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Spring--a great time for Chamber music!

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Pagnard
  • The U.S. Air Force Band
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, D.C. --   Spring in Northern Virginia offers everyone a wonderful opportunity to see colorful flowers and beautiful trees in full bloom for free! The U.S. Air Force Band offers an equally wonderful opportunity to take in Chamber recitals also for free! There will be seven programs in March, April and May, featuring members of the Air Force Strings, Ceremonial Brass and Concert Band. All of these non-ticketed recitals are free and open to the public.

There will be a series of recitals at The Lyceum in Old Town Alexandria, Va., beginning March 30 at 8 p.m. with "An Evening for Music for Oboe, Clarinet and String Quartet" featuring works by Mozart and Brahms. On April 13 at 8 p.m., join us for "An Evening of Music for Brass Quintet" featuring a mix of classic and contemporary music. Violist Technical Sgt. Wayne Graham and pianist Marina Chamasyan Herder will offer "An Evening of Brahms" on April 27 at 8 p.m. On May 11 at 8 p.m., The U.S. Air Force Band's principal oboist, Technical Sgt. Kevin Darrow will perform a variety of works. Finally, on May 18 at 8 p.m., come see The U.S. Air Force Band's Woodwind Quintet performing dance music by Agay, Piazzolla, Whelan, Joplin and Farkas. The Lyceum is located at 201 South Washington Street in Alexandria, Va.

On April 21, there will be a unique performance featuring the members of The United States Air Force Concert Band's percussion section. Duets will be performed on marimba and vibraphone, and a trio will feature three cajons. Four musicians on two, five-octave marimbas will perform the quartets. The quintet called "Mudra" by Bob Becker is for percussion ensemble with Technical Sgt. Randy Gorman soloing on prepared snare drum. All of the section members look forward to this unusual chance to perform this repertoire. Master Sgt. Marc Dinitz summed it up saying, "Our percussion section does not normally get the opportunity to perform chamber music outside of the concert band. To present these interesting and challenging pieces to the public, while having fun making music with each other, will make this a particularly special event for us." The recital will take place at the Stacy C. Sherwood Community Center at 3740 Old Lee Highway in Fairfax, Va., beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Finally, on May 4 at 8 p.m., members of the Air Force Strings will present "An Evening of Music for String Quartet" at Burke United Methodist Church, 6200 Burke Centre Parkway, Burke, Va. This recital will feature Master Sgts. Mari Washington and Bryce Bunner and Technical Sgts. Luke Wedge and Christine Lightner.

We hope that you can make it to one or more of our Chamber recitals this Spring. For more information about these free programs, or to find out more about The United States Air Force Band, please visit our Calendar.