United States Navy Band The United States Navy Band , based at the historic Washington Navy Yard in Washington , D . C . , has served the nation as the official musical organization of the United States Navy since 1925 . The United States Navy Band serves the ceremonial needs at the seat of government , performing at presidential inaugurations , state arrival ceremonies , state funerals , state dinner s , and other significant events . The United States Navy Band performs all styles of music — from ceremonial pieces such as " ruffles and flourishes " to classical , Rock music , jazz and country hits . Organization and personnel . Since its official designation in 1925 , the United States Navy Band has grown into a diverse organization of multiple performing units . The organization features six performing ensembles : the Concert Band , the Ceremonial Band , the Commodores jazz ensemble , Country Current country - bluegrass ensemble , the Cruisers contemporary entertainment ensemble , and the Sea Chanters chorus . There are also several chamber music groups . The multiple ensembles help to meet the public demand for different types of music as well as the needs of Navy recruiting . The United States Navy Band is composed of 172 enlisted musicians and four officers , under the direction of Capt . Brian O . Walden . Concert Band . The Concert Band is the Navy ' s premier wind ensemble . The Concert Band , along with the Ceremonial Band , was part of the original Navy Band in 1925 . The group plays concerts in the Washington , DC area as well performing a month - long national tour each year . Ceremonial Band . The Ceremonial Band performs ceremonies in and around the Washington , DC area . Their main mission is performing for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery . Additionally , the Ceremonial Band performs change of commands , retirements , patriotic openers , wreath - layings and arrivals . Sea Chanters . In 1956 , LT Harold Fultz , then the band ' s assistant leader , organized a group from the Navy School of Music to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner . An immediate success , ADM Arleigh Burke , then chief of naval operations , transferred them to the Navy Band , named them the Sea Chanters and tasked this all - male chorus with perpetuating the songs of the sea . In 1980 , the group added women to their ranks and expanded their repertoire to include everything from Brahms to Broadway . Commodores . Since their founding in 1969 , the Commodores have become one of the most acclaimed jazz ensembles in the country . Many jazz legends have appeared with the group , such as Ray Charles , Stanley Turrentine , Louie Bellson , Terry Gibbs , Chris Potter , Jerry Bergonzi , Bob Mintzer , Dave Leibman , James Moody , and Clark Terry . Country Current . The seven - member group was formed in 1973 and quickly established itself in all aspects of country and bluegrass music . The group is under the direction of banjoist Senior Chief Musician Keith M . Arneson . Cruisers . As the Navy ' s premier contemporary entertainment ensemble , the Cruisers feature eight of the Navy ' s most dynamic performers . The group was formed in 1999 . History . Early music in the Navy . The earliest music of the United States Navy was the Shantyman ' s Song . These melodies of the sea helped soften the rigors of shipboard life . Next came trumpeters , drum mers and fifers who were carried on the early frigate s to sound calls , give general orders , and perform at funerals and other ceremonies . Military bands became a separate section of the crew on many Navy vessels . The development of shore - based bands in the 19th century led to the creation of the Naval Academy Band , which grew in size and importance during the American Civil War . Other band units afloat and ashore played a major role in promoting the morale of sailors and civilians alike . At the start of World War I many outstanding musicians left their famous orchestras and joined the United States Navy , using their talents to further the war effort . Establishment of the U . S . Navy Band . In 1916 , a 16 - piece band from the battleship USS " Kansas " ( BB - 21 ) was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard to augment a 17 - piece band aboard the Presidential Yacht " Mayflower " . The new unit became known as the " Washington Navy Yard Band " and was given rehearsal space near the power plant ' s coal pile . The increasing tempo of the band ' s duties led the bandmaster to seek more suitable quarters in the yard ' s " Sail Loft , " and sailmakers were soon cutting and stitching their canvas to the rhythms of the music . The United States Navy Band still occupies the Sail Loft as its headquarters and rehearsal hall . In 1923 , a 35 - man contingent from the Navy Yard Band accompanied President Warren G . Harding on his