On Dec. 20, 2023, Lt. Col. Ryan J. Nowlin was officially designated director of the Marine Band at a change of command ceremony held at The Midwest Music Clinic in Chicago.
The ceremony, overseen by Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, took place midway through a Marine Band concert in which Col. Jason K. Fettig conducted the first half and Lt. Col. Nowlin conducted the second.
As a symbol of the transfer of leadership, the John Philip Sousa baton was passed from outgoing to incoming director.
In celebration of the Marine Band's 215th anniversary, John Williams, the Academy Award-winning composer and conductor laureate of the Boston Pops, conducted the band in a fanfare he wrote specifically for the ensemble's anniversary. The work is aptly titled "For 'The President's Own.'"
On July 3, 2013, the band rehearsed with Mr. Williams and recorded the new band work. Following the recording session, Marine Band Director Colonel Michael...
