Marines
the Few, the Proud— and the Musical!
Moon Area High School graduate Hannah Davis is now serving her country as a soloist and concert moderator staff sergeant with“ The President’ s Own” United States Marine Band!
BY PAMELA PALONGUE
As a member of this band, Staff Sgt. Davis is part of a tradition that began in 1798. She often performs in front of dignitaries at official functions, including U. S. Presidential inaugurations, state funerals and arrival ceremonies for foreign ambassadors and military personnel.
Although Davis has been singing in public since the age of 8, she was not thinking of a military career.
“ I got my start singing in church!” explains Davis. She was quite passionate about gospel music, but as she matured, she also found a love for jazz, classical and choral music.“ I was 17 years old when I realized I wanted to make it a career.”
After high school, she began her undergrad studies at West Virginia University in Music Education with the end goal of becoming a choir or band teacher. But in her sophomore year, she realized she had a passion for performing, so she switched her major to Vocal Performance.
She began postgraduate studies at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University to obtain a master’ s degree. One fateful day while sitting in the Student Affairs office, she received an announcement that the Marine Band was holding an audition for a soprano vocalist and moderator. This was big news since the position had not been open in 20 years!
Davis already had a special connection to the Marines, because her father had joined the Marine Corps straight out of high school and served our country for four years.
“ I wasn’ t aware of the military being an option for a successful music career,” says Davis, so the announcement opened a whole new world for her.“ When I saw the open position, I knew I had to go for it.”
She sent in a résumé, cover letter and two references to start her journey. A few weeks later, she received an audition slot!
The audition process was thorough and took place over two days. She qualified for the second day of auditions after
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