trip to the Alaska Territory . After the president ' s unexpected death in San Francisco , the band performed the hymn " Nearer My God to Thee " as his body was placed aboard a train destined for Washington , D . C . With the band growing in importance and prestige , President Calvin Coolidge signed into law a 1925 bill stating " hereafter the band now stationed at the Navy Yard , known as the Navy Yard Band , shall be designated as the United States Navy Band . " The legislation also allowed the band to take its first national tour in 1925 . Among those praising the early United States Navy Band was the " Boston Post " newspaper , which printed on March 13 , 1929 : " . . . Some folks have an idea perhaps that Navy music is made up of a few chantey choruses , a jig , and The Star Spangled Banner . To the average American Citizen the performance last night must have been a truly startling eye - opener . They performed like a company of first - rank virtuosi . . . " Under the baton of Lt . Charles Benter , the band ' s first leader , the United States Navy Band was featured at many historic occasions , including the 1927 return of Charles Lindbergh following his trans - Atlantic flight . Two years later , the band performed for the return of Adm . Richard E . Byrd from his famous South Pole flight . The need for qualified musicians led Lt . Benter to found the Navy School of Music under his charge in 1935 . Many of the faculty were bandsmen who taught in addition to their performance duties . Throughout much of the 1960s the Band ' s leader was Anthony A . Mitchell , a classical clarinetist and accomplished composer who had joined the band in 1937 . During his tenure as the Band ' s director LCDR Mitchell composed the popular march " Our Nation ' s Capital " , later honored as the official march of Washington D . C . He also wrote a march for the yet - unbuilt National Cultural Center in Washington D . C . " The National Cultural Center March " was first performed and recorded by the band in 1963 , and was performed at fundraising events for the Center throughout the early 1960s . In 1964 the Center was renamed the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to honor the fallen president . The march ' s title was changed to the " John F . Kennedy Center March " in 1964 , though it is still often referred to by its original title . Crash . On 25 February 1960 19 members of the Navy Band were flying from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro to join the rest of the band at a reception for President Dwight D . Eisenhower and Brazilian President Juscelino Kubitschek . As the Navy transport plane approached Rio de Janeiro in a dense fog , it collided in midair with a Brazilian airliner above the city ' s harbor , not far from the landmark Sugarloaf Mountain . Among the 61 people killed were 19 members of the Navy Band , including the assistant leader , J . Harold Fultz , and most of the string section . Three U . S . sailors playing cards at the back of the airplane were the only survivors . The crash was the single worst event in the band ' s history , and devastated the remaining members of the band . Despite their losses the surviving musicians completed their South American tour . Capital concerts . Among the Navy Band ' s many accomplishments were weekly Monday night concerts , as well as smaller daily concerts held at the U . S . Capital . Held on a special stage located on the east side of the Capital , the daily and weekly concerts ran without interruption from the 1930s until the early 1970s . In the 1960s the Navy Band began a series of popular children ' s performances , known as " Lollypop Concerts " . Radio performances . From 1929 to 1939 , the United States Navy Band took to the air waves with Arthur Godfrey on NBC ' s " Hour of Memories " radio program . During World War II , the United States Navy Band supported the sale of war bonds and assisted in national recruiting efforts , although the majority of the band ' s time was spent performing at the daily funerals at Arlington National Cemetery . At the close of the war in 1945 , the radio program " The Navy Hour " was born . It featured such entertainers as Lt . Robert Taylor and Lt . ( j . g . ) Gene Kelly , with whom the band had appeared in the film " Anchors Aweigh " . When it went off the air in 1968 , " The Navy Hour " had set a record for one of the longest tenures in radio . Other notable performances . The United States Navy Band has performed at the following ceremonies and events : Discography of the U . S . Navy Band . Most of these discs are out of print and not available from the U . S . Navy Band website any more . However Altissimo Records has made the majority of these albums available for purchase . References . " This article incorporates public domain text from a U . S . federal government website . "