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The Marine Band's annual Sousa Season Opener will take place on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 2 pm at George Mason University's Center for the Arts in Fairfax, Va. - The Marine Band's annual Sousa Season Opener will take place on Sunday, Jan. 8 at 2 pm at George Mason University's Center for the Arts in Fairfax, Va.

Sousa Season Opener: “The March King” and The First World War

“The President’s Own” will commence its 2017 Showcase Series at 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 8 with the 14th annual Sousa Season Opener at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts Concert Hall in Fairfax, Va. Conducted by Marine Band Director Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig, the first half of the concert will feature a Sousa-style program similar to those audiences heard live in the early 20th century with music by Herbert L. Clark, Giuseppe Verdi, and even Charlie Chaplin.

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The Marine Band released The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa Vol. 3 on Dec. 12, 2016. - The Marine Band released The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa Vol. 3 on Dec. 12, 2016.

The Marine Chamber Orchestra performed a Summer Orchestra Series concert, featuring Schubert's Death and the Maiden, on Saturday, July 16, at Northern Virginia Community College's Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Rust/released) - The Marine Chamber Orchestra performed a Summer Orchestra Series concert, featuring Schubert's Death and the Maiden, on Saturday, July 16, at Northern Virginia Community College's Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall in Alexandria, Va. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Rust/released)

Holiday Concert at the National Museum of the Marine Corps

On Friday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m., “The President’s Own” Marine Chamber Orchestra will fill the Leatherneck Gallery at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle, Va., with the sounds of the season. The holiday concert is free and open to the public; no tickets are required. Conducted by Marine Band Director Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig, the

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Francis Blake, American (1850-1913). Pigeons in Flight, 1889. Gelatin silver print, 8 x 6 inches (20.3 x 15.2 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.3891. - Francis Blake, American (1850-1913). Pigeons in Flight, 1889. Gelatin silver print, 8 x 6 inches (20.3 x 15.2 cm). The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc., 2005.27.3891.

Picture Studies: Marine Band’s Educational Recording

Marine Band Director Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig drew the theme for the band’s 32nd annual educational recording from American composer Adam Schoenberg’s Picture Studies, a series of musical studies on transforming what we can see into what we can hear. Titled “Picture Studies,” the band’s newest release explores how images and imagination are turned into music, with inspiration taken from poetry, painting, sculpture, photographs, architecture, and film. In addition to Schoenberg’s Picture Studies, the recording includes David Conte’s A Copland Portrait, Ottorino Respighi’s Huntingtower Ballad, Joel Puckett’s It perched for Vespers nine, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s Suite from The Gadfly.

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The Marine Band will perform a gravesite ceremony honoring the 162nd anniversary of its 17th Director John Philip Sousa on Nov. 6, 2016, at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Rust/released) - The Marine Band will perform a gravesite ceremony honoring the 162nd anniversary of its 17th Director John Philip Sousa on Nov. 6, 2016, at Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Rust/released)

Happy Birthday John Philip Sousa!

Nov. 6, 2016 marks not only the 162nd birthday of John Philip Sousa, but also 50 years of the Marine Band honoring its legendary 17th Director with a graveside birthday celebration. On Nov. 6, 1966, then-Assistant Director Capt. Dale Harpham led the assemblage of a 49-piece band; the Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Wallace M. Greene Jr., and his wife; Marine Barracks Washington’s commanding officer Col. Robert B. Carney; band conductors; and musical friends of Sousa to plot number 163-S in Congressional Cemetery in southeast Washington, D.C.—Sousa’s final resting place.

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"The President's Own" Fall Chamber Series concert will take place at 2 p.m. (EDT), Sunday, Oct. 30, in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, in Washington, D.C. Selections include Philip Glass' Dracula Soundtrack; Stefan Wolpe's Quartet; Django Reinhardt's "Minor Swing;" and Johannes Brahms' Quintet in B minor for Clarinet and Strings, Opus 115. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street and the concert will also stream live on the Marine Band website. - "The President's Own" Fall Chamber Series concert will take place at 2 p.m. (EDT), Sunday, Oct. 30, in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, in Washington, D.C. Selections include Philip Glass' Dracula Soundtrack; Stefan Wolpe's Quartet; Django Reinhardt's "Minor Swing;" and Johannes Brahms' Quintet in B minor for Clarinet and Strings, Opus 115. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street and the concert will also stream live on the Marine Band website.

Chamber Program Features Music from “Dracula,” Django Reinhardt, and Johannes Brahms

“The President’s Own” will conclude its 2016 Fall Chamber Series this Sunday, Oct. 30, at 2 p.m. with the hauntingly appropriate music from the 1931 film “Dracula,” as well as music by Stefan Wolpe, Django Reinhardt, and Johannes Brahms. The concert will take place in John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex in Washington, D.C. and is free, with no tickets required. Free parking is available under the overpass across from the Annex.

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"The President's Own" Fall Chamber Series concert will take place at 2 p.m. (EDT), Sunday, Oct. 23, in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, in Washington, D.C. Selections include Georg Philipp Telemann's Trio Sonata in G minor; Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat, Opus 74, Harp; and Richard Wagner's Siegfried Idyll. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street and the concert will also stream live on the Marine Band website. - "The President's Own" Fall Chamber Series concert will take place at 2 p.m. (EDT), Sunday, Oct. 23, in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, in Washington, D.C. Selections include Georg Philipp Telemann's Trio Sonata in G minor; Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat, Opus 74, Harp; and Richard Wagner's Siegfried Idyll. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street and the concert will also stream live on the Marine Band website.

Chamber Program Features Baroque, Beethoven, and a Birthday Gift

On Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m., ensembles from “The President’s Own” will present an all-German program featuring Georg Philipp Telemann’s Trio Sonata in G minor TWV 42: g5; Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 10 in E-flat, Opus 74, Harp, and Richard Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll. The concert will take place at the Marine Barracks Annex in Washington, D.C. and is free, with no tickets required.

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"The President's Own" Fall Chamber Series concert will take place at 2 p.m. (EDT), Sunday, Oct. 16, in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, in Washington, D.C. This unique program will highlight music composed in celebration of the four season of the year. Selections include Ludwig van Beethoven’s Allegro from Sonata No. 4, Opus 24, “Spring Sonata;” Antonio Vivaldi’s L’estate (Summer) from Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Opus 8, RV 315, The Four Seasons; Astor Piazzolla’s Otoño Porteño from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires; Frédéric Chopin’s Étude in A minor, Opus 5, No. 11, “Winter Wind;” Willie “The Lion” Smith’s “Echoes of Spring;” George Gershwin’s “Summertime;” Joseph Kosma’s “Autumn Leaves;” and Felix Bernard’s “Winter Wonderland.” Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street and the concert will also stream live on the Marine Band website. - "The President's Own" Fall Chamber Series concert will take place at 2 p.m. (EDT), Sunday, Oct. 16, in the John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, in Washington, D.C. This unique program will highlight music composed in celebration of the four season of the year. Selections include Ludwig van Beethoven’s Allegro from Sonata No. 4, Opus 24, “Spring Sonata;” Antonio Vivaldi’s L’estate (Summer) from Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Opus 8, RV 315, The Four Seasons; Astor Piazzolla’s Otoño Porteño from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires; Frédéric Chopin’s Étude in A minor, Opus 5, No. 11, “Winter Wind;” Willie “The Lion” Smith’s “Echoes of Spring;” George Gershwin’s “Summertime;” Joseph Kosma’s “Autumn Leaves;” and Felix Bernard’s “Winter Wonderland.” Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street and the concert will also stream live on the Marine Band website.