Washington -- The Marine Band is kicking off a summer series of free and fun outdoor concerts around D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Starting June 5, the band will perform Wednesdays and Thursdays through August at a variety of iconic and historic venues, including the U.S. Capitol, National Mall, Glen Echo Park and National Museum of the Marine Corps – bring a chair or a blanket and spread out for a delightful evening of musical performance and take part in a beloved American tradition! All concerts are open to the public, no tickets required.
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The summer concert season includes patriotic marches, traditional wind band repertoire and exciting instrumental solos performed by the full Marine Band, as well as an all-80s rock concert by Free Country, brassy jazz and swing from the Marine Big Band and a hot mix of spicy tunes by the Marine Latin Jazz Ensemble. On July 11, the Marine Band will celebrate its 226th birthday with a special concert at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and on August 28 and 29, the band’s 25th Director Colonel John R. Bourgeois, USMC (Ret.), returns to guest conduct the band, just in time for his 90th birthday.
On August 17, the Marine Chamber Orchestra takes the stage in Alexandria, Va., for the performance of a pillar of the chamber music repertoire: Franz Schubert's String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, D. 810, Death and the Maiden. The 40-minute work, which compliments a poem of the same name, modulates into D major only at the end of Death's Song, as the maiden succumbs. Also on the program are contemporary works "Starburst" by Jessie Montgomery and String Quartet No. 2, Company by Philip Glass.
Lastly, the Marine Band will perform during Friday Evening Parades at historic Marine Barracks Washington, the "Oldest Post of the Corps." These weekly events publicly showcase the pride, professionalism and esprit de corps of Marines worldwide. At these ceremonial dress parades, guests witness the finest display of military precision and excellence, including musical performances by "The President's Own" United States Marine Band and "The Commandant's Own" United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, and impressively choreographed rifle drill executed by the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon. Following the ceremony, guests have the opportunity to meet Marines involved in the parade, as well as take photos with the Marine Barracks bulldog mascot, Chesty XVI.