UPDATE: The concert scheduled for 8 p.m., June 8, at National Harbor has been CANCELED due to impending inclement weather. The concert scheduled for Thursday, June 9, at John Philip Sousa Band Hall at 7:30 p.m. will go as scheduled.

The Marine Band’s summer concerts continue this week, featuring the Latvian National Armed Forces Band performing alongside “The President’s Own.” The military band from Latvia is celebrating 100 years of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the United States. The two bands will perform two joint concerts: in person at National Harbor’s Plaza Stage at 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 8, and in person and livestreamed at John Philip Sousa Band Hall at the Marine Barracks Annex in southeast Washington, D.C., at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 9. Both concerts are free; however, the performance at Sousa Band Hall on June 9 requires free tickets available at marineband.ticketleap.com.

Concert Program

YouTube Livestream

Conducted by Marine Band Director Col. Jason K. Fettig and Latvian National Armed Forces Band Director Capt. Andis Karelis, the concerts will feature a mix of both American and Latvian favorites, including popular marches by John Philip Sousa and Henry Fillmore; John Williams’ Liberty Fanfare; and Leroy Anderson’s “Bugler’s Holiday,” as well as new arrangements of Latvian folk songs and the original work Saukties par latvieti (To Be a Latvian), by Private 1st Class Inga Meijere, a saxophonist in the Latvian National Armed Forces Band. 

“This is a great honor and responsibility to visit Washington, D.C., marking a hundred years of diplomatic relations between Latvia and the United States,” Karelis said. “It is a particularly great honor to play together with an excellent world-class band with which we can make a musical story together. Through the selected compositions, we will tell a story about cooperation, friendship, values, our countries and their histories.”

The Latvian National Armed Forces Band was founded on June 6, 1995. Its core functions include the musical presentation of military ceremonies, concerts and participation in international military and professional music festivals.

All concerts are free. Schedule is subject to change. The Plaza Stage is located near the water at National Harbor, Md. Paid parking is available in nearby garages. The Marine Barracks Annex is located at 1053 7th Street, SE, Washington, DC. For the concert at the Marine Barracks Annex, please allow extra time for ID checks and unvaccinated guests are required to wear a mask. Guests will enter at the gate on 7th Street. Free parking is available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the VIP Green lot on 7th Street under the freeway, catty-cornered to the Marine Barracks Annex.