The United States Marine Band By John Philip Sousa

The United States Marine Band was formed on July 11, 1798 in Washington, D.C. by director and composer John Philip Sousa. They became world famous and were one of the first groups to record their most popular pieces. It is officially the oldest musical performing group in the United States and in the military band. The name later changed to “The President’s Own” Marine Band in 1801 after President John Adams invited them to play at the white house and for the inauguration of then President Elect Thomas Jefferson, who also was the one who added the title to their name since they played exclusively for the President of the U.S, state dinners, state funerals, etc. They have played in every inauguration since, and play around 500 events a year.
They are currently on their 2016 National tour. This year marks the 125th anniversary of their first tour and their 218th birthday. Currently under the direction of Lt. Col. Jason K. Fettig. One of its members is a Miami Dade College New World School of Arts graduate Staff Sergeant Hiram Diaz. Their performance took place at Miami Dade College in the Kendall Campus on October 15, 2016 in the Gymnasium.
Tickets were sold out for early seating but the admission in general was free. They played many historic pieces, including “Marines’ Hymn” and “The Stars and Stripes forever” They even Lemus 2 took a different route from the usual and played the “Star Wars” theme song.
The Marines band’s performance was outstanding. The discipline, respect, and passion they played was admirable. They brought such intensity to the pieces, and sometimes the music would make me imagine different movie-like scenarios that would match a movement or section of a piece and seemed like the perfect background music. Some scenarios that would come to mind would be a family reuniting or our brave soldiers fighting in the old battles like the civil war. The loud bang from the Cymbals that would echo throughout the gym. It wouldn’t allow anyone to fall asleep if they wanted to, and you just felt the bang on your chest. Well, at least I did. Sergeant Sara Sheffield who is part of the Marine Band, presented each piece before the band performed it and also sang a few pieces. One of the songs that she sang was “Amazing Grace”. Her mezzo soprano voice is absolutely amazing and I envy the way she made it seem so easy to be on stage and sing in front of people so calmly and effortlessly. According to the Marine bands website she is the “first female vocal soloist in the bands history”. I absolutely loved it and would want to have another opportunity to see them live
again.
Music has always been a big part of my life, it’s my passion ever since I was very little. Grew up listening to every genre, and the oldies are the best and always will be in my opinion. I remember wanting a guitar, piano or drums every Christmas. I was able to get 3 different guitars all either toy like ones, but the last one was when I was 7. It brought the tabs and a booklet. I got frustrated every single time with myself since I couldn’t play it, my parents couldn’t afford classes and I asked my music teacher to help me but she didn’t know how to play the guitar. So I tried another instrument which was my voice. I sang in choirs since 2nd grade and always tried to be on stage as much as possible to overcome the stage fright. It has never had it settled down; it Lemus 3 seems to only become worse with time.
In college, I began studying music education, but have debating on switching so I can become a music producer since the performing aspect won’t work out. In any case, going to any kind of concert or any other musical performance always makes me happy, makes me learn something new and it inspires me. Maybe one day my stage fright will go away or maybe not. Either way, I’ll always have music to help me get through difficult times. Especially at work, when customers decide to make your day unbelievably impossible and you try to stay calm but they just twist that knife more and more. Besides my passion for it, events like the this one are something my dad also enjoys attending. I don’t get to see my parents often; we live under the same roof but our individual lives make it impossible for us to spend time together. The 4 of us work at different times, my sister and I attend school and forget weekends when working in retail. So when one of my music professors encouraged us to attend this event, I went for it. I was able to talk to my manager into leaving early and invited my dad to come along and we both love it. I remember turning to him and saying “Don’t you love having a daughter that takes you to these kinds of things?” he smiled and hugged me and responded “yeah, I raised you
right.”
The marine band is historic simply because of their background and how long it has been around. They have performed in so many different locations and events such as president inaugurations. Next year’s inauguration the only thing I’ll be looking forward to would be seeing them perform, honestly. It is artistic and cultural, it dates back to the 1700’s and is still around. This band encourages high school students and even offers a scholarship which is the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation of up to $2,500. They work hard and auditions aren’t easy. They are dedicated and talented and they should get more credit and respect for their work, they deserve it.