Colonel Jason Fettig

Jason K. Fettig is an internationally recognized conductor of wind band and orchestra and a highly sought-after educator and clinician. Performances under his baton have occurred in forty-nine U.S. states as well as Japan, the Czech Republic, Austria and The Netherlands, and live concerts have been regularly heard on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today,” and on national television broadcasts from the White House, on “The Today Show,” the “David Letterman Show” on PBS, NBC and CBS. He has worked with an incredibly wide array of artists from across the entire musical spectrum, from internationally renowned classical artists such as pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, violinist Joshua Bell, and the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Broadway luminaries Norm Lewis, Jessica Vosk, and Lea Salonga, to pop superstars including Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks and Lada Gaga.

Fettig currently serves as the 8th Director of University Bands and Professor of Conducting at the University of Michigan, continuing a substantial legacy of bands at the institution shepherded by William D. Revelli, H. Robert Reynolds, and Michael Haithcock. He conducts the world renown University of Michigan Symphony Band and leads comprehensive masters and doctoral programs in wind conducting. Additionally, he provides the overarching vision and management for the full scope of band activities at the University, from the Michigan Marching Band to numerous ensembles for both music majors and non-majors alike. Prior to coming to UofM, Fettig served nearly a decade as the 28th Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and Chamber Orchestra, where he is the music adviser to the White House and regularly conducts the Marine Band and Marine Chamber Orchestra at the Executive Mansion. He led the musical program for the Inaugurations of President Donald Trump and President Joseph Biden and the State Funeral of George H.W. Bush. He also served as music director of Washington, D.C.’s historic Gridiron Club, a position held by every Marine Band Director since John Philip Sousa. <br> Fettig has conducted featured performances at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, the international conference of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, the Texas Bandmasters Association, and the national conventions of the American Bandmasters Association and the Music Educators National Conference. He has led concerts at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Center, Severance Hall in Cleveland, and Boston Symphony Hall, and has twice partnered with the National Symphony Orchestra and their Music Director Gianandrea Noseda for special joint performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He has also collaborated on numerous occasions with legendary composer and conductor John Williams, most recently sharing conducting with Maestro Williams of a gala concert of music at the Kennedy Center in July, 2023. In May 2019, Fettig and the Marine Band, in partnership with the All-Star Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz, won an Emmy at the 62nd Annual New York Emmy Awards for a program entitled “New England Spirit.” Fettig also represented the Marine Corps at the White House when military bands were awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Trump in 2019. <br> Throughout his career, Fettig has been deeply committed to music education. With the Marine Band, he began an interactive Young People’s Concert series in 2006 and authored, hosted, and conducted this popular annual event until 2015. He has launched innovative new digital programs for world-wide audiences, including a video series entitled the Digital Rehearsal Hall, which provides viewers a behind-the-scenes view into the working rehearsal process of professional musicians. Fettig has served as a clinician or guest conductor at more than three dozen universities and colleges. He frequently teaches at conducting symposia both in the U.S. and internationally, and he has appeared as conductor for numerous national Honor and All-State festivals around the country, leading both bands and orchestras. He has presented at the Midwest Clinic on multiple occasions and has served as adjudicator for major competitions, including the Thailand International Wind Symphony Competition and at the World Music Contest in Kerkrade, The Netherlands.

In addition to his many live performances, Fettig has conducted or served as lead producer for over 20 publicly-released albums of both traditional and contemporary band and orchestra repertoire. In 2014, Fettig launched an ambitious project to re-record all of the marches of John Philip Sousa and provide free performance and educational materials online to schools and ensembles worldwide. His steadfast focus on preserving and celebrating historic band repertoire and performance practice is complemented by a fervent advocacy for contemporary American music. He has commissioned and/or conducted the world premieres of more than forty works, including substantial new pieces by James Stephenson, Jacob Bancks, Jennifer Higdon, David Rakowski, Stacy Garrop, Narong Prangcharoen, Peter Boyer, Zhou Tian, Jessica Meyer, Michael Gilbertson, Dominick DiOrio, Donald Grantham, and Jonathan Leshnoff. This initiative has continued in his tenure at the University of Michigan, where nearly every concert includes a newly-commissioned work for winds.

Fettig holds two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in both clarinet performance and music education, and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2014, he was elected as a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. He serves on the board of directors for several national organizations and is the current President-Elect of The National Band Association.