JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii –
In 2024, the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band shared its music with 2.5 million people in nine countries and four Hawaiian Islands. Its 600 engagements included concerts for the community, performances for school children, official Navy events and ceremonies, and shows for Sailors. Band members also participated in the annual Pacific Partnership, the Navy’s largest multinational humanitarian and disaster relief mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific, taking them to Vietnam, the Philippines, Tonga, and across Micronesia for cultural exchanges.
It's a rigorous schedule for the band, which has been representing the U.S. Navy in Hawaii for more than 75 years. The Pacific Fleet Band is one of 11 bands in the Navy that inspire patriotism, elevate esprit de corps, support recruiting and retention efforts, preserve the Nation’s musical heritage, and carry the Navy message around the world. Navy bands go where ships can’t go, expanding and strengthening the Navy’s network of partners. In a typical year, Navy bands travel to more than 40 countries, helping improve access and relationships abroad.
A musical ambassador for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the Pacific Fleet Band is led by Lt. Clint Mcclanahan, who was named Fleet Bandmaster in January 2024. He enlisted in the Navy in July 2003 and commissioned in 2015 after 12 years as an enlisted electric bass player. Prior to reporting as Fleet Bandmaster, Mcclanahan received a Master of Music in wind band conducting from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University as part of the Naval Postgraduate School Civilian Institutions Program. He also holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Morehead State University.
Like Mcclanahan, all 42 members of the Pacific Fleet Band are trained musicians. Most have a bachelor’s degree in music, while some have advanced degrees. To earn a spot on the band, musicians must audition, similar to auditioning for a spot in a major symphony.
Unique Musician Rating
After boot camp, musicians go to “A” school for 21 weeks in Little Creek, Virginia.
Unlike most other Navy ratings, which have identical roles after completing initial training, musicians also have a designator indicating what instrument they play. A Navy band needs an appropriate blend of flutes, clarinets, oboes to play a John Philip Sousa march, Mcclanahan explained.
The band also has other instruments that allow it to play more than typical military fare.
“We also have vocalists, we have guitar players, piano players, drum set players, bass players, so that we can perform not just military music of our past but popular music of the day,” Mcclanahan said.
Although the band has musicians who can play multiple instruments, it is not a Navy requirement.
The band’s song list includes “bread and butter songs that live in the soul of a military musician” such as the “National Anthem,” “Eternal Father,” “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” as well as “Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī,” which is unique to a Hawaii. Mcclanahan explained that musicians also have about 25 songs ready to go at any given moment, but the list is constantly evolving based on the time of year and the band’s different ensembles.
In addition to parade, ceremonial and concerts bands, there are also smaller chamber groups like brass and woodwind quintets that perform at military ceremonies, public concerts and music education clinics.
Two musical groups perform contemporary tunes that appeal to audiences of all ages: Pipeline, a rock band that plays music from the early days of rock and roll to the latest pop and country hits; and Pau Hana Sound, which plays popular music with a nod to local instrumentation and musical styles.
December is a particularly busy time for the band with Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremonies on Dec. 7, free holiday performances for the public at Ala Moana Center and Hale Koa Hotel and marching in community Christmas parades.
In January, the band heads to Hawaii Island as part of Music in School, a public school outreach program where band members host music clinics for students and perform concerts. In April, the band plans to support the Merrie Monarch Festival, the week-long festival held in April in Hilo that features an internationally acclaimed hula competition and showcases Hawaiian art and culture following the ideals of King Kalākaua. The band will travel to American Samoa later that month.
History of the Band
The U.S. Pacific Fleet Band has a unique history. It first formed in February 1941 when Pacific Fleet Headquarters was established at Pearl Harbor.
In September 1941, the band participated in the Battle of Music, a competition among Navy bands from capitol ships homeported in Pearl Harbor and bands attached to shore installations in Hawaii. However, the final round was canceled after the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. In previous rounds of the competition, bands played one swing number, a ballad, a specialty tune, and a song performed for a jitterbug contest.
On the day of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the entire USS Arizona band was at battle stations passing ammunition under gun turret number one. All band members were killed during the attack. The Battle of Music participants later decided to posthumously award that year’s tournament trophy to the band that had perished, Navy Band Unit 22. The award was renamed the Arizona Trophy.
Although Navy Bands don’t compete in official competitions in modern times, Mcclanahan said each band is proud of its performance.
“There is the usual organizational pride between each of the service bands,” he said. “We all believe that WE are the ones playing the right notes, the right way.”
In the decades after the attack on Pearl Harbor, band members have performed across Asia and the Pacific including in South Korea, Guam, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Australia.
On May 21, 2001, the band performed aboard the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) for the premiere of the movie “Pearl Harbor.”
More recently, Mcclanahan shared how adjustments made during COVID-19 in 2021, created changes that are still delighting audiences. Since the band couldn’t perform in front of live audiences, the band needed another way to reach music goers, so they turned to video and social media.
A recent example of this is the “Let it Snow” music video, featuring music by Pau Hana Sound. Navy Music, U.S. Pacific Fleet Band’s higher command that governs all fleet bands in the District of Columbia and Annapolis, started an initiative to create music videos during COVID-19 when bands were unable to perform in-person for audiences. After social isolation requirements ended, the push for music videos continued with 12 Days of Navy Music, “an online musical extravaganza” of sacred and secular music performed by Navy Bands stationed at home and around the world that is released on YouTube and Facebook.
This year’s lineup featured “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “Mele Kalikimaka,” “Carol of the Bells,” “Run, Run, Rudolph,” “O Christmas Tree,” “Must’ve Been Old Santa Claus,” excerpts from “The Nutcracker,” “Let It Snow,” and more.
Mcclanahan shared that many band members are from the continental U.S. and they decided to capture the feeling of a cold winter with an unexpected Hawaiian twist. The result was a new version of “Let It Snow” that mixes snow, nostalgia, and blue ocean backdrops of Pearl Harbor with a warm holiday sound that might have some pining for a cup of hot chocolate despite Hawaii’s balmy weather.
Reflecting on this and the ongoing work of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band, Mcclanahan said he appreciates the steadfast dedication and professionalism of the band members, who inspire him and the American public – and he recognizes what a distinct privilege and incredible responsibility the band enjoys every day.
“I admire the skill and dedication that every Navy Musician brings to their jobs. It’s exciting to see these Sailors engage with audiences, especially the international audiences, and strengthen international relationships through cultural exchange,” said Mcclanahan. “They are ambassadors for the Navy and the United States of America. In many cases, the only Americans that our audience will ever meet is a Navy Musician. The members of the Pacific Fleet Band understand that is a huge responsibility and amazing honor.”