The United States Coast Guard Band

Brief History

The United States Coast Guard Band was organized in March 1925 with the assistance of Lt. Charles Benter, leader of the United States Navy Band; Dr. Walter Damrosch, conductor of the New York Philharmonic; and “American March King” John Philip Sousa, former director of the United States Marine Band. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed congressional legislation resulting in the Coast Guard Band becoming the permanent, official musical representative of the nation’s oldest continuous seagoing service. This event also established the Coast Guard Band as one of our nation’s premier service bands.
The duties of the Band have greatly expanded since 1925. Originally a small command band used primarily for local purposes, today the Coast Guard Band is the proud musical representative of the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, appearing at presidential and cabinet level functions on formal and informal occasions. While Leamy Hall Auditorium on the grounds of the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, remains its at-home concert venue, the Band also tours throughout the United States, and has performed in the former Soviet Union, Canada, England, and Japan.
A number of notable vocal artists have appeared with the Coast Guard Band, including Placido Domingo, Marilyn Horne, Elizabeth Futral, Andy Williams, Roberta Flack, Lee Greenwood, Lorrie Morgan, Shirley Jones, Lonestar, and the Boys Choir of Harlem. Film, literary and television personalities have included Gregory Peck, Lucie Arnaz, Willard Scott, Walter Cronkite, John Amos, Alex Haley, and Richard Thomas. Coast Guard Band concerts have also featured instrumental artists such as Bill Watrous, Dale Clevenger, Slide Hampton, Cecil Bridgewater, Chris Vadala, David Shifrin, and Philip Smith. In 2008, under the direction of Maestro Leonard Slatkin, the Band performed a superb concert of music by Copland, Bach, and Hindemith, among others.
The Coast Guard Band has performed at some of the most prestigious venues in the nation, among them the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. Additionally, the Band has participated in such historic events as National Christmas Tree lighting ceremonies, the American Bicentennial Celebration with President Gerald Ford, World War II Fiftieth Anniversary events in England and inaugural celebrations for every President since Herbert Hoover.
The United States Coast Guard Band has a rich history of performing internationally: it is especially honored to have been the first American military band to perform in the former Soviet Union, with concerts in Leningrad and the surrounding area in 1989. In 2008, the Coast Guard Band became the first premier American military band to perform a concert tour of Japan. In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard Brass Quintet and Saxophone Quartet performed throughout Taiwan to great acclaim in 2009 and 2010.

Since becoming director in October 2004, Commander Kenneth W. Megan has led the Coast Guard Band on tours throughout the United States and Japan, engaged celebrated soloists, and produced numerous CD releases. In November 2008, the Coast Guard Band became the first premier American military band to perform a concert tour of Japan. In addition, Megan has led several performances of the Band in Carnegie Hall and has conducted at the prestigious Midwest Clinic. Under his direction, the Band has performed with opera superstars Nicole Cabell and Elizabeth Futral, pianist Makoto Ozone, clarinet virtuoso David Shifrin, renowned trumpeter Philip Smith, and principal tubist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mike Roylance. In addition, he invited legendary conductors Donald Hunsberger, Frank Battisti, H. Robert Reynolds, Leonard Slatkin, and Mallory Thompson to lead the Band in unforgettable performances. Under Megan’s stewardship, the Band has released eight critically acclaimed disks: Holiday Fanfare; Gershwin Remembered; Russian Connection; American Landscapes; South; Baby, It’s Cold Outside!; Gardens of Stone; and Live in Japan. Connecticut Public Radio regularly broadcasts Band concerts on its Sunday Spotlight series.

Before becoming director, Megan’s multi-faceted background within the Coast Guard Band included work as musician, arranger, assistant director, director of public information, and producer of the Band’s acclaimed radio broadcast series. His body of work as a composer and arranger includes more than thirty pieces. For eighteen years he served as both assistant director and announcer for each performance. He produced a radio series featuring the Band, which included three complete, internationally broadcast seasons consisting of thirteen hour-long programs. In addition, he has supervised both the Band’s popular Young People’s Concerts and the Coast Guard Band Recital Series. Over the span of his career, his musical excellence and versatility have earned him the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, two Coast Guard Commendation medals, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal.

Megan has represented the Band as an unofficial ambassador on several occasions. During the Coast Guard Band’s visit to the former Soviet Union in June 1989, he served as liaison between the Ministry of Culture in Leningrad, the Soviet Armed Forces, and the American Consulate in Leningrad, coordinating the first tour of an American military band in that country. During the tour, one of Megan’s most memorable moments was conducting The Stars and Stripes Forever during a joint performance with the Leningrad Military District Band. In January 1993, Megan was the Coast Guard’s sole representative in the farewell program “An Armed Forces Salute to President Bush.” He represented the Coast Guard twice by serving on the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee for the inaugurations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush.

