Friday Music Series Presents: The U.S. Army Strings, "Pershing's Own"

Join us for a special Friday Music Series held in the Gonda Theatre at the Davis Performing Arts Center. The concert marks the 75th anniversay of the U.S. Army Strings, featuring compositions by Tchaikovsky, Rogers/Hammerstein and Florence Price.

The U.S. Army Strings, a premier ensemble of the U.S. Armed Forces, provide a musical backdrop for many of the country’s most notable events. Their mission is to serve as musical ambassadors for high-level military and government events at home and abroad, as well as in concert for public audiences. The Soldiers who comprise this ensemble have been trained at the most prestigious music conservatories and universities in the country. This versatile ensemble performs as The U.S. Army Strolling Strings, in mixed chamber ensembles, and as The U.S. Army Orchestra.

The U.S. Army Strolling Strings are one of the most requested musical ensembles by our nation’s military leadership. Since its inception during the Eisenhower administration, the group has provided musical entertainment at the White House for every president. Missions include performing for the Department of Defense, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, kings, queens, and heads of state from countries worldwide. The Strolling Strings offer audiences the unique perspective of being within the ensemble as Soldiers elegantly move about the venue playing their instruments. The Strolling Strings offer a wide array of memorized repertoire, including patriotic, classical, international, jazz, Broadway, bluegrass, and exclusive music arrangements for special guests and events.

Chamber music is a core element of The U.S. Army Strings’ mission. String quartets provide a backdrop for significant official functions as well as public performances. Duos, trios, quartets, and mixed chamber ensembles perform in venues throughout the National Capital Region.

The U.S. Army Strings join with Soldiers from other elements of The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” to form The U.S. Army Orchestra. This group performs musical works from a diverse repertoire at some of the nation’s finest venues, including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, Lincoln Center in New York City, the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda, Maryland, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland, College Park, and the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

Artist Biographies

Violinist/violist/composer George Meyer is equally interested in classical music and fiddle playing, and the music he writes draws on both sources. He has performed his own compositions in a wide variety of settings, from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival to the 92nd Street Y. He has been commissioned by Chamber Music Northwest, Katie Hyun with Astral Artists, Mike Marshall and Caterina Lichtenberg, the Aizuri Quartet, the New York Classical Players, and Bravo! Vail.

2024-2025 highlights include the premiere of a Triple Concerto for two violins and viola with Emma Frucht, Brian Hong, and George as soloists with the New York Classical Players and Dongmin Kim in four NYC concerts. Upstream, a duo project with pianist-composer Will Healy, made its Carnegie Hall debut and recorded an album of 11 original co-compositions for release Fall 2025.

Other projects include a duo with his father, bassist Edgar Meyer. They perform traditional, original, and co-written works and have also toured with Sam Bush and Mike Marshall. They will join Marshall again to tour in 2026.

He holds degrees from Harvard College and the Juilliard School, and he is faculty at Juilliard’s Extension Division. He is from Nashville, TN.georgemeyermusic.com@georgemeyermusic on Instagram

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Composer Sheridan Seyfried’s melodic, accessible style connects with a wide variety of listeners. Firmly grounded in classical tradition, it is also influenced by styles such as New Age, Celtic, and folk.

Seyfried's orchestral, chamber, and solo works have been performed at major venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, and have been played by musicians including violinists Ray Chen and Ida Kavafian, cellist Jonah Kim, pianist Orli Shaham, and clarinetist David Shifrin. His 2017 Double Concerto for violinists Nikki and Timothy Chooi has been broadcast nationally on American Public Media's Performance Today. Seyfried’s Sextet for clarinet, piano, and strings is frequently performed around the world, including by Belgian clarinetist Roeland Hendrikx.

Born in Philadelphia in 1984, Seyfried studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Richard Danielpour, receiving awards for excellence in both composition and music theory. He also holds a master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music.