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Students Join Academy Band in Colorful New England

  • Published
  • By MSgt Steve Przyzycki
  • The USAF Academy Band
Connecticut --  Your United States Air Force Academy Band is enjoying a very successful fall tour to New England. As the changing leaves provide a vivid tapestry for some glorious rides on the buses, the band has responded with its own colorful, sonorous performances. Audience response has been nothing short of spectacular and the halls have been filled to standing room only capacity. The band continues to tell the Air Force story in the most innovative manner all tinged with a contagious excitement that instills patriotism in every concert patron. In downtown Stroudsburg, locals Bob and Nora Roberts recognized Commander Lt Col Larry Lang from the concert the night before. They thanked him for his service to our nation and expressed how proud the concert made them of our troops fighting over seas. Bob Roberts served in the army during World War II. His wife Nora, born in Rome, met him during the war and immigrated to the U.S. Meeting them was a nice send off as we headed out for New Haven, Connecticut.
The band's concert on October 12, 2008 took place in New Haven's historic Shubert Theater. The Shubert opened in 1914. Dubbed the "Birthplace of the Nation's Greatest Hits," seven Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals had their premier here including "South Pacific" in 1949, "The King and I" in 1951 and "The Sound of Music" in 1959. Most memorable was this duo's most famous show "Away We Go!" Opening in 1943 at the Shubert, the show was an instant hit, however the name was changed as it headed to Broadway--it would forever be known after New Haven as "Oklahoma." How fitting it is that The USAF Academy Band would perform Broadway selections in the second half of its show. Gracing this nostalgic stage and performing with the band was Wilbur Cross High School student Danae Morgan on clarinet. She was selected by her Band Director Mr. Jeremy Barnes.
October 13, 2008 found the band in picturesque Plainfield, Connecticut. Students selected to perform with the band by Plainfield High School Band Director Ms. Mehera Ortiz were Cassie Guerin and Emma Walsh on flute, Alison Hammersley on bass clarinet, Schuyler Jackson on bassoon, Kyle Coderre on trombone and Colin Sebastian on Tuba. Colin stated that he plans to major in music following high school graduation. He aspires to be a composer someday. What a treat it was for him to meet world renowned composer Kenneth Fuchs. Dr. Fuchs' "United Artists" was premiered on this tour, and he was present in Plainfield to hear the performance. Greeting the band during the sound check, maestro Fuchs praised them and Lt Col Larry Lang for their excellent performance. He thanked the band for its service and stated that the band was "integral to our country's preservation of freedom." What an honor to play this world class composer's music, all in the setting of the birthplace of our nation, beautiful New England.