West Point Band

The West Point Band (also known as the U.S. Military Academy Band or USMA Band), the U.S. Army’s oldest active band and the oldest unit at the United States Military Academy, traces its roots to the American Revolutionary War. At that time, fifers and drummers were stationed with companies of minutemen on Constitution Island, across the river from West Point. In 1778, General Samuel Holden Parsons’ 1st Connecticut Brigade crossed the Hudson River and established West Point as a permanent military post. After the American Revolution, Congress disbanded most of the Continental Army, but “the 55 men at West Point,” members of the 2nd Continental Artillery, remained. Among their ranks stood at least one drummer and one fifer, who alone maintained the tradition of military music at West Point.

With the establishment of the United States Military Academy in 1802 came an increased demand for military music. As the academy grew, it needed fifers, drummers and buglers to drill the new cadets and provide an audible order to their duty day. In 1817 the ensemble was named the “West Point Band,” and by this time was performing on a full range of instruments, which included two bassoons, two Royal Kent bugles, a tenor bugle, ten clarinets, three French horns, a serpent (an early bass horn), cymbals, a bass drum, eight flutes, and two trumpets.

Today’s band consists of four components: the Concert Band, the Jazz Knights, the Hellcats and Support Staff. They combine to form the Marching Band. The organization fulfills all of the official musical requirements of the Academy, including military and patriotic ceremonies, public concerts, sporting events and radio and television broadcasts, as well as social activities for the Corps of Cadets and the West Point community.

As the senior premier musical representative of the United States Army, the band has appeared at many historical events. It performed at the dedication of the Erie Canal; at the Chicago and New York World’s Fairs; and for the funerals of Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Richard M. Nixon as well as the inaugurations of numerous presidents. Additionally, the West Point Band has collaborated with some of the finest musical ensembles in the country, including the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Pops. Members of the West Point Band have also been showcased in Carnegie Hall and featured on the Today Show, 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, documentaries shown on The History Channel and Discovery Channel, and CD recordings for Columbia Records.

Marching Band
Marching music at West Point began at about the time of the American Revolution. Companies of Minutemen stationed on Constitution Island, across the Hudson River from West Point, had musicians assigned to carry out signaling and marching duties. At least fifty-five field musicians and a Band of Musick crossed the Hudson River in 1778 with General Parsons' 1st Connecticut Brigade and established West Point as a permanent post. Although many changes have occurred over the years, music continues to be an aspect of daily life for the cadets and soldiers at the Academy.

In General George Washington's time, the marching band consisted of fifes and drums. During the American Civil War, West Point bandsmen used instruments pointed over their shoulders so that the cadets marching behind them could hear the music and keep in step. At every point in our nation's history, and the Corps of Cadets have marched to the martial aires of the band at West Point.

Today's Marching Band continues the tradition by performing marches that span our military history. The band has marched in inaugural parades for fifteen American presidents. It has trekked along New York's Fifth Avenue numerous times; marched at the Rose Bowl Festival in Pasadena, California and trooped the streets of Tokyo. In 1985, the West Point Band led the veterans of the war in Vietnam across the Brooklyn Bridge and down Broadway, through streams of ticker tape, for their long-overdue homecoming. In recent years, the band has been nationally televised twice, performing the pregame and halftime activities for the Buffalo Bills AFC playoff games.

Whether drawn up in parade formation, providing music at an Army football game, or performing a solemn military funeral, the West Point Marching Band is an impressive sight. Performing before world leaders and top military representatives, the band displays the precision, polish, and professionalism of today's Army.

The West Point Marching Band is made up of select musicians. It remains an integral part of one of the finest institutional traditions in the world today- the United States Military Academy. Its standards of excellence, like those of the Academy, continue to be a source of pride to the Army and to the nation.

Concert Band
Composed of graduates from America's finest music schools, the professional musicians of the Concert Band provide world-class music and support to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets and to serve as ambassadors of the United States Military Academy and the Army to local, national, and international communities.

The West Point Concert Band is a versatile ensemble that continues to generate newer and innovative ways to lift esprit d’corps of diverse audiences through repertoire selection and performance layouts in concert, cadet athletic, and ceremonial settings. The Concert Band also regularly supports cadet activities at the United States Military Academy, including Graduation Week, Reception Day, Cadet Summer Training, and coaching the Cadet Spirit Band. Additionally, the band also collaborates with the English, Geography, History, and Philosophy departments as useful teaching resources at West Point.

The Concert Band performs concerts, military ceremonies, and at athletic events for the United States Corps of Cadets. The ensemble can be heard around the Greater Hudson Valley, New York City, and throughout the United States. The band’s storied history features performances for U.S. Presidents, Heads of State, foreign dignitaries, and continues to be invited to participate in high-profile events in the New York Metropolitan Area, at locations such as Yankee Stadium, MetLife Stadium, and the Statue of Liberty.

