Airmen of Note Gets New Digs!

The Airmen of Note’s new rehearsal space is pictured above. The long-awaited facility will provide the “Note” with decades of music making, maximizing the group’s status as the world’s finest big band. In the old rehearsal studio, the 18-member ensemble would have enough room for themselves, their music, some instrument cases and maybe a few filing cabinets. The new space, which is located inside the old Community Center at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling could fit three times as many musicians.

Airmen of Note Gets New Digs!

The Airmen of Note test the new studio to determine the best position for rehearsal setup. The long-awaited facility will provide the “Note” with decades of music making, maximizing the group’s status as the world’s finest big band. In the old rehearsal studio, the 18-member ensemble would have enough room for themselves, their music, some instrument cases and maybe a few filing cabinets. The new space, which is located inside the old Community Center at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, could fit three times as many musicians.

Airmen of Note Gets New Digs!

Published Nov. 27, 2010
By Master Sgt. Brian McCurdy
The USAF Band

JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING, D.C. -- At the end of October, The USAF Band's Airmen of Note got an early holiday gift--a brand new, state-of-the-art rehearsal space! The long-awaited facility will provide the "Note" with decades of music making, maximizing the group's status as the world's finest big band.

Tech. Sgt. Paige Martin, vocalist with the Note, described the new space, saying, "The room is designed with acoustic panels that are very effective. The entire wall behind the band is made up of dampening tiles, and the wall across from the band is reverberant tile."

One of the major problems with the old space was the health risk that it posed. Sergeant Martin said, "The new space is especially grand compared to the room we were in, which was deemed an auditory health risk by Air Force audiologists. That was, in fact, one of the major catalysts behind this move."

In the old rehearsal studio, the 18-member ensemble would have enough room for themselves, their music, some instrument cases and a few filing cabinets. The new space, which is located inside the old Community Center at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, could fit three times as many musicians--and still have room for all of their instruments (saxophone players often double on flute, clarinet and bass clarinet).

"I have the opportunity to sit in front of the band and just listen from that vantage point, as opposed to being inside the ensemble all the time," said Sergeant Martin. "The sound in the room is very nice, full and rich."

For pictures of the new rehearsal space, as well as the latest photos and updates from the "Note's" 2010 fall tour, please visit their Facebook page.