Lafayette welcomes the United States Marine Band this October 16th
By Matt Larson
For centuries, almost every historical moment in Washington D.C. has been accompanied by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Founded by an act of Congress in 1798, this band is the oldest continuously active musical organization in the country. Now they’re coming to California for the first time in 10 years, and you can see them perform live at Acalanes High School in Lafayette on Wednesday, October 16th, 2019.
We were incredibly fortunate to speak with Colonel Jason Fettig, the 28th Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Fettig joined the band in 1997 as a clarinetist. Twenty years later he was promoted to his current rank—in the Roosevelt Room by the president himself—in August 2017.
At this point, you may be wondering: why is a band of such high regard coming to perform at a local high school here in Contra Costa County? Well, this performance is actually part of their 2019 West Coast Tour, beginning in Seattle on October 2nd and ending in Las Vegas on October 31st.
“We tour once a year,” Fettig explained. “This is an annual tradition that goes back to 1891.” It all started with the band’s 17th Director, John Philip Sousa, who decided that the band shouldn’t just be relegated to Washington D.C., but it should be shared with the rest of the country as well. Upon receiving presidential approval, that tradition has continued on nearly every year since.
“The Marine Band is an American institution,” Fettig said. “It’s been around for 221 years as a part of the fabric of the United States government, and as a part of our history and our evolution since nearly the beginning of this country. To be able to share it with the American people … it really feels like the right thing to do.”
Touring throughout the continental United States, they divide the country into five separate regions, as decided by the Department of Defense, and visit a different portion of the country once every five years on rotation. California’s region includes the entire west coast, as well as the heartland all the way over to D.C. itself; with such a large region, they only make it to California once every 10 years.
Fettig and his band of 65 touring musicians will be playing 28 concerts in 30 days. Along with them is a small support staff to assist with setting up the venues and controlling the sound. They’ll be flying in and out to begin and end the tour; however, throughout the concert series, they’ll be driving along in buses to take in as much of the scenery as they can, in appreciation of our vast and diverse countryside.
Funded as a collaboration between taxpayers and sponsors, it is truly a communal effort as the band relies on local organizations to sponsor their appearances. “They’ll provide us a venue to perform in, the advertising and the ticketing for their patrons,” Fettig explained. “So it ends up being a nice partnership between the communities we visit and the Marine Band.”
Musical selections range from classical to jazz to Broadway, and they perform three completely distinct programs on their tour, so if you’re lucky enough to see them more than once as they travel around, you may be able to experience an entirely different playlist.
“People from all walks of life come to hear the band,” Fettig said. “Veterans, music students, classical music lovers, active-duty marines, history buffs … we want to be sure that there’s a little bit of something for everybody at these concerts so that everyone walks away feeling like they had a real community experience through the music.”
You’ll encounter a wide variety of musical selections, some of which are pretty impressive, chosen to show off the capabilities of the band: patriotic selections and marches that have made the band famous over the past 200+ years, and even new music that’s been commissioned for the tour.
“One of the things that we’re most proud of when we go on tour is that we go out of our way to feature music that is either representative of the cultures that we’re visiting, or is music by living composers who may be from those areas,” Fettig said. “So we have a number of pieces on this tour by California, Nevada, and Arizona-based composers.”
Fettig looks forward to truly connecting with the communities that they visit on this tour. “I think when you have an organization such as ours, known on a national level, visiting a high school gymnasium in a community and playing music that’s specific to those communities, it really does create an atmosphere of building bridges between people,” he said. “That’s really what this is all about.”
The United States Marine Band has more than 1000 commitments each year. The full organization is comprised of 155 people including both musicians and support staff, so they can do multiple events simultaneously. “So the band continues to have the capability back in Washington D.C. to support the President of the United States, and support the Marine Corps, while we’re on tour,” Fettig stated. “Our job in Washington is a 365-day-a-year commitment.”
Watch history unfold before your eyes (and ears) and become part of a centuries-old tradition. Mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 16th to see the United States Marine Band perform at Acalanes High School, 1200 Pleasant Hill Road in Lafayette, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at marineband.ticketleap.com. For additional information, you can call (202) 433-5812.
“It’s equally meaningful for me to be able to perform before the President of the United States and before communities such as the one you have in the Bay Area,” Fettig added. “I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of the energy and electricity that is in a room when you’re giving a live performance for people who truly appreciate what it means.”
Even if the concert sells out, Fettig suggested, still try and show up anyway as since it’s in a gymnasium, they can probably make arrangements. “We only come to this part of California once every 10 years,” he reminded us. “So I like to believe that this is an opportunity that’s not to be missed.”
Larson is an actor/comedian/director from Vallejo who lives a double life between the Bay and LA. When he’s not writing for Local Happenings Magazine he could be editing a short film or working on his next rap album—who knows!
Keep up with all things Larson at www.MarsLegstrong.com.”
