U.S. Coast Guard Band to Perform in Murrieta

Murrieta will welcome the United States Coast Guard Band next month when it makes a tour stop as part of a twice-a-decade visit to Southern California.

Besides being the musical representative of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security, the band appears regularly at presidential and cabinet-level functions on formal and informal occasions.

Murrieta residents can get a sample of its patriotic sounds when the 55-member band brings a rich tapestry of American music during a 7 p.m. performance on July 15 in the .

Directed by Cmdr. Kenneth W. Megan, selections will include “George Washington Bicentennial,” a popular John Philip Sousa march; “Santa Fe Saga” by Morton Gould, an icon of American classical music; and Frank Ticheli’s “Wild Nights!”

Other appearances on this "swing through the Golden State" include the Redlands Bowl on July 12 and Disneyland on July 14, organizers said in a news release.

In the past, the ensemble has played in Canada, England and the former Soviet Union. In 2008, the Coast Guard Band became the first premier American military band to perform a concert tour of Japan, according to the news release. Prior to its Murrieta visit, the band is performing in Taiwan.

“Since its formation in 1925, the Coast Guard Band has developed an international reputation as one of the finest professional concert bands in the world,” said Bruce Davidson, the band director at , and the coordinator of this concert.

Those interested in attending can request up to four tickets by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Coast Guard Band Tickets, c/o Local Errand Girl, P.O. Box 1186, Wildomar, CA 92595.

Murrieta Mesa High School is located at 24801 Monroe Ave. in Murrieta. For more information, call 951-696-1406. Find out more about the U.S. Coast Guard Band at Uscg.mil/band.