As part of its 2015 national concert tour, “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band will perform at Friday, Oct. 2, at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette. The concert is free and open to the public.
The Marine Band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization. Founded in 1798, the band has performed for every U.S. President since John Adams. Known as “The President’s Own” since the days of Thomas Jefferson, the Marine Band’s primary mission is to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
In the style of the band’s 17th Director John Philip Sousa, who initiated the concert tour tradition in 1891, Marine Band Director Lt. Colonel Jason Fettig has chosen a diverse mix of programs from traditional band repertoire and marches to instrumental solos. Programs are rotated throughout the tour to accommodate different concert venues. As the programs rotate, so will the soloists.
By early November, the Marine Band will have performed a total of 29 concerts in 31 days on its 2015 tour. This year’s tour route takes the band through western Virginia, southern West Virginia, eastern North Carolina, Tennessee, northern Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
“The President’s Own” United States Marine Band will perform at 7:30 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Heymann Performing Arts Center, located at 1373 S. College Road in Lafayette. The concert is free and open to the public. Patrons may reserve tickets (limit four per request) by requesting them in person at the Heymann Center Box Office. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticket holders must be seated by 7:15 p.m.; non-ticket holders will be admitted at that time. For more information on tickets call 337- 704-0547 or visit www.lcband.org.