Clarinetist Performs Farewell Solo With the Band Published Jan. 13, 2009 By TSgt Bob Newlin and SSgt Anne Epperly USAF Heritage of America Band 13 January 2009 -- Senior Airman Amy McCann will perform a movement of David Maslanka's Desert Roads: Four Songs for Clarinet and Wind Ensemble with the Concert Band at three performances in South Carolina February 6-8, including a concert for the South Carolina Music Educators Association conference. Airman McCann learned about the piece from her former teacher, Dr. John Weigand of West Virginia University. Desert Roads is unique because it is one of the few pieces actually written for solo clarinet and wind ensemble (most solos are orchestral or piano transcriptions). Maslanka has distinguished himself as a composer for winds; his compositions are known to be accessible, yet original. He has written ten concertos for soloist and wind band, and Desert Roads, written in 2005, is one of his most recent. The movement, "Coming Home," represents a journey that ends in the peace and comfort of home. It is dedicated to the great band leader Frederick Fennell, who was a mentor of Maslanka. SrA McCann will be separating from the Air Force later this year, so her February performances are a sort of "farewell" to the Air Force life she's known for the past four years. "It's been quite an adventure. There have been good times and bad. But, overall, it was a great first job after graduate school. And although I've decided that the military life just isn't for me, I'll really miss all the great people I've worked with in the band." After finishing her active duty service, SrA McCann will return to school to complete her doctoral degree. While she was preparing for her entrance auditions, the band's commander, Lt Col Doug Monroe, suggested she perform a solo with the band. Senior Airman McCann holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University and a Master of Music degree from West Virginia University, where she was the winner of the 2004 WVU Young Artists Concerto Competition.