Retired Marine band leader debuts symphonic march for Kamala Harris inauguration

Back in 2008, Marine Corps bandleader Brian Dix got the idea to compose a symphonic piece called “Madam President,” just in case then-Sen. Hillary Clinton were to win the race for the presidency. Thirteen years later, the San Diego resident has finally premiered a new version of the piece in time for today’s inauguration in Washington, D.C.

Newly renamed “Madam (Vice) President,” the jaunty 5-minute march debuted online Sunday to honor former California Sen. Kamala Harris, who today will be sworn in as America’s first female vice president.

To record the video, Dix recruited 45 women musicians from all over California who volunteered their time filming themselves playing their musical sections. Those videos were then assembled and produced into a finished film produced by Arts Laureate, a recording studio that has flourished over the past year producing “virtual” concerts with quarantined musicians. The video can be seen online at youtube.com/user/artslaureate/videos.

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Dix, who lives in South Park with his husband Paul Andrews, spent 30 years in the military as a musician and band leader. From 1998 until his retirement in December 2015, Dix served as director of the U.S. Marine Drum & Bugle Corps in Washington, D.C., an ensemble also known as “The Commandant’s Own.” During those years, he composed nearly 180 pieces for the band, including 15 original works.

Among those originals is a series Dix composed in honor of American heroes, which would have included “Madam President.” When Barack Obama got the Democratic nomination in 2008, Dix said he filed the “Madam” idea away “in the old piano bench in my head.” Then, when several women, including Harris, announced runs for the presidency last spring, Dix decided to finish the piece. “Madam President” was scheduled to make its premiere in 2020 with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, but the pandemic led to the cancellation of the concert and “Madam” went back into mothballs.

Conductor/director Brian Dix in uniform with the U.S. Marine Drum & Bugle Corps, before he retired at the end of 2015.

(Courtesy of Brian Dix)

Then, on Nov. 3, when the state of Arizona went blue, tilting the election to the Biden-Harris ticket, Dix said his husband walked into the room and told him to change the name of the piece. Less than a minute later, Bramwell Tovey, artistic director and conductor of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, called with the same suggestion.

Dix said the title is not entirely inaccurate for Harris, since as vice president she will also serve as president of the U.S. Senate. Instead, he added the word “Vice” in parentheses to the title so ensembles can choose whichever name they like when they perform it.

Dix said “Madam (Vice) President isn’t a political statement. Instead, it’s dedicated “to those extraordinary women who enter the American political arena.” To give the piece the right musical tone, he infused it with lively jazz and swing elements.

“It has to be spirited and the swing in there is what women do when they’re standing alone in the board room. They have to jazz things up,” he said. “Women are the ones who shave the corners off things to get them moving forward. This is for all of them.”

With no orchestra to premiere the piece in time for the inauguration, Dix decided a few weeks ago to do it himself, with volunteer help from two fellow Marine veterans, Arts Laureate owner/producer Christian Amonson and film editor Stephen Bulla. To recruit the musicians, Dix got advice from two women conductors, Sarah Weber and Sonia Marie De León de Vega, and then he worked around the clock by phone and email recruiting musicians from San Diego to Santa Clarita to San Jose.

Videos of percussion players, including Escondido resident Heather Barclay at top center and bottom left, assembled for the virtual symphonic march “Madam (Vice) President.”

(Courtesy of Christian Amonson)

Among those musicians is professional percussionist Heather Barclay of Escondido, who plays snare drum and cymbals in the film. Barclay said she was astonished at how fast the technically challenging project came together and how “astounding” it turned out. She called it an honor to participate.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “I was on board with the project because history is being made in the United States right now and women are breaking the glass ceiling.”

Since its premiere on YouTube three days ago, “Madam (Vice) President” has racked up more than 4,200 views. Dix said he’s happy to be able to give Americans something to smile about during exceptionally dark times.

“It’s been kind of amazing,” he said. “Music does indeed transcend all politics. I’ve seen this transpire time and time again. In my work in the Marine Corps, we would go and play overseas in places that needed music and it really made a difference. Good music goes much further than a PowerPoint and a few cocktail wieners.”

To see the film, go to Youtube.com, search “Arts Laureate” and then click “Videos.”

A scene of the all-women virtual orchestra performance of Brian Dix’s symphonic march “Madam (Vice) President.”

(Courtesy of Christian Amonson)