U.S. Navy Sea Chanters

The United States Navy Band "Sea Chanters" chorus is the official chorus of the United States Navy. The ensemble performs a variety of music ranging from traditional choral music, including the sea chantey, to Broadway musicals. Under the leadership of Senior Chief Musician Russell J. Rathier, the Sea Chanters appear throughout the United States and often perform at the White House, the Vice President's home and for other Washington dignitaries. In 1956, Lt. Harold Fultz, then the Band's assistant leader, organized a group from the Navy School of Music in Anacostia to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. An immediate success, Admiral Arleigh Burke, Chief of Naval Operations, transferred them to the Navy Band, named them the "Sea Chanters" and tasked this all-male chorus with perpetuating the songs of the sea. In 1980, the group added women to their ranks and expanded their repertoire to include everything from Brahms to Broadway.