Robert Thurston

Robert Thurston served for 20 years on the Music Production staff of The United States Air Force Band in Washington DC, the last seven of those years as Chief Arranger and Composer. In that capacity he wrote for the Air Force Concert Band and Orchestra, the Singing Sergeants, the Airmen of Note, the Air Force Strings, the Ceremonial Brass, and numerous chamber groups.
Thurston’s work ranges from solo and chamber music to wind-band pieces at every level from middle and highschool through the professional and military ranks. His published works for school bands appear on many state music lists. His arrangement of “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” written for cello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma and ukulele phenomenon Jake Shimabukuro, is featured on Ma’s 2008 CD “Songs of Joy and Peace.”
Since retiring from active military duty in 2014, Thurston has continued to write for the Air Force Band, including the arrangements for their popular series of Christmas “flash mob” performances (2013-2018), which have garnered hundreds of millions of views on the internet, television and social media platforms.
Before his military service, Thurston taught school bands in Florida and Ohio. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Florida State University, where he also studied arranging and composition with Charles Carter. A native of Tallahassee, Florida, Thurston lives in Northern Virginia. He is the Conductor Emeritus of the Prince William Community Band, based in Woodbridge, Virginia.