‘President Zelensky was only 20 feet away’: Exclusive photos and interviews with US military string players

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In August 2024, I visited three military bases in Washington DC: the US Air Force’s Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, the US Army’s Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, and the Marine Barracks Washington. It’s not a trip you’d usually associate with a music journalist, but I was actually there to meet string players from air force, army and marine bands. There are only about 50 string players employed by the whole US military, and they all come from these three military branches’ string ensembles. It’s a world rarely exposed to the public, primarly because the majority of their performances are private: mostly in the White House or top military officials’ residencies. You can read all about the ensembles in my November issue article, Military Service: String groups in the US military….