OC native to perform in presidential inauguration

Last Updated on Monday, January 21, 2013 10:43 pm Written by Cindy Nevitt Sunday, January 20, 2013 01:00 am

Photos courtesy U.S. Marine Band / Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Dugan, an Ocean City native, will perform in his third inaugural parade when President Obama is sworn in Monday for his second term.

GALLOWAY - The trombone fits Timothy Dugan to a “T.”

Dugan, 34, an Ocean City native, who started playing the instrument by accident in fourth grade, will perform in his third inaugural parade as a trombonist with the U.S. Marine Band when President Barack Obama is sworn in Monday, Jan. 21 in Washington, D.C.

“It’s a great job and a great group of people,” said Dugan, a gunnery sergeant in the Marine Corps who will mark his 10th anniversary with the band this August. “I’m very fortunate to do what I do.”

It was 25 years ago that Dugan made the serendipitous mistake of confusing “trombone” with “trumpet” and ordered the wrong instrument from his music teacher. Inspired by an Upper Township Middle School band assembly that was designed to pique the interest of younger students, Dugan took home a permission slip for his parents to sign that would allow him to rent an instrument.

“All the girls wanted to play the flute and all the boys wanted to play the saxophone,” said Dugan, mentioning the sax-driven song “Tequila” from the 1985 film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” as the reason for the woodwind instrument’s popularity. “There was a trumpet player there, and I thought maybe I’d sign up for that.”

So he did. Or at least, he thought he did. “All I knew is it began with a ‘T,’ ” Dugan said Thursday, recounting the story from his mother’s home in Galloway Township where he was on leave for his father’s funeral on what would have been his father’s 82nd birthday.

When the instrument arrived and he opened the case to reveal a trombone, he said he told his parents, “That’s not what I wanted.”

“That’s what we paid for,” they told him. “That’s what you’ll play.”

“It was fun,” Dugan said. “It turned out for the best. It fits who I am.”

He stuck with the instrument through middle school and through Ocean City High School, from which he graduated in 1996, and on to The College of New Jersey, where he earned a degree in music education in 2000. In 2003, he earned his master’s in music performance from Indiana University, auditioned for the Marine Band in April 2003, and then joined the band in August 2003.

“It was a way to get out of class a few times a week, which is always good,” Dugan said of his early days playing the trombone. “It was like a little hobby and something social, plus I really liked the music teacher. Then, like anything else, something just clicked and I decided in college to apply myself more and see if I could make a living doing this. I’m fortunate it worked out.”

'The President’s Own'

Dugan is one of seven trombonists in the U.S. Marine Band, which has 160 members, including those holding staffing positions. In addition to performing in the inaugural parade and the swearing-in ceremony, the Marine Band performs full honors funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, a nationwide concert tour, and events in the Washington, D.C. area, where the Marine Barracks is located.

“The most important events are musical things at the White House,” Dugan said.

The Marine Band has performed at every inauguration since Thomas Jefferson became the country’s third president in 1801. It was Jefferson, an accomplished musician himself, who gave the band the title “The President’s Own.” The band is America’s oldest continuously active professional musical organization and has performed for every president since John Adams, the nation's second president. Monday, the band will make its 54th consecutive inaugural appearance, playing for the 57th inauguration of the President of the United States.

Dugan, the only son among the four children of Ann and the late John Dugan, said his interest in music can be traced to listening to a wide range of styles, including classical and jazz, played by his late father in the family home.

“It was part of the household,” said Dugan, who describes his musical ability as “a keen interest” rather than a gift.

Like many beginning music students, Dugan took piano lessons as a second- and third-grader “but didn’t really like it,” he said.

Dugan’s parents, who lived in Ocean City when he was born in 1978, moved to Upper Township during his early school years. As a teen, Dugan attended high school and worked in Ocean City.

“I took my wife to town five, six years ago,” he said. “I took her to Tory’s Ice Cream to show her where I worked. 'Wait. It’s gone.' I took her to the high school. 'Oh, wait, that’s gone, too.' Things change quick.”

Although he originally chose his college major because he wanted to be a music teacher, Dugan said he has no plans to change careers any time soon.

“My job in the Marine Corps is to be a member of The President’s Own,” he said.

The legacy of the Marines is something he shares with his father, who was a fighter pilot during the Korean War. “He was happy I was in the same branch of the military,” Dugan said. “It’s a very proud culture.”

Photos courtesy U.S. Marine Band / Gunnery Sgt. Timothy Dugan, an Ocean City native, will perform in his third inaugural parade when President Obama is sworn in Monday for his second term.