The United States Marine Band is coming back to Jacksonville for the first time in a decade, bringing its famous brass and a program built in the spirit of John Philip Sousa to the University of North Florida on October 9. The concert, set for 7:30 p.m. at Lazzara Performance Hall inside the UNF Fine Arts Center, is free to attend, but seats require an advance online reservation.
As reported by Action News Jax, the ensemble known as “The President's Own” is making its Jacksonville return after a 10-year gap, part of a national concert tour that hits 27 performances over 30 days. Online ticket reservations opened to the public on September 9 ahead of the show, according to the University of North Florida, and each request is capped at four tickets. Ticket holders must be seated by 7:15 p.m., when doors close, and any unclaimed seats will then be released to guests waiting in the standby line.
A Tour Rooted in Sousa's 1891 Original
The Jacksonville stop sits inside the Florida leg of the Marine Band's broader Southeastern swing, which also carries the group to Florida State University in Tallahassee on October 11 and the University of Florida in Gainesville on October 12, per the same tour itinerary. The national tour itself spans Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama, according to Action News Jax's reporting.
Marine Band Director Lt. Col. Ryan Nowlin has programmed the Jacksonville performance in the style of John Philip Sousa, the band's 17th director, whose name is still synonymous with the ensemble's touring tradition. That tradition traces back to 1891, when Sousa received permission from President Benjamin Harrison to lead the band on its first tour, according to the United States Marine Band. Nowlin was appointed the band's 29th director in December 2023 after joining as a staff arranger in 2010, and he previously composed works performed at presidential inaugurations, according to the Wind Repertory Project.
“Marine Band programs include a great variety of music reflecting our national musical heritage,” Nowlin said, according to Action News Jax's reporting. He added that the band is continuing its national concert tour and that its musicians “are eager to share their musical talents with live audiences.” Jacksonville audiences can expect Sousa marches, vocal and instrumental solos, contemporary compositions, traditional band repertoire and a patriotic salute to the armed forces.
An Ensemble Older Than the National Anthem
Founded in 1798, the Marine Band holds the distinction of being America's oldest continuously active professional musical organization, per the same Action News Jax report. It earned its nickname during Thomas Jefferson's administration, after the band's White House debut under President John Adams and its subsequent performance at Jefferson's March 1801 inauguration, according to Wikipedia. The group's official mission is to provide music for the president and the commandant of the Marine Corps, and it has performed for every U.S. president since Adams.
Behind the pageantry is an unusual enlistment path. Musicians chosen for “The President's Own” do not undergo Marine Corps recruit training and serve on active-duty contracts with the band, according to a Marine Band audition notice. The ensemble maintains an active-duty roster of roughly 160 to 170 musicians and support staff based in Washington, D.C., where members are stationed at Marine Barracks Washington and must meet additional security requirements.
Inside Jacksonville's Second-Largest Stage
Lazzara Performance Hall, where the Marine Band will play, seats 1,300 guests and can expand to 1,364 when the orchestra pit is used, making it the second-largest stage in the North Florida area, according to the university. The venue sits inside Building 45 on the UNF campus and stands alongside the 1,900-seat Florida Theatre and the 1,724-seat Jacoby Symphony Hall among Jacksonville's major indoor music venues, per Wikipedia.
The hall carries its own local philanthropic history. It was named in honor of Jacksonville civic leaders Gasper and Irene Lazzara following their $1.25 million gift toward its construction, and it now serves as a venue for concerts and special events, the university notes. For a concert this scale of tradition and ceremony, that combination of a free ticket and a decade-long wait may be enough to fill the hall well before the standby line ever gets called.
