The United States Coast Guard Band will make its first area appearance on Friday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at Lower Cape May Regional High School. The free concert is presented by the Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation. Admission is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at uscgbandtour2018.ticketleap.com/cape-may-nj.
“What a privilege it is to bring some of best musicians in the nation to our community for a free, live performance,” said Mike Couch, executive director, Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation. “They perform patriotic selections, classical works and jazz standards. There is truly something for everyone.”
The United States Coast Guard Band is the premier band representing the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security. The 55-member ensemble has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the nation, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. The band also has a rich history of performing internationally; it is especially honored to have been the first American military band to perform in the former Soviet Union, with concerts in Leningrad and the surrounding area in 1989. In 2008, the Coast Guard Band became the first premier American military band to perform a concert tour of Japan.
Based at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., the Coast Guard Band frequently appears in Washington, D.C., at presidential and cabinet level functions on formal and informal occasions. Historic events include National Christmas Tree lighting ceremonies, the American Bicentennial Celebration with President Gerald Ford, World War II 50th Anniversary events in England and Inaugural celebrations for every President since Herbert Hoover.
The United States Coast Guard Band was organized in 1925 with the assistance of Lt. Charles Benter, leader of the United States Navy Band; Dr. Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Philharmonic; and “American March King” John Philip Sousa, former director of the United States Marine Band. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed congressional legislation resulting in the Coast Guard Band becoming the permanent, official musical representative of the nation’s oldest continuous seagoing service. This event also established the Coast Guard Band as one of our nation’s premier service band.