The United States Merchant Marine Academy Regimental Band, designated as "George M. Cohan's Own", is a United States military band and college

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

that currently serves as the official marching band of the

United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...

. The USMMA is the only

service academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

outside of the six

senior military college In the United States, a senior military college (SMC) is one of six colleges that offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs under , though many other schools offer military Reserve Officers' Training Corps under other secti ...

s, to maintain a cadet-staffed band for musical purposes. The band, unlike other musical units of service academies, is a co-located full-time ensemble. The band mainly provides ceremonial support for protocol ceremonies and athletic events. It performs ''

A Life on the Ocean Wave "A Life on the Ocean Wave" is a poem-turned-song by Epes Sargent published in 1838 and set to music by Henry Russell. It is the iconic Regimental March of His Majesty's Royal Marines. Origin of the poem and song One day Sargent was walking on T ...

'', the official march of the USMMA and the '' Star Spangled Banner'' at all ceremonies. The modern band succeeded a full-time band that was deactivated following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The band is currently led by Lieutenant Commander Bob Nixon, succeeding Captain Kenneth Force who served with the band from 1971 – 2016. The band was given the designation "George M. Cohan's Own" in 1999 by two of composer

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

's grandchildren, in recognition of the band's assistance in saving Cohan's former residence from demolition. The 35-piece band maintains the following ensembles at its disposal: *

Marching Band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

Concert Band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

Brass Quintet A brass quintet is a five-piece musical ensemble composed of Brass instrument, brass instruments. The instrumentation for a brass quintet typically includes two Trumpet, trumpets or Cornet, cornets, one French horn, one trombone or euphonium/barito ...

*Fanfare Team

Performances

In recent years, the band has represented the academy at all the inaugural parades for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, both occasions it was led by Captain Kenneth Force. The band plays an essential in the "Ceremony of

Beating Retreat Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle. History Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single ...

", which is a

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

based in British roots. It takes place during the USMMA parent weekend, and usually has parents of midshipmen in attendance. The band traditionally performs at the end of the National

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

Parade in May. The band has also historically taken part in civil parades/events, including the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

, the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

Halftime Show, the

Miss America Pageant Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

, and events on

Cow Harbor Day Northport is a historic maritime village on the northern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Initially designated Great Cow Harbour by 17th-century English colonists, the area was officially renamed Northport in 1837. ...

Characteristics

Like its counterparts at the

Valley Forge Military Academy and College Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional military school format with army traditions. Though military in tr ...

Wayne, Pennsylvania Wayne is an unincorporated community centered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the wealthiest areas ...

, it uses the same military format as the British

Royal Marines Band Service The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS ''Nelson'' – and its ...

. An example of this similarity is seen the most in the use of

tenor drums A tenor drum is a membranophone without a snare. There are several types of tenor drums. Early music Early music tenor drums, or long drums, are cylindrical membranophone without snare used in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. They consi ...

and its location to the front of the formation. The uniform consists of a combination

peaked cap The peaked cap, peaked hat, service cap, barracks cover or combination cap is a form of headgear worn by the armed forces of many nations, as well as many uniformed civilian organisations such as law enforcement agencies and fire departments. It ...

with a gold chinstrap, a black tunic, and white trousers, alongside white gloves and black shoes.

References

External links

Sounds of the USMMA BandThe USMMA Band
at the Second inaugural parade of Barack Obama
The USMMA Band
at the Inaugural parade of Donald Trump
The USMMA Band during the morning march in of the colors
{{United States military bands, state=collapsed American military bands Wind bands Military units and formations of the United States College marching bands in the United States Musical groups from New York (state) United States Merchant Marine Military academy bands