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“The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band to Perform at Westminster College

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Posted on Thursday, September 14, 2017

As part of its 2017 national concert tour, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band will perform on October, 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Orr Auditorium at Westminster College. The concert is free and open to the public. This event is sponsored by the Westminster College Celebrity Series.

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 an assortment of musical selections from 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.”

By the end of the tour, the Marine Band will have traveled 2,551 miles throughout the northeast, performing 28 concerts in 10 states, with stops in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, 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 primary mission is to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Free tickets are available (limit four per request) by visiting www.westminster.edu/celebrity; calling 724-946-7354; or visiting the Celebrity Series box office located in Patterson Hall at Westminster College. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticket holders must be seated by 7:15 p.m. Non-ticket holders will be admitted thereafter.

For more information, contact Georgene Gibs at gibsg@westminster.edu or 724-946-7354.