January 15, 2018 - Fairfax, VA -- The U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West Saxophone Quintet performed at the 2018 International Saxophone Symposium in Fairfax, Virginia on January 13. The performance took place at the George Mason University Center for the Arts and coincided with various other performances, masterclasses, and lectures designed for musicians of all ages.
The International Saxophone Symposium is an annual event that has been hosted by the United States Navy Band since 1978. This was coincidentally the 40th anniversary for the event, which coincided nicely with the recent 70th anniversary of the Air Force. The symposium allowed these Air Force musicians the opportunity to showcase AMC excellence and professionalism through their musical performance.
“The saxophone quintet started as an idea between myself and another band member to improve the cohesion of our sax section,” said Airman 1st Class Ian O’Beirne, musical director of the group.
Other group members include Master Sgt. Jeremiah True, Tech. Sgt. Marco Muñoz, Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Nee, and Staff Sgt. Nathan Heald.
Airman O’Beirne helped arrange one of the pieces the group performed and composed a brand new piece, Trust Autumn, which was debuted at the symposium.
“This piece is semi-autobiographical in nature,” said O’Beirne, “and deals with the readjustment to normal life and recovery of personality after basic training.”
The group also had the privilege of premiering a brand new piece entitled, The Autonomy Quintet, by famous jazz musician and composer, Gordon L. Goodwin.
“It was an honor to showcase the talents of our AMC Airmen-Musicians not only to the military band community who were in attendance, but also to the International Musical Community,” said Sgt. True, non-commissioned officer in charge of the saxophone quintet.
Band of the Golden West members have the opportunity to interact with the general public and recruit through music on a regular basis. Performing at the symposium was just another example of how our musicians regularly demonstrate the excellence of all the airmen in the AMC and the U.S. Air Force.