Recorded at the Music Center, Strathmore, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America, 12 March 2012.

Few wind ensembles have earned such international acclaim as the United States Marine Band, virtuosos who here perform an excitingly varied programme directed by the award-winning conductor of the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz. Established classics such as Frederick Fennell’s edition of Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy sit alongside Paul Creston’s festive Celebration Overture.

Copland’s pungent Emblems evokes Amazing Grace in masterly fashion, whilst Schwarz himself contributes his own recent composition Above and Beyond, written specifically for this band in recognition of its remarkable musicianship.