Mel Rising Dawn Cordeiro
Managing Editor
“The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band will perform at the Roberts Hall Auditorium on Oct. 15. From 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the U.S. Marine Band will grace the ears of the Rhode Island College community with patriotic songs and marches.
The Marine Band is conducted by Col. Jason Fetting, who hails from New Hampshire. The band also includes Master Sgt. Kenneth Wolin, a percussionist who is also a former member of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra.
RIC’s very own Dr. Robert Franzblau of the Music Department is a guest conductor for the event. Franzblau is conducting the performance of a piece called “Fanfare for Tomorrow,” which was composed by RIC Alumnus Peter Boyer ‘91 for the inauguration of President Biden.
The main mission of the Marine Band is to play for the president. This band is the oldest active professional musical organization in the country, being established on July 11, 1798 by an act of Congress. Their first public performance was in 1800. In 1801, the band played at the White House for the first time, entertaining President John Adams. They performed at the presidential inauguration of Thomas Jefferson, also in 1801, and have played at every inauguration since. They have been touring the country since 1891, having been given permission to do so by President Benjamin Harrison.
Their most notable director was composer John Philip Souza, who penned “Semper Fidelis,” the official march of the Marine Corps, and the much loved national march “Stars and Stripes Forever,” among many other works.
This live performance will truly be a night to remember. Even though the Marine Band tours yearly, their tours are broken into five regions. Because of this, each region in the U.S. is visited once every five years. The last performance in this region was held in 2017.
Tickets to the concert are free and open to the public, but must be reserved ahead of time. The tickets are limited to four per person per reservation and are available here. Please note that tickets expire 15 minutes before the show begins, and any reserved tickets not claimed will be available to non-ticketed individuals wishing to attend. This concert is also sponsored, in part, by Rhode Island Monthly Magazine.
To learn more about the U.S. Marine Band, please visit their website can be found here.