Five years have passed since the scarlet coats of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band last appeared on stages in the Northeast of the United States. However, on Friday, October 7, 2022, the band returns and will play a free concert in Rochester, at Eastman School of Music, featuring 6 alumni who are touring with the band. The performance, held at 7:30 p.m., will take place at Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre.
Free tickets are available by visiting https://www.esm.rochester.edu/theatre/ limit four per request). Seating is general admission and ticket holders must be seated by 7:20 p.m.; remaining seats will be released to the standby line at that time. Please note that backpacks are not allowed in the hall.
In the style of the band’s 17th Director John Philip Sousa, who initiated the concert tour tradition in 1891, Marine Band Director Col. Jason K. Fettig has chosen a diverse mix of programs¾from traditional band repertoire and Sousa marches to instrumental solos and a salute to the Armed Forces.
“We always try to highlight music on our programs that celebrates the region we are visiting, whether it be marches that provide a connection or folk music that might be associated with certain areas of the country,” said Marine Band Director Col. Jason K. Fettig. “We have tremendously appreciative patrons who come to Marine Band concerts for all types of different experiences, so our programs are designed to include a great variety of music that mirrors the wonderful diversity in our national musical heritage.”
Since Sousa was first granted permission to tour the country by President Benjamin Harrison in 1891, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band has delivered a White House experience from Washington, D.C., to the far-reaching corners of our nation, and these special concerts have been shared by generations of Americans.
By the end of this year’s tour, the Marine Band will have traveled more than 2,800 miles throughout the Northeast, performing 28 concerts in 10 states, with stops in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Delaware.
The Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization. Founded in 1798, the band has performed for every U.S. President since John Adams. Known as “The President’s Own” since the days of Thomas Jefferson, the Marine Band’s mission is to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Media Only: Jessica Kaufman, Director of Communications,
(585) 278-4743, jkaufman@esm.rochester.edu
PHOTOGRAPHS AND INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE
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About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 130 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Guggenheim fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.
About the University of Rochester:
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.