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Time:

Wednesday
December, 18, 2024
05:30 PM - 07:00 PM

Location:

375AB

Category

Military Ensemble

Conductor

CAPT Adam R. Williamson

Program

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Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The United States Coast Guard Band is the premier band representing the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security. The 55-member ensemble is based at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. In addition to performing concert tours around the nation, the Band has also played in the former Soviet Union, Canada, England, Japan and Taiwan. In 2008, the Coast Guard Band became the first premier American military band to perform a concert tour of Japan. Concerts are free and open to the public and include a broad spectrum of music, from wind ensemble classics to swinging jazz charts.

The United States Coast Guard Band 5:30 Concert

Conductor's Bio

Captain Adam R. Williamson serves as the seventh director of the United States Coast Guard Band, the official musical representative of the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard. As the service’s musical authority, he oversees the Band’s mission of promoting public goodwill through exceptional musical performances, preserving and honoring the heritage and traditions of the Coast Guard and the nation, and supporting official functions. Under his leadership, the 55-member ensemble has maintained its world-class stature while performing in hundreds of engagements annually. CAPT Williamson has led the Coast Guard Band in prestigious performances for U.S. Presidents, elected officials, and leaders within DHS and the Coast Guard, reaching countless Americans across nearly every state. Internationally, he has expanded the Band’s reach, building relationships with foreign partners and communities across Oceania, Africa, India, and Europe. Captain Williamson is a strong advocate for music education and has significantly expanded the Band’s educational outreach, engaging thousands of students nationwide through in-person and virtual programs, often introducing young Americans to the Coast Guard for the first time. He also spearheaded the Coast Guard Band “American Composers Series,” recording works by contemporary composers such as Kenneth Fuchs, Steven Gryc, Jess Langston Turner, and Meera Gudipati, capturing the sound and aesthetic of living American composers. Through his innovative use of social and digital media, the Coast Guard Band’s performances and outreach activities now reach millions worldwide. Before his directorship, from 2003 to 2013, CAPT Williamson served as a saxophonist in the Coast Guard Band, performing in renowned venues like Carnegie Hall, Taipei’s National Concert Hall, and Japan’s Minato Mirai Hall. As a featured soloist, he toured the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S.. He performed with the Coast Guard Saxophone Quartet at prominent events, including the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference and the World Saxophone Conference. CAPT Williamson holds degrees from the State University of New York, College at Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, and pursued graduate studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the University of Hartford Hartt School. His principal mentors include Glen Adsit, Edward Cumming, and Dr. Timothy McAllister. He resides in Connecticut with his wife, Lisa Williamson, a former Coast Guard Band vocalist and current faculty member at Ithaca College.

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