Sergeant First Class Marlena Dillenbeck is a native of Coopersville, Michigan. She holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Bachelor of Music degree from Michigan State University. Prior to joining The U.S. Army Field Band, SFC Dillenbeck played principal clarinet with the Ann Arbor Symphony, attended the Aspen Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Jerusalem International Symphony Orchestra Festival, and was a member of the New World Symphony under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas. She has performed with the Colorado Music Festival, the Colorado Symphony, and served as principal clarinetist of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra for ten years.