Alexander Garde is a multi-disciplinary percussionist based in Washington, D.C., where he is a percussionist with "The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. Alex holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was the recipient of the 2020 George Whitefield Chadwick Medal. At NEC, he studied with Daniel Bauch, William Hudgins, and Matthew McKay of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He pursued graduate studies at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas, studying with Matthew Strauss of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Alex enjoys performing with a wide range of orchestral, chamber, and contemporary music ensembles. In addition to his position with the USMB, he is the Principal Percussionist with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (Fairfax, VA), a position he has held since October 2023. Additionally, he has performed with the New World Symphony (Miami, FL), the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra (Annapolis, MD), and the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra (Cambridge, MA), among others. He has also received fellowships to many prestigious summer music festivals around the world, including the Tanglewood Music Center, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and the Round Top Festival Institute. A strong proponent of the importance of contemporary music as a way to push boundaries and inspire change in the field, Alex is a founding member of the Alinéa Ensemble, a new music ensemble based in Boston, which was recently a finalist for the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Ensemble Award. He was involved with the ensemble’s premieres of new works by Michael Finnissy and Richard Barrett. He has also performed contemporary chamber music by composers such as George Crumb, György Ligeti, Kaija Saariaho, Charles Wuorinen, and Giacinto Scelsi. This passion for new music has additionally driven Alex to premiere works by influential modern composers, including “Small,” a work for solo percussion by Joan Tower, as well as to commission a variety of solo and chamber repertoire composed by his colleagues. An advocate for community outreach and music education, Alex has proudly worked with DaCamera of Houston as a Young Artist, with NEC’s Preparatory School as an ensemble manager and percussion coach, and with the Houston Youth Symphony as a percussion intern to help inspire the next generation of musicians. He currently works as a percussion instructor with Yorktown High School (Arlington, VA) and with the Arlington County Public School District. Outside of music, Alex enjoys photography, golfing, skiing, and enjoying a good cup of coffee with friends.