The Concert Band has performed at major venues, including Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Tanglewood, and the Meyerson Symphony Center. The band has been showcased with the New York Philharmonic, continuing a long-standing collaboration between the United States Army’s oldest band and America’s oldest orchestra. They also maintain a close association with the New York Yankees, utilizing the full performing ensemble and chamber groups for high-profile games. Recently, the Concert Band began an annual collaboration with the New Jersey Ballet. Members of the Concert Band have also been featured on the History Channel, Fox News, CNN, and ESPN.

As performers and educators, the musicians of the West Point Band continue to present provocative performances while providing the Corps of Cadets with a piece of living history.

The Hellcats
The Hellcats, an ensemble of buglers and rudimentary drummers from the West Point Band, has played an influential role in over 220 years of musical tradition at The United States Military Academy. Their legend began early in the American Revolution, when units of George Washington’s Continental Army, including fifers and drummers, established the garrison of West Point in January of 1778. Following the Revolution, West Point remained an active federal garrison upon the formal establishment of the United States Military Academy in 1802. During this period, fifers and drummers assigned to artillery and engineer units at West Point perpetuated the pragmatic nature of field music.

During the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, the drum was the primary source of battlefield communication. Throughout the day it signaled various orders, and its steady beat established the cadence for road marches and troop movements. The bugle served an increasingly important role starting in the 1800s. Army commanders grew more dependent upon the bugle's bold, brilliant sound to present commands both in camp and over the din of battle.

The Hellcats' mission today is to provide musical support to the U.S. Corps of Cadets. In addition to sounding Reveille and Retreat at the garrison flagpole, the Hellcats perform a myriad of ceremonial functions, including military reviews and parades. Each weekday they provide music as the cadets march into the mess hall. As the football season nears the annual Army vs. Navy game, special Hellcat arrangements of traditional West Point gridiron songs fan the Army fighting spirit. Hellcat buglers and drummers also have the honorable task of performing muffled drums and "Taps" for West Point funerals. Annually, a bugler plays Taps at the tombs of presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin D. Roosevelt on the anniversaries of their births.

Pride, intense esprit de corps, and a sense of historical continuity inspire the distinguished service of today's Hellcats. With their precise marching, embellished by the twirls of silver bugles and intricate rudimental drumming, the group delights thousands of spectators each year. In 1994, the Hellcats participated in the deactivation parade of the Allied Strike Force as it made its final departure from the city of Berlin. The Hellcats have also been featured at various military tattoos throughout the United States and Canada.

In 2002, the group performed in Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra and for the Fourth of July with the Boston Pops Orchestra. In 2004, the ensemble traveled to Orlando, Florida to participate in festivities honoring Flag Day at Walt Disney World. Recently, the ensemble collaborated with the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, performing at a Tattoo in celebration of their 50th Anniversary with an additional presentation at the Pentagon. Members of The Hellcats have also been showcased on The Today Show, Fox and Friends, 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, and on documentaries occurring on The History and Discovery Channel.

Equipped with instruments designed and hand-made specifically for them, the Hellcats enable the West Point Band to maintain faithful renditions of traditional American military music while providing the Corps of Cadets with a piece of living history.

Jazz Knights
Bringing over four decades of musical excellence to their audiences, the West Point Band’s Jazz Knights present the best in big band favorites, popular music, and original compositions and arrangements for jazz ensemble. Members of the group are graduates of some of America's most prestigious music schools such as the University of North Texas, Eastman School of Music, Indiana University, Berklee School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music.

They are recruited and selected through a highly competitive audition process specifically for service in the United States Military Academy Band at West Point.

Past and present members of the band have played, recorded and toured with such icons as Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson, Ahmad Jamal, Chaka Kahn, Prince, Billy Cobham, and the Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller Orchestras.

The Jazz Knights’ highlights over the years include playing with Benny Goodman at Lincoln Center in 1982, performing with the Duke Ellington Orchestra for the 200th Anniversary of the New York State Legislature, and twice appearing at the Hatch Shell for Boston's Independence Day celebration. The Jazz Knights have also performed for festivals and music educators' conventions, including the International Association for Jazz Education conventions, the Midwest-International Band and Orchestra Clinic, the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Festival, the Villanova Jazz Festival, the International Society of Bassists' convention and the New York State Band Director’s Association Conferences in 1993 and 2008.

Notable guests who have performed with the Jazz Knights include Bob Newhart, David Liebman, Rufus Reid, John Clayton, Emil Richards, Pete Yellin, Eddie Daniels, Steve Turre, James Carter, Randy Brecker, Michael Abene, Steve Wiest, Jon Faddis, Jim Snidero, Gary Smulyan, Scott Wendholt and Benny Golson.

At West Point, the Jazz Knights provide music for numerous functions throughout the year. In combination with the Concert Band and field music unit, the Hellcats, they help fulfill official musical requirements of the Military Academy and the Army, including military and patriotic ceremonies both at West Point and throughout the country. The Jazz Knights also perform for the summer concert series at the Trophy Point Amphitheatre and for the winter concert series at Eisenhower Hall. Their performances recreate the sounds of the greatest jazz ensembles and the innovative styles of today through their original compositions and arrangements.