A native of Norwood, Massachusetts, Megan began his musical studies on clarinet at age 8, adding saxophone at age 12. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and has done post-graduate study in composition and conducting at the University of Connecticut, the Hartt School of Music, and Connecticut College. He earned a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management and organization from the University of New Haven in 1990. Megan joined the U.S. Coast Guard Band in June 1975 and was appointed the Band’s assistant director in July 1986.

Chief Warrant Officer Richard Wyman joined the United States Coast Guard Band in 1998 as the baritone saxophonist and was appointed assistant director in October 2004.

As assistant conductor and concert narrator on USCG Band performances, Wyman has conducted challenging musical selections across the United States and abroad, including the Band’s historic 2008 Japan tour. He has appeared as conductor for joint military band performances in Hawaii and Norfolk, Virginia, and regularly leads the Coast Guard Band at ceremonies, including Department of Homeland Security, US Coast Guard, and Coast Guard Academy events.

Wyman serves as producer of the Band’s recording projects, which include eight discs since 2004: Holiday Fanfare, American Landscapes, Gershwin Remembered, Russian Connection, South, Baby It’s Cold Outside!, Gardens of Stone, and Live in Japan. Wyman is actively involved in the Band’s educational initiatives. Prior to becoming assistant director, he founded the Band’s Music Outreach program, and coordinated the annual Young People’s Concerts and Young Artist Concert; three programs that reach over 10,000 students annually.

As saxophonist, he was a member of the USCG Band Saxophone Quartet, appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and at the World Saxophone Congress. Prior to joining the Coast Guard, Wyman was manager and baritone saxophonist of the Tower Saxophone Quartet, with whom he performed at the White House, including special performances for President William Clinton, senior staff, and Mr. and Mrs. Gore, and participated in the National Endowment for the Arts Chamber Music Rural Residency program for two years.

Wyman is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting at the University of Connecticut, studying with Jeffrey Renshaw. Other conducting studies include several years with Frank Battisti, and workshops with Neil Varon, H. Robert Reynolds, Jerry Junkin, Glen Adsit, Steve Peterson, and Charles Peltz. A native of Hampden, Massachusetts, Wyman holds Bachelor of Music degrees in saxophone performance and music education from the Eastman School of Music, and a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Chief Musician James Jackson III, principal euphonium, is a native of Lexington, Kentucky. In addition to his position with the Coast Guard Band, Jackson is presently the director of the Connecticut College Orchestra, the music director and conductor of the Thames Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, Lecturer of Euphonium Studies at the University of Connecticut, and Professor of Euphonium at the Hartt School. As a performer with the tuba and euphonium quartet Alchemy, he appears annually in Northern Germany, presenting solo performances, lecturing at master classes, and conducting brass ensembles. He was principal baritone of the Lexington Brass Band and a featured soloist with the band at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in 1997. He has also performed as a soloist with ensembles at the University of Kentucky, George Mason University, and the University of Connecticut, where he premiered Allen Feinstein’s concerto for euphonium and band, Swimming the Mountain. MUC Jackson is a founding member of the Kentucky Horse Park Four Horsemen Tuba Quartet and the Concord Tuba-Euphonium Quartet. He was a recipient of the Lyman T. Johnson Fellowship at the University of Kentucky, toured Spain as a member of the American Spiritual Ensemble, and was a first place winner in the 1995 International T.U.B.A. conference Tuba-Euphonium Quartet competition and a first place winner at the prestigious Leonard Falcone International Solo Euphonium Competition in 1994. He has been a clinician throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe at numerous universities, colleges, and public schools. He is pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in euphonium performance with an emphasis in instrumental conducting at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He received a Master of Music degree in euphonium performance in 1995 from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from the University of Kentucky in 1993.

MU1 Megan Weikleenget, soprano, from Buffalo, New York, made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Composing Song workshop in 2009. She has performed as soloist with the Berk shire Bach Society, The Collegiate Chorale, The Dessoff Choir, and has sung at Boston’s GuitarFest, directed by guitarist Eliot Fisk. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Education and Performance from the Crane School of Music at Potsdam, New York, and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory in Boston. MU1 Weikleenget is a recent graduate from the Vocal Arts Program at Bard College, directed by Dawn Upshaw and Kayo Iwama.