Six LSU and Tiger Band alumni went from marching down Victory Hill to performing in the Inaugural Ceremonies on Capitol Hill.
“Politics are very, very divisive,” Master Sergeant Jason Sanders said. “But, you know, regardless of who it is, when you’re there, when you have the opportunity to participate and be a part of that process it’s a huge honor.”
Sanders, who is originally from Athens, Alabama, graduated from LSU in 1999 with a degree in music education. He is now a trumpet player with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and has performed in five inaugurations.
Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden make up the living presidents he’s played for, but immediately after joining the band in 2004, Sanders played the state funeral for Ronald Reagan, as well as the funerals for Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush in the following years. He was also on stage with Pope Francis when he visited the White House in 2015.
Founded in 1922, the U.S. Army Band has been playing the soundtrack to history at events like inaugurations, state funerals and concert tours overseas for nearly a century.
As the trumpet section leader and a senior producer for the Army Blues, the Band’s jazz ensemble, Sergeant Major Graham Breedlove has been a part of seven different inaugural ceremonies. A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, a 1993 LSU graduate and LSU’s 2011 Young Alumnus of the Year, Breedlove got the opportunity to play for Ronald Reagan with his high school band and has played for every president since.
“I was a part of Barack Obama’s, which was cool because of the history there,” Breedlove said. “I was a part of this one with the COVID stuff, with the history there….I was a kid right out of college when I did Bill Clinton’s, and that was, you know, terrifying because there was just hundreds of thousands of people everywhere.”
But this year, when Master Sergeant Mike Hooke looked out from his position during the ceremonies, instead of seeing a sea of people, he saw a relatively empty mall. Nevertheless, he said it was still the best seat in the house.
“The two drummers in the Herald Trumpets, actually, I think have the best view of the swearing-in in the entire country,” Hooke said. “We’re literally right above it, so we can like look down and watch it.”
A percussion player from northern Virginia, Hooke’s first presidential performance was actually during his freshman year at LSU for President Jimmy Carter, who spoke at the commencement ceremonies. Hooke went on to count off pre-game as the Tiger Band drum captain his senior year in 1997. Now a member of the U.S. Army Ceremonial Band and Herald Trumpets, this was Hooke’s fourth inaugural ceremony.
Despite all the challenges of this year’s ceremonies, like managing social distancing and heightened security, members of the Army Band are used to adapting.
Hooke said rehearsal processes can be intense, as they cover nearly every possible contingency: When will this person arrive? How long does the music have to be based on how fast we think this person will walk?
“Not only do we have to know what to play, when to play it,” Hooke said. “We have to know, ‘Okay, if this happens, this is what we’re going to play. If this happens, this is going to be the hand signal to change the music over to this.’ Right? And it’s just right when it’s happening. We’re like ‘Okay, what’s next, what’s next.’”
After many long, cold days of rehearsals, the Heralds arrived at 3:30 a.m. for the noontime swearing-in.
“My dad was in the Army in the ‘60s, and you hear other people talk about being in the Army, it’s a lot of ‘Hurry up and wait,’” Sanders said. “You would think being in a band in the Army it would be different, but it’s not different. You still hurry up and wait a lot.”
“As much as I whine during the day about being cold and being up early, at the end of the day, it is a pretty cool thing to be a part of,” Breedlove said.
Breedlove has saved all the security credentials from his performances and said he will have a nice collection of scrapbook memories.
The Army Band’s participation in the inaugural ceremonies has been a time-honored tradition since they led the inaugural parade for President Calvin Coolidge in 1925. This year, due to COVID-19, there was no parade or inaugural ball, but many other aspects of the pomp and circumstance safely carried on.
Honors like “Four Ruffles and Flourishes,” “Hail to the Chief,” and other fanfares served their functions for the ceremony, announcing arrivals and departures. While familiar tunes like John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” brought out a patriotic tone.
Breedlove was a part of the Pass In Review, an inaugural tradition where the Band marches in front of the president and vice president as they stand on the Capitol steps. Sanders and Hooke were outside of the White House for the arrival of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.  
Sanders said you can’t help but look to the side with your eyes while standing at attention, trying to get a glimpse of the president or the rest of the entourage.
“But, you know, in the end, I’m a trumpet player, and my job is to play trumpet. To play those honors to represent everything that goes with that, which is myself, the unit, the Army, and the President of the United States,” Sanders said.
Hooke said it’s sort of business as usual. After 23 years of active duty service, playing for politicians, appearing on big TV events like Super Bowl 50 and performing around Lady Gaga three separate times, Hooke said you’re glad to be a part of something like an inauguration, but your nerves don’t take over anymore.
Because Breedlove plays jazz almost exclusively, musically inaugural ceremonies are not his norm; however, he has played on two Grammy winning recordings and with music legends like Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.
“I think the best thing that I got out of my time at LSU was versatility,” Breedlove said. “There’s almost no situation that I’m not comfortable with, and I think that’s a direct result of my time at LSU. Because I had to play – I didn’t have to- but I chose to, and I was allowed the opportunity to play in just about every musical setting imaginable.”
Sanders said, in hindsight, choosing the LSU music program was a fantastic decision, pointing to the several alumni involved with the inauguration.
In addition to Sanders, Breedlove and Hooke, LSU alumni Staff Sergeant Christopher Watkins, Master Sergeant Benjamin R. Cadle and Master Gunnery Sergeant Christopher McFarlane all performed in the ceremonies.
LSU alumna Julie Giroux also composed the music used to introduce Vice President Harris.
“All my experiences at LSU, all the staff and faculty, my classmates, peers, everything about it is a part of my journey, and you know, without having gone through that I would not have these opportunities today,” Sanders said.
It’s safe to say the heart of the nation has a strong tiger beat.