Col. Michael Colburn, Director of the United States Marine Band

Colonel Michael Colburn is the 27th Director of the United States Marine Band. During his more than 20 years with “The President’s Own,” Colonel Colburn has served as principal euphonium, Assistant Director, and since July 2004, the Director of the Marine Band.

As Director, Col. Colburn acts as music advisor to the White House. He regularly conducts the Marine Band at any number of events ranging from ones as prestigious as state dinners to ones as simple as regular garden tours. Every fall, the Marine Band embarks on an annual concert tour, leaving Washington D.C. to play in as many as 30 different cities in the United States.

The colonel spoke with TheCelebrityCafe.com about travelling on the road, playing with acclaimed composer John Williams, and President Obama’s favorite music (Jazz!).

TheCelebrityCafe: What does a day in the life of the Director of the United States Marine Band look like?

Col. Michael Colburn: Well, it varies pretty considerably depending on the time of year. Our primary mission is to provide music for the White House, so if it’s a day where there happens to be a state dinner, then all of my energies are really focused on providing the music for that state dinner. But, if it’s a day in the fall, I may be with the band out on tour travelling to a different part of the country as we do every year.

TCC: Was being a member of the band always a dream for you?

CMC: From a very young age. I started playing the baritone horn, also known as the euphonium, when I was in fifth grade. By the time I was in high school, I decided I really wanted to play professionally, and the very first professional euphonium player I ever heard was a gentleman by the name of Lucas Spiros, who was the principal euphonium of the Marine Band at the time. I was just blown away at his talent and really intrigued by his career.

TCC: Tell me about the Marine Band’s connection to President of the United States.

CMC: The Marine Band is the only military band whose primary mission is to provide music for the White House, and so that really comes first in our mission. Whatever else we do happens around those requirements from the White House. The demands of the White House really are quite varied, and so that really kind of defines who we are as an organization. People generally think of the Marine Band as a concert band, but we also have the chamber orchestra, and we also have the ability to provide lots of popular music ensembles, whether it’s a country music group, or a mariachi band, or an Irish music ensemble; really whatever the event dictates, we do our best to provide for.

TCC: What sort of events does the Band participate in?

CMC: The crown jewels of events at the White House are state dinners and state arrivals. We’ve supported a few events this year along those lines; most recently was for the President of Mexico. But we also play garden tours when the White House is opened up for the general public. We also play every year at the Easter Egg Roll. On the Monday following Easter every year, the White House opens up its grounds for children to come in and participate in a wide variety of games and have lots of fun, so we really enjoy playing that event every year.

TCC: I’m sure the selection process for the Marine Band must be very rigorous. How does one go about becoming a member of the band?

CMC: Well, when we have a vacancy, we advertise nationally, just the way a symphony orchestra would, and we hold an audition here in our facility in Washington D.C. For those vacancies, we have had anywhere from 50 to 125 people show up for one opening that the band may have at a given time. We audition people behind a screen initially; the preliminary round is behind a screen and then when we narrow it down to the finals, we take that screen down. It is a very rigorous process, as you mentioned, and we’ve had many auditions where we haven’t even found a winner because we just couldn’t find anybody who met the very stringent standards of the organization. But, if we have identified somebody who has won the audition musically, then we have an interview process to determine whether or not that person is enlistable in the Marine Corps and also that person needs to be able to receive a White House security clearance. So, there are really three major hurdles you have to overcome to become a member of the President’s Own.

TCC: I know that the band has significant influence from John Philip Sousa, can you speak about that?

CMC: Sousa was by far our most famous director. He was our 17th director and led the Marine Band from 1880 to 1892, and he really is the man who was responsible for putting the Marine Band on the map. He was the first director to take the Marine Band on national concert tour, something he started in the 1890s, and that’s a tradition we reserve to this day. We really owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Sousa for all that he did.

TCC: Your concert schedule is extremely busy, yet every year you find time for your annual fall concert tour. What’s the best part of being on the road?

CMC: By far the best part of being on the road is the incredible response we get from the crowds out there. We love playing concerts in Washington D.C., but honestly at lot of our D.C. residents grow used to the military bands, as there are several premiere military bands here in town, and so a Marine Band concert isn’t quite the event here in D.C. as it is in out in some of the farther regions of the country. We really appreciate the enthusiasm and the excitement that our tour audiences generate. Any musical ensemble has a kind of symbiotic relationship with its audience, and when that audience brings so much energy and excitement, the musicians feed on that and it really makes us want to play a better concert, and so it really provides for some very memorable experiences.

TCC: Since you became Director of the Marine Band, you have been very active in expanding the band’s educational outreach programs. Tell me about the work you’ve done thus far.

CMC: Music education is the reason that all of us are here in the Marine Band. We wouldn’t have been able to develop our skills to the degree that we have without the influence and effect of the great teachers we’ve had. It something that’s very near and dear to my heart; my father was a high school band director for over 30 years, and I’ve always felt a very strong connection to the music education community. So I feel like this is a chance for us to pay back to some degree, to go out and work in the schools, as we do here in Washington D.C. When we’re out on the road on tour, in addition to those tour concerts we play in the evenings, during the day our musicians go out and do a lot of outreach in the schools while we’re travelling. We know that our concerts have a tremendous impact for these music students, but there’s nothing like having our players come in and talk with the kids and work with them on a personal level.

TCC: You’ve played with several prominent guest conductors. What has been your most memorable experience?

CMC: We’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to work with so many great musicians, but I’ve got to say our work with John Williams I think made greatest impression on me. We worked with John for both our 205th and 210th anniversary concerts at the Kennedy Center, and of course his name is so familiar to so many fans of not only classical music but filmgoers because he’s created film scores for some of the greatest films in the history of movies. His generosity and kindness in working with the band, his willingness to share his time with us, his talents with us, and to do so in a way that was just so gracious, really impressed all of us. You know, here’s a man who’s arguably the most successful classical musician today, and he just kept talking about what an honor it was to work with us.

TCC: On to your audience: the President himself! Does President Obama have any favorite songs he likes you to play?

CMC: President Obama is a real jazz aficionado. We often have jazz combos at the White House playing background music at social events. Once in a while they work in a tune that they know is a favorite of President Obama’s. He almost always notices and will come over afterwards to say, “Hey, I noticed that you played this tune and I really enjoyed it, thank you so much.” I’ve got to say, I’ve served several presidents now. Every single president has been so gracious and kind in terms of what the band does for the White House.

TCC: What about any of the past presidents you’ve played for?

CMC: One of my favorite stories occurred during the Clinton administration when I was Assistant Director. I was over at the White House, and I was playing a piece by the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, a piece called “English Folk Songs Suite.” We were in the first movement of this, and I felt a tug on my elbow. I assumed this was the White House usher, or one of the other aids that I work with at the White House, and I turned around to see that it was President Clinton himself, who said, “This is one of my favorite pieces of music, I just love this piece, and this movement is ‘17 Come Sunday,’ and the next movement is ‘My Bonny Boy,’ and in fact I think that in the band version the oboe has a solo, but in this version, is it the violin that has the solo?” And he just went on and on about this music! To realize that the President was listening so closely really was something that meant a lot to us as musicians.

TCC: Finally, do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

CMC: Don’t ever hesitate to hang around after a performance and try to catch one of those musicians and start a personal conversation about music because I think you’ll find that we’re all very happy to talk about our craft and more than willing to help out aspiring musicians in any way that we can.