United States Marine Band

Known also as "The President's Own," the United States Marine Band consists of roughly 160 personnel, 130 of them musicians. Complementing the core group are the Marine Chamber Orchestra, assorted Marine chamber groups, the Marine Jazz Orchestra, and the country ensemble Free Country. These units together deliver more than 500 performances annually at the White House, Pentagon ceremonies, state funerals, and a wide range of additional official and public occasions. Attendance at any given event fluctuates markedly; some engagements use only two or three players, while presidential inaugurations regularly feature about 100 musicians. Enlistment terms run at least four years and sometimes extend beyond two decades. Although band members belong to the United States Marines, they skip basic training and most other forms of military instruction. Their programs encompass John Philip Sousa and additional American composers alongside Hindemith, Prokofiev, Ives, and Stravinsky, as well as transcriptions of Wagner, Richard Strauss, Schoenberg, and numerous further works.

A July 11, 1798 Act of Congress established the USMB, making it both the oldest American military band and the oldest professional musical organization in the United States. Its initial appearance took place on August 21, 1800; the first major concert followed on January 1, 1801, at the White House by invitation of President John Adams. The ensemble also performed for Thomas Jefferson's inauguration on March 4 of that year and has appeared at every presidential inauguration since.

Through 2007 the USMB had 27 directors. William Farr served as the first, while the fourteenth and most renowned, composer John Philip Sousa, led the band from 1880 to 1892 and is credited with elevating it to the finest American ensemble of its era. Later directors of note include John R. Bourgeois (1979-1996), Timothy W. Foley (1996-2004), and Michael J. Colburn (2004-2014).

The band's first radio broadcast occurred on May 17, 1922, after which it maintained a steady presence on the air. Over subsequent decades it increased in visibility and personnel, produced numerous recordings, and participated in countless televised events. Its discs appear on the USMB's own imprint as well as on Naxos, Albany Records, Musical Heritage Society, and other labels.