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| United States Navy Band | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founded | 1925; 100 years ago (1925) |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Garrison/HQ | Washington Navy Yard |
| Nickname | "The World's Finest" |
| March | "Anchors Aweigh" |
| Anniversaries | 4 March 1925 |
| Decorations | 6Meritorious Unit Commendations |
| Website | navyband.navy.mil |
| Commanders | |
| Commanding Officer/Leader | Cmdr. Robert Coats |
| Executive Officer | Lt. Cmdr. Kelly Cartwright |
| Senior Enlisted Advisor | MUCM James Armstrong III |
| Concert/Ceremonial Department Head | Lt. J.G. David Drescher |
| Specialty Groups Department Head | Lt. J.G. Antonio Garcia |
| Staff Department Head | Ensign Kyle Beltram |
| Insignia | |
| Wordmark |  |
TheUnited States Navy Band, is based in theWashington Navy Yard inWashington, D.C. and is the official musical organization of theU.S. Navy since 1925. The U.S. Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat ofU.S. government, performing atpresidential inaugurations,state arrival ceremonies,state funerals,state dinners, and other significant events.
The band performs a broad range of music, including ceremonialruffles and flourishes,classical,rock,jazz, andcountry.
Since its official designation in 1925, the United States Navy Band has grown into a diverse organization of multiple performing units. The organization features six performing ensembles: the Concert Band, the Ceremonial Band, the Commodores jazz ensemble, Country Current country-bluegrass ensemble, the Cruisers contemporary entertainment ensemble, and the Sea Chanters chorus. There are also severalchamber music groups. The multiple ensembles help meet the public demand for different types of music and the needs of Navy recruiting.
The United States Navy Band is composed of 172 enlisted musicians and four officers, under the direction of Capt. Kenneth Collins.
The Concert Band is the Navy's premier wind ensemble. Along with the Ceremonial Band, this band was part of the original Navy Band in 1925. The group plays concerts in the Washington, D.C. area and performs a month-long national tour each year.
The Ceremonial Band performs ceremonies in and around the Washington, D.C. area. Their primary mission is performing for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Additionally, the Ceremonial Band performs at command changes, retirements, patriotic openers, wreath-layings, and arrivals.
In 1956, Lt. Harold Fultz, then the band's assistant leader, organized a Navy School of Music group to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. An immediate success, ADM Arleigh Burke, then chief of naval operations, transferred them to the Navy Band, named them the Sea Chanters, and tasked this all-male chorus with perpetuating the songs of the sea. In 1980, the group added women to their ranks and expanded their repertoire to include everything from Brahms to Broadway.
Founded in 1969, the Commodores are a jazz ensemble. Performers who have appeared with the group include Ray Charles, Stanley Turrentine, Louie Bellson, Terry Gibbs, Chris Potter, Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer, Dave Leibman, James Moody, and Clark Terry.
This seven-member group was formed in 1973 and specialized in country and bluegrass music.
A contemporary entertainment ensemble with eight members was formed in 1999.
The earliest music of theUnited States Navy was theshantyman's song. These melodies of the sea helped soften the rigors of shipboard life. Next came trumpeters, drummers, andfifers who were carried on the earlyfrigates to sound calls, give general orders, and perform at funerals and other ceremonies. Military bands became a separate section of the crew on many Navy vessels.
The development of shore-based bands in the 19th century led to the creation of theNaval Academy Band, which grew in size and importance during theAmerican Civil War. Other band units afloat and ashore played a significant role in promoting sailors' and civilians' morale.
At the start of World War I, many musicians left their orchestras to join the United States Navy, using their talents to further the war effort.
In 1916, a 16-piece band from the battleshipUSS Kansas was ordered to theWashington Navy Yard to augment a 17-piece band aboard thePresidential YachtMayflower. The new unit became known as the "Washington Navy Yard Band" and was given rehearsal space near the power plant's coal pile. The increasing tempo of the band's duties led the bandmaster to seek more suitable quarters in the yard's "Sail Loft", and sailmakers were soon cutting and stitching their canvas to the rhythms of the music. The United States Navy Band still occupies the Sail Loft as its headquarters and rehearsal hall.
