The iconic U.S. Marine Band, designated as “The President’s Own” by President Thomas Jefferson, will give a free performance Oct. 8 in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Shryock Auditorium.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. Free tickets will be available online beginning Sunday, Sept. 8. There is a limit of four tickets per request. Doors will open for ticket holders only starting at 6:45 p.m. with tickets valid only until 7:15 p.m. Open seating, including for people who do not have tickets but are on standby, will begin at 7:15 p.m. Large bags and backpacks are not permitted. The SIU School of Music is sponsoring the concert with support from the school’s Fine Arts Activity Fee.
First concert at SIU since 1950
Under the direction of Lt. Col. Ryan Nowlin, the concert is part of the band’s 2024 coast-to-coast tour and marks the first time the band has performed at SIU Carbondale since presenting a concert at Shryock Auditorium on Oct. 15, 1950. About 160 members comprise “The President’s Own,” including musicians and support staff. The tour band should be close to 65 members.
Founded in 1798, the U.S. Marine Band is the oldest continuously active professional organization and has performed for every U.S. president since John Adams in January 1801, and for every presidential inaugural, beginning with Jefferson’s in March 1801.
“They are a model for wind band and ensemble performance in the United States and internationally,” said Christopher Morehouse, professor and director of bands in the School of Music, who has heard the Marine Band in person many times at various professional conferences.
“It is a rare opportunity to enjoy one of the world’s great symphonic ensembles, called by Time Magazine ‘a band considered by experts to be the best the world has ever produced,’” Morehouse said. “To have them perform on campus in Shryock Auditorium for the SIU community, School of Music students, area school music students and the wider Southern Illinois public is a tremendous honor.”
Morehouse was contacted in February by the Marine Band’s national tour director about the possibility of performing at SIU. Richard Kelley, School of Music director, and Seth Kohlhaas, Shryock Auditorium’s technical director, “worked quickly to make Shryock Auditorium and Altgeld Hall available for this opportunity,” Morehouse said.
Proud legacy
The band’s primary mission is providing music for the president and the commandant of the Marine Corps, and Marine Band musicians play at the White House more than 300 times a year with performances from small ensembles to the full concert band, along with more than 500 concerts and ceremonies throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Each year, the band also travels throughout parts of the continental U.S. for a concert tour, a tradition started in 1891 by John Philip Sousa.
“I know that the Marine Band will give an outstanding performance,” Morehouse said, adding that he expects Nowlin, the band’s 29th director, “will program a wide variety of musical selections, including traditional band repertoire, marches, contemporary compositions, vocal and instrumental solos, and patriotic music. It will be a terrific show.”
