The West Point Concert Band is a direct descendant of the small Band of Musick that had assembled at West Point by 1817. The modest twenty-piece military band of that era has evolved into the 48-member wind band of today. Over the years, the Concert Band has earned the reputation of being among the finest of its kind in the world. The band’s events annually attract thousands of visitors to the academy to hear the finest in new and traditional concert band literature.

The Concert Band has a history marked with several world-class performances and close associations with renowned composers. Percy Grainger, one of the first composers to fully utilize the unique instrumentation of the wind ensemble (other than to substitute for orchestral instruments), often called upon the band at West Point to proofread his new compositions. Additionally, Mr. Grainger appeared as a soloist with the band on several occasions between 1937 and 1951. In 1940, the Concert Band premiered Mr. Grainger’s work Hill Song #2. The band also enjoyed its relationship with American composer and conductor Morton Gould. His 1952 contribution to the sesquicentennial of the United States Military Academy, Symphony for Band, commissioned by the Concert Band, still stands as a staple in the contemporary wind band repertoire.

The West Point Band performs concerts, ceremonies, and at athletic events for the U.S. Corps of Cadets. It can also be heard around the Greater Hudson Valley, New York City, and throughout the United States. Over the band's 193-year history, it has performed for numerous U.S. Presidents, Heads of State, and foreign dignitaries. The West Point Band recently received the Colonel George S. Howard Citation of Musical Excellence for Military Concert Bands. The West Point Band is regularly invited to participate in high-profile events around the Northeastern United States. In April 2009, the West Point Band performed the National Anthem at the first home game in the new Yankee Stadium.

Some of the major concert venues the West Point Band has performed include Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, at Tanglewood, and the Meyerson Symphony Center. The band is pleased to reconnect with the New York Philharmonic collaborating on Musical Fireworks events in July of 2008, and on a New York Philharmonic Brass holiday concert in December of 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City.

At Carnegie Hall, the West Point Band premiered Morton Gould's Symphony for Band, conducted by Gould, in celebration of the U.S. Military Academy's sesquicentennial in 1952. Fifty years later, the band returned to Carnegie Hall to celebrate the Academy's bicentennial with selected works from more than 35 commissions that honored the 200-year tradition. Composers who wrote for that project include Samuel Adler, Eric Ewazen, Donald Grantham, Joseph Turrin, and James Kimo Williams.

The West Point Band's popular concert series attracts thousands to West Point each year for displays of world class musical talent. Recent artists to perform with the West Point Band include Joseph Alessi (principal trombone of the New York Philharmonic), Jay Ungar and Molly Mason (Grammy-winning folk duo who performed music on Ken Burns The Civil War), Larry Combs (principal clarinet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and a West Point Band alumnus), Caissie Levy (Broadway and L.A. Wicked star), John McDermott (PBS - The Irish Tenors), Lea Salonga (Les Miserables and Miss Saigon), and Philip Smith (principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic). Check your local PBS TV station and look for Marina at West Point: Unity through Diversity. The West Point Band and Cadet Glee Club performed a variety of musical styles with pianist Marina Arsenijevic.