This year you can help Marine Band Director Lt. Col. Fettig program the Sousa Season Opener concert. Voting will open Nov. 3 and close on Nov. 28. You may only vote once, selecting one piece in each of the following categories: overtures, suites, dances and interludes, opera features, and orchestral showpieces. Additionally, Sousa marches are available to choose from, and those voted to the top will be featured as encores throughout the program. *Please note: "The Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Semper Fidelis" will automatically be programmed.
Once the major pieces of the concert have been chosen by your votes, the performance will be rounded out with virtuosic solos and vocal features all packaged in John Philip Sousa's unique style. The final program will be available online by Dec. 15. on the Marine Band website www.marineband.marines.mil. The concert will take place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 11 at George Mason University’s Center for the Arts in Fairfax, Va. The event is free and no tickets are required. It will also be streamed live on www.marineband.marines.mil.