257th Army Band
The lineage of the 257th Army Band, District of Columbia Army National Guard, goes back to the assemblage of the legendary Corcoran Cadets of 1883, a militia that inspired John Philip Sousa to compose a march of the same name. Band commander Chief Warrant Officer Sheila M. Klotz has selected a program of music ranging from the classics to the hits of today presented by a number of the band’s performing units including the Concert Band and the jazz-pop combo, The Capital Messengers.
Beyond its roots in the Corcoran Cadets, the band’s historic lineage includes organizations such as the 121st Engineers in 1921, the 260th Costal Artillery Unit in 1939, and consolidation with the 91st Army Band in 1959, which was consequently renamed the 257th Army Band.
Historical performances include the burial of the Unknown Solider in 1921, musical support for the state funeral of President Harding and overseas deployments to Greece and Panama. Although centrally located among the finest military bands in the world, the 257th Army Band remains the only military band that truly is “The Band of the Nation’s Capitol.”
Chief Warrant Officer Klotz is the first female commander in the history of the Army National Guard. She is a former percussionist with The U.S. Air Force Band in Washington D.C. and has served on the faculty of St. Mary’s College in Maryland and is highly sought out as a clinician and adjudicator in music education.
In addition to her leadership, the ensemble will be lead by Associate Directors Staff Sergeant Brian D. Jones and David A. Vita. Staff Sergeant Jones also performs as the band’s principal clarinetist. A Doctor of the Music Arts, he serves as Assistant Professor of Clarinet at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Staff Sergeant Vita performs as a percussionist with the band and is the former Enlisted Band Leader of the Quantico U. S. Marine Corps Band, Quantico, Va. Staff Sergeant Vita is currently enrolled as a Graduate Student in Human and Organizational studies at the George Washington University.