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When it comes to the historical knowledge and performance of marches, the United States Marine Band is considered a prime resource, especially for those written by John Philip Sousa. That’s why during the month of March, “The President’s Own” will be hosting “Sousa’s March Mania,” a tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day through April 4, marches will compete head to head while Marine Band friends and fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. Participants can listen to the competing marches below, download and print a tournament bracket, and vote for favorites on the Marine Band facebook page, www.facebook.com/marineband. The champion march will be announced on April 5. In order to win "Sousa's March Mania" you must obtain a perfect bracket, completed prior to the start of the first game at 8 a.m. on March 10 (honor system). The winners of “Sousa’s March Mania” will be named “The March King” for a day! If you are a winner, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 5 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil.http://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/sousasmarchmania - When it comes to the historical knowledge and performance of marches, the United States Marine Band is considered a prime resource, especially for those written by John Philip Sousa. That’s why during the month of March, “The President’s Own” will be hosting “Sousa’s March Mania,” a tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day through April 4, marches will compete head to head while Marine Band friends and fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. Participants can listen to the competing marches below, download and print a tournament bracket, and vote for favorites on the Marine Band facebook page, www.facebook.com/marineband. The champion march will be announced on April 5. In order to win "Sousa's March Mania" you must obtain a perfect bracket, completed prior to the start of the first game at 8 a.m. on March 10 (honor system). The winners of “Sousa’s March Mania” will be named “The March King” for a day! If you are a winner, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 5 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil. http://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/sousasmarchmania

The Marine Band released The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa Vol. 2 on April 11, 2016. - The Marine Band released The Complete Marches of John Philip Sousa Vol. 2 on April 11, 2016.

STATE OF MIND: Sunday, April 10 at 2 p.m. (EDT), NOVA, Alexandria, Va. This program emphasizes the very nature of music and its persuasive qualities, illustrating how music holds the power to either depict a state of mind or to alter mood. Each of these selections highlight some mental state, whether it is the pride felt serving as a Marine, the harried and frantic feeling most everyone has experienced at some point, or the meditative mood that Michael Gandolfi’s Flourishes and Meditations can evoke during a performance. The program culminates with Dana Wilson’s Piece of Mind where each movement represents the inner workings of the human mind. The concert will also feature a solo performance by flutist Mei Stone, the 2016 Marine Band Concerto Competition winner. The concert is free and no tickets are required. Free parking is available. - STATE OF MIND: Sunday, April 10 at 2 p.m. (EDT), NOVA, Alexandria, Va. This program emphasizes the very nature of music and its persuasive qualities, illustrating how music holds the power to either depict a state of mind or to alter mood. Each of these selections highlight some mental state, whether it is the pride felt serving as a Marine, the harried and frantic feeling most everyone has experienced at some point, or the meditative mood that Michael Gandolfi’s Flourishes and Meditations can evoke during a performance. The program culminates with Dana Wilson’s Piece of Mind where each movement represents the inner workings of the human mind. The concert will also feature a solo performance by flutist Mei Stone, the 2016 Marine Band Concerto Competition winner. The concert is free and no tickets are required. Free parking is available.

During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website! - During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website!

During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website! - During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website!

MUSICAL FASHION OF GREAT BRITAIN: Friday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. (EDT), National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. Few would argue the musical sway Jean Sibelius held over Nordic composers, but he also significantly impacted the work of many British composers, including Sir William Walton and Ralph Vaughan Williams. So it became the musical fashion of Great Britain to emulate the great Finnish composer. This concert will highlight works by all three composers, including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves; Walton’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, featuring soloist Staff Sgt. Sarah Hart (pictured above); and Sibelius’ Valse triste, Opus 44, No. 1 and Symphony No. 7 in C, Opus 105. The concert is free and no tickets are required. Free parking is available. - MUSICAL FASHION OF GREAT BRITAIN: Friday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. (EDT), National Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C. Few would argue the musical sway Jean Sibelius held over Nordic composers, but he also significantly impacted the work of many British composers, including Sir William Walton and Ralph Vaughan Williams. So it became the musical fashion of Great Britain to emulate the great Finnish composer. This concert will highlight works by all three composers, including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Greensleeves; Walton’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, featuring soloist Staff Sgt. Sarah Hart (pictured above); and Sibelius’ Valse triste, Opus 44, No. 1 and Symphony No. 7 in C, Opus 105. The concert is free and no tickets are required. Free parking is available.