In 1923, a 35-man contingent from the Navy Yard Band accompanied PresidentWarren G. Harding on his trip to theAlaska Territory. After the president's unexpected death in San Francisco, the band performed the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee" as his body was placed aboard a train destined for Washington, D.C.
With the band growing in importance and prestige, PresidentCalvin Coolidge signed into law a 1925 bill stating "hereafter the band now stationed at the Navy Yard, known as the Navy Yard Band, shall be designated as the United States Navy Band." The legislation also allowed the band to take its first national tour in 1925.
Among those praising the early United States Navy Band was theBoston Post newspaper, which printed on 13 March 1929: "…Some folks have an idea perhaps that Navy music is made up of a few chantey choruses, a jig, and "The Star-Spangled Banner". To the average American Citizen the performance last night must have been a truly startling eye-opener. They performed like a company of first-rank virtuosi…"
Under the baton of Lt. Charles Benter, the band's first leader, the United States Navy Band was featured at many historic occasions, including the 1927 return ofCharles Lindbergh following his trans-Atlantic flight. Two years later, the band performed for the return of Adm.Richard E. Byrd from his famousSouth Pole flight.
The need for qualified musicians led Lt. Benter to found theNavy School of Music under his charge in 1935. Many of the faculty were bandsmen who taught in addition to their performance duties.
Throughout much of the 1960s, the band's leader wasAnthony A. Mitchell, a classical clarinetist and accomplished composer who had joined the band in 1937. During his tenure as the Band's director LCDR Mitchell composed the popular marchOur Nation's Capital, later honored as the official march of Washington, D.C.[1] He also wrote a march for the yet-unbuilt National Cultural Center in Washington, D.C.The National Cultural Center March was first performed and recorded by the band in 1963 and was performed at fundraising events for the Center throughout the early 1960s. In 1964 the center was renamed theKennedy Center for the Performing Arts to honor the fallen president. The march's title was changed to theJohn F. Kennedy Center March in 1964, though it is still often referred to by its original title.
There was an aerial collision between two aircraft over Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 25, 1960 which carried members of the band.[2]
Among the Navy Band's many accomplishments were weekly Monday night concerts,[2] and smaller daily concerts held at the U.S. Capitol.[3] Held on a special stage located on the east side of the Capitol, the daily and weekly concerts ran without interruption from the 1930s until the early 1970s.In the 1960s, the Navy Band began a series of popular children's performances, known as "Lollypop Concerts".[2]
| Leader | Years | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LT Charles Benter | 1925–1942 | |
| 2 | CDR Charles Brendler | 1942–1962 | |
| 3 | LCDRAnthony A. Mitchell | 1962–1968 | |
| 4 | CDR Donald W. Stauffer | 1968–1973 | |
| 5 | CDR Ned Muffley | 1973–1978 | |
| 6 | CDR William J. Phillips | 1978–1984 | |
| 7 | CDR Allen E. Beck | 1984–1989 | |
| 8 | CDR Phillip H. Field | 1989–1992 | |
| 9 | CAPT William J. Phillips | 1992–1995 | |
| 10 | LCDR John R. Pastin | 1995–1998 | |
| 11 | CAPTRalph M. Gambone | 1998–2007 | |
| 12 | CAPT George N. Thompson | 2007–2009 | |
| 13 | CAPT Brian O. Walden | 2010–2015 | |
| 14 | CAPT Kenneth Collins | 2015–2024 | |
| 15 | CDR Robert Coats | 2024– |
From 1929 to 1939, the United States Navy Band took to the airwaves withArthur Godfrey onNBC's "Hour of Memories" radio program. During World War II, the United States Navy Band supported the sale ofwar bonds. It assisted in national recruiting efforts, although most of the band's time was spent performing at the daily funerals atArlington National Cemetery.
At the close of the war in 1945, the radio program "The Navy Hour" was born. It featured such entertainers as Lt.Robert Taylor and Lt.(j.g.)Gene Kelly, with whom the band had appeared in the filmAnchors Aweigh. When it went off the air in 1968, "The Navy Hour" had set a record for one of the longest tenures in radio.
The United States Navy Band has performed at the following ceremonies and events:
This article incorporatespublic domain text from a U.S. federal government website.[clarification needed]
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