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The U. S. Marine Band is performing at George Mason University, at 3:00 pm on Sunday, June 26, featuring Matt Summers on euphonium and the winners of the tuba and euphonium artist divisions at the Second Annual Potomac Festivals International Euphonium and Tuba Competition. Full concert program here and full festival schedule here.

Come check it out. As advertised elsewhere, it's a very tuba-friendly program.

I wish the U.S. Marine Band, or any of the other DC bands, were able to visit the Pacific coast more often. Last time I heard the "President's Own" here in the San Francisco Bay area was in the late 60's! (Maybe they have been here since.) I heard the U.S. Air Force Band here about that same time.

Please put us on your schedule if you can. There is a large audience here, hungry to hear fine playing by top military bands. Same in San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle.

There is a session on Middle school and High School tuba litereature and I was hoping someone going could pick up a handout from that and post a scan of it or just email it to me. I give lessons to both and I am always looking for more music. Thanks in advance.

Ben Dennis

Ace wrote:I wish the U.S. Marine Band, or any of the other DC bands, were able to visit the Pacific coast more often. Last time I heard the "President's Own" here in the San Francisco Bay area was in the late 60's! (Maybe they have been here since.) I heard the U.S. Air Force Band here about that same time.

Please put us on your schedule if you can. There is a large audience here, hungry to hear fine playing by top military bands. Same in San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle.

The Marine Band came down through the west coast this past October and November. We enjoyed big audiences and spectacular weather, except for the snowstorm in the Donner Pass. I wish we came out there more often, but that's the breaks when your primary duty is performing at the White House.

The band's website is at http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/ and you can find all of our touring information there. Sadly, it'll be a few years before we get back out west again, but the other service bands all tour out west at some point, so check out some websites and see what you can find. In the meantime, I hope the east coast readers can come down/up/over to GMU on Sunday. This concert is loaded with good stuff.

Dale Phelps wrote:I 'member Matt Summers when he was a (younger) kid on the San Francisco peninsula. A protoge' of sorts of Stan Dittmer's (ex-Arthur Pryor Band soloist) I was way impressed with this guys facility and sound as a high schooler.

Wish you could hear him on the Philip Sparke concerto. He sounds sweet.

DP wrote:Lemme know when you guys will hit this part of the country (Colorado) pretty much anywhere between Denver and Cheyenne/Laramie!

Doh!! We just came through Denver last year on the West Coast tour, and we won't be back through Cheyenne and Laramie for a few more years until the Midwest tour rolls around again. That's like '08 or something, not sure... check the website, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a while. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if a few of the low brass guys made their way out to Denver for ITEC 2006--that should be a fun show.

With the temp today predicted in the 90's, what better excuse to spend the afternoon in air conditioned comfort listening to Carol Jantsch play the Gregson concerto and Jaime Lipton play Gillingham's Vintage and Matt Summers play the Sparke Euphonium Concerto with the Marine Band? The concert is at 3 at GMU's Center for the Arts. Tell your friends and relatives that live out this way- this time of year it's rare to find the Marine Band performing indoors!

Congratulations to Jamie Lipton and Carol Jantsch. This is going to be a fun concert. Congratulations are also in order to Roger Behrend for organizing the Potomac Festivals competition. It looks like it's already on the books for 2006, and I hope it continues on into the distant future. Please invite us back to play, Roger--a stage with A/C is a wonderful thing in June!