Its mission is unique—to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

President John Adams invited the Marine Band to make its White House debut on New Year’s Day, 1801. In March of that year, the band performed for Thomas Jefferson’s inauguration and has performed for every presidential inauguration since

As Director from 1880–92, John Philip Sousa brought the Marine Band to an unprecedented level of excellence and shaped the band into a world-famous musical organization. During his tenure, the band was one of the first musical ensembles to make sound recordings and in 1891, Sousa and the Marine Band departed on its first National Concert Tour.

On July 11, 1998, the Marine Band celebrated its 200th anniversary with a command performance at the White House and a gala concert at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, attended by President and Mrs. Clinton. Also during its bicentennial year, the Marine Band was the only ensemble inducted into the inaugural class of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

Throughout its history the Marine Band has attracted prominent guest conductors from major symphony orchestras around the globe, including Osmo Vänskä, Leonard Slatkin, José Serebrier, Gerard Schwarz, Giancarlo Guerrero, Bramwell Tovey, JoAnn Falletta, and John Williams. Williams conducted the Marine Band for anniversary concerts in 2003 and 2008. In honor of the Marine Band’s 215th birthday in 2013, he composed “For ‘The President’s Own.’” In 2018, under the baton of Maestro Schwarz, recorded the Emmy-winning program America’s All-Star Band: The United States Marine Band.

The Marine Band is deeply committed to the development of new repertoire for winds and has commissioned or premièred works by David Rakowski, Melinda Wagner, Jennifer Higdon, Scott Lindroth, Michael Gandolfi, James Stephenson, Laurence Bitensky, Dominick DiOrio, Narong Prangcharoen, Jacob Bancks, Peter Boyer, Jonathan Leshnoff, and Michael Gilbertson.

During a change of command ceremony in 2014, Col. Jason K. Fettig became the 28th Director of the Marine Band. As Director, Fettig is the music adviser to the White House and regularly conducts the Marine Band at the Executive Mansion and for Presidential events. Whether performing for South Lawn arrival ceremonies, State Dinners, or receptions, Marine Band musicians appear at the White House more than 200 times each year.

Additionally, the band traditionally participates in more than 500 public and official performances annually, including concerts and ceremonies throughout the Washington, D.C., area, and performances across the nation during the band’s National Concert Tour. The Marine Band’s musical reach has extended beyond America’s borders with performances in England, Norway, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Singapore, Holland, Slovakia, and Japan.

The Marine Band’s integral role in the national culture and in the government’s official life affirms the importance of the arts as a bridge between people. “The President’s Own” continues to celebrate its rich history and traditions while also breaking new ground in the organization’s third century of bringing music to the White House and to the American people.