POSTCARDS: Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. EST, Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, Bowie, Md. In 1891, John Philip Sousa embarked on the U.S. Marine Band’s first national concert tour, launching a tradition of travel that has continued for the past 125 years. We invite you to hitch a ride with the band as we cross the Atlantic to tour the streets of Paris, immerse ourselves in the history of London and Scotland, and delight in the breathtaking fountains of Rome. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” plays us home, just as it did for Sousa when he first conceived its timeless strains on a return voyage from Europe 110 years ago. The concert is free, no tickets required. Free parking is available. - POSTCARDS: Thursday, March 24 at 7:30 p.m. EST, Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, Bowie, Md. In 1891, John Philip Sousa embarked on the U.S. Marine Band’s first national concert tour, launching a tradition of travel that has continued for the past 125 years. We invite you to hitch a ride with the band as we cross the Atlantic to tour the streets of Paris, immerse ourselves in the history of London and Scotland, and delight in the breathtaking fountains of Rome. “The Stars and Stripes Forever” plays us home, just as it did for Sousa when he first conceived its timeless strains on a return voyage from Europe 110 years ago. The concert is free, no tickets required. Free parking is available.

During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website! - During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website!

During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website! - During the month of March, “The President’s Own” will again host “Sousa’s March Mania,” a free tournament pitting 32 marches against each other for the Marine Band online community to determine which one is the favorite. Every day from March 7 – April 6, marches will compete head to head while fans vote which ones advance in the tournament. A great resource for school curriculum, participants can listen to and study the marches, as well as vote for their favorites. If you get a perfect bracket, please notify Marine Band Public Affairs on April 7 through social media or by email at marineband.publicaffairs@usmc.mil to be crowned an honorary “March King.” The competition begins March 7, so download your bracket now from the Marine Band website!

MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM: Friday, March 18 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. EST, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. On March 7, 1941, the Marine Band performed at the dedication of the National Gallery of Art, and regular concerts took place there during World War II when the first director, David E. Finley, kept the Gallery open on Sunday nights to accommodate the armed forces personnel who were in Washington at the time. This performance highlights the connections between music and art as well as works from that important time in American history. Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto was penned for the 1941 British film Dangerous Moonlight and Copland’s masterpiece Appalachian Spring was composed just a few years later and premiered at the nearby Library of Congress. One of the three classic Botticelli paintings that inspired Respighi’s Trittico botticelliano presently hangs just a few feet away from where the Marine Chamber Orchestra will perform this special concert at the National Gallery. Concerts at the National Gallery are open to the public, free of charge. Audience is admitted on a first-come, first-served basis 30 minutes before the concert begins. Limited seating is provided for those who cannot stand. For further information, call (202) 842-6941. The National Gallery of Art is located at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW Washington, D.C. For parking information, visit www.nga.gov or call (202) 842-6450.CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES: Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m. EST, John Philip Sousa Band Hall, Washington, DC. This all-Russian program will feature a brass ensemble, marimba duet, piano duet, and strings with clarinet on works by famous composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Alexander Glazunov, Soulima Stravinsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. The concert is free and will take place at John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, Washington, D.C. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street. The concert will also stream live at www. - MUSIC AT THE MUSEUM: Friday, March 18 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. EST, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. On March 7, 1941, the Marine Band performed at the dedication of the National Gallery of Art, and regular concerts took place there during World War II when the first director, David E. Finley, kept the Gallery open on Sunday nights to accommodate the armed forces personnel who were in Washington at the time. This performance highlights the connections between music and art as well as works from that important time in American history. Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto was penned for the 1941 British film Dangerous Moonlight and Copland’s masterpiece Appalachian Spring was composed just a few years later and premiered at the nearby Library of Congress. One of the three classic Botticelli paintings that inspired Respighi’s Trittico botticelliano presently hangs just a few feet away from where the Marine Chamber Orchestra will perform this special concert at the National Gallery. Concerts at the National Gallery are open to the public, free of charge. Audience is admitted on a first-come, first-served basis 30 minutes before the concert begins. Limited seating is provided for those who cannot stand. For further information, call (202) 842-6941. The National Gallery of Art is located at 6th Street and Constitution Avenue NW Washington, D.C. For parking information, visit www.nga.gov or call (202) 842-6450. CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES: Sunday, March 20 at 2 p.m. EST, John Philip Sousa Band Hall, Washington, DC. This all-Russian program will feature a brass ensemble, marimba duet, piano duet, and strings with clarinet on works by famous composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Alexander Glazunov, Soulima Stravinsky, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. The concert is free and will take place at John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex, located at 7th & K Streets, SE, Washington, D.C. Free parking is available under the overpass on 7th Street. The concert will also stream live at www.