Lieutenant Andrea Sematoske, a native of Syracuse, New York, studied bassoon performance at the Eastman School of Music and the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, from which she holds a Bachelor of Music and a Graduate Performance Diploma.
Sematoske enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2007 and reported to her first tour at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band in Hampton, Virginia. In 2009, she served as the bassoon instructor at the Naval School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 2013, she enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was assigned to the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Sematoske then served as the audition supervisor and assistant detailer at Fleet Band Activities in Millington, Tennessee.
Lieutenant Sematoske commissioned as a bandmaster in 2019. After attending the Limited Duty Officer Academy in Newport, Rhode Island, she reported to her first officer assignment as the Concert and Ceremonial Band department head for the United States Navy Band, Washington, D.C. In 2022, Sematoske reported to the Naval School of Music as the training officer and assumed executive officer duties in 2024.
Sematoske has performed with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra, Maui Chamber Orchestra and the Maui Pops Orchestra. She has served as a guest clinician and adjudicator for bands across the United States and has performed in two dozen countries around the world.
Her personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3 awards), Army Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3 awards) and the Army Achievement Medal (3 awards).