the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Cantrell performs with the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House in the Washington metropolitan area and across the country during the band’s National Concert Tour.