10/25/07 -- The USAF Band of the Golden West Concert Band recently departed Travis Air Force Base for a one-week tour to the Las Vegas area. We had been rehearsing the music for two weeks in our band facility at Travis, and we were looking forward to this trip. Not only
would we be bringing the Air Force message to the large population centers of southern Nevada - we would also be performing three of the five concerts with the Boston Brass, the world renowned brass quintet!
The band had performed previously with the Boston Brass in February 2007 at the Music Educators National Conference, Northwest Division in Portland. That performance was such a success that the band arranged for the Boston Brass to perform with them on three concerts during this Nevada tour: at the University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) campus, the Events Plaza in Henderson, Nevada, and at the Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza in Las Vegas. The band also presented concerts at Mesquite and Boulder City. "This set of concerts with the Boston Brass continues a long tradition this band has carried forth, bringing in outstanding, talented artists to complement the band's excellence and to challenge the band musicians to an even greater level of professionalism," commented Major R. Michael Mench, the band commander. "We were really excited about this opportunity to share the stage with the Boston Brass, and the performances with them were a fantastic experience!"
On the three concerts performed with both groups, the Band of the Golden West opened the show with Nabucco Overture by Giuseppe Verdi, March of the Tankmen by Semyon Tchernesky, and retired Chief Master Sergeant Tom Watts' arrangement of Italian Street Song by Victor Herbert, featuring Airman First Class Rachel Trimble as soprano soloist. These were followed by the world premiere of Flight, composed for the Band of the Golden West and the Boston Brass by Rick DeJonge, and then España by French composer Emmanuel Chabrier. In the second half of the program, a group of selections from the Boston Brass alone was sandwiched between patriotic and popular pieces from the Band of the Golden West. The first performance was on October 17 at the Ham Concert Hall on the University of Nevada - Las Vegas campus, a state-of-the art facility. Professor Tom Leslie, Director of Bands at UNLV, guest-conducted the band that night on Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Jesters. "It's one of America's great bands," Dr. Leslie said of the Band of the Golden West, "and this chance to perform with them was terrific-You should be really proud!" Lance LaDuke, the trombone and euphonium player of the Boston Brass, had similar words of praise for the band that night. "Since playing in Portland with them, we've been looking forward to performing again with the Band of the Golden West. We really enjoy this." LaDuke is a former member of The USAF Band in Washington, DC. The next night found the band and the Boston Brass entertaining an enthusiastic audience at nearby Henderson, Nevada, at an outdoor amphitheater. Then on the following night of the 19th, both groups performed at the Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza, at Lorenzi Park in Las Vegas. It was a beautiful, warm evening, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the music. Being our last concert with the Boston Brass, at least for now, their leader Jeff Connors told us, "It's been an honor and a privilege working with you, and we hope to do it again!"
The last two concerts found us playing at Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite, NV, and an outdoor amphitheater at Boulder City, NV. At these concerts, the parts of the program previously filled by the Boston Brass were filled with a duet from Airman First Class Jamie Lantz (cornet) and Airman First Class Ryan Williams (trombone) on a Herbert Clarke featurette entitled Cousins, and also with a Stevie Wonder medley showcasing the fantastic vocal talents of Airman First Class Pamela Kelley.