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Commander Adam R. Williamson

Director

Commander Adam Williamson serves as the seventh director of the United States Coast Guard Band, carrying out 

the Band’s missions of promoting public goodwill through unwavering dedication to the highest levels of musical 

performance, preserving and honoring the heritage, history, and traditions of the nation and service, and supporting 

official Coast Guard functions. CDR Williamson is responsible for the overall presentation of all Coast Guard Band 

activities, for maintaining the world-class stature of the 55-member ensemble, and for supporting hundreds of 

engagements annually.

Mr. Williamson originally joined the Coast Guard Band as tenor saxophonist in 2003, and was a featured soloist on 

multiple occasions, including the Band’s 2007 Southeast Tour and at notable venues such as Carnegie Hall with the 

New York Pops Orchestra and Boston’s Hatch Shell. As a member of the Coast Guard Band Saxophone Quartet, 

he performed concerts and conducted masterclasses extensively throughout the US and abroad, including Carnegie 

Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, numerous university schools of music, and throughout Taiwan and Japan. Mr. Williamson 

served in the saxophone section for 10 years before being named director, receiving a commission to Lieutenant 

Commander in October 2013.

As the leader of the sole official musical representative of the Department of Homeland Security and the Coast 

Guard, CDR Williamson is the musical authority of the service. He frequently provides musical guidance for official 

functions and creates musical programs to advance the Coast Guard’s public affairs missions. In his time as 

director, Williamson has led the Coast Guard Band in performances for President Trump, President Obama, 

members of congress, DHS secretaries, and Coast Guard leadership. The Coast Guard Band performed for the 

2015 National Tree Lighting in Washington D.C., sharing the stage with celebrities Reese Witherspoon, Trombone 

Shorty, and Andra Day, and marched in the 2017 Presidential Inaugural Parade

CDR Williamson is committed to supporting music education, and during his tenure has expanded the Coast Guard 

Band’s outreach programs, now reaching over 14,000 students in Connecticut and Washington D.C. He created the 

“American Composers Series” recordings to capture the musical language, sound, and aesthetic of living American 

composers, so far recording the works of Grammy-nominated composer Kenneth Fuchs, and up-and-comer Jess 

Langston Turner. His endeavor to engage a worldwide audience has led to extensive use of online and social media 

platforms, enabling the Coast Guard Band’s concerts and outreach activities to be broadcast to millions around the 

globe.

CDR Williamson earned musical degrees from the State University of New York, College at Potsdam, studying 

saxophone with Tim McAllister. He also began graduate studies at Indiana University with saxophonist Otis Murphy. 

He attended the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, where he pursued studies in instrumental conducting with 

Glen Adsit and Edward Cumming. He currently resides in Connecticut with his wife and son. His wife, former Coast 

Guard Band Vocalist Lisa Williamson, maintains an active career as an in-demand lyric soprano.