Honoring Memorial Day Published April 30, 2015 By Technical Sgt. Mandi Harper Washington, D.C. -- Members of five Band ensembles will participate in events commemorating Memorial Day throughout the National Capital Region. To kick off the commemorations, The U.S. Air Force Orchestra will perform at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall as part of the National Memorial Day Choral Festival on Sunday, May 24 at 3 p.m. The program will be co-directed by Col. Larry H. Lang, commander and conductor of The U.S. Air Force Band, retired Air Force Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel, the Band's conductor emeritus, and retired Air Force Lt. Col/Dr. Craig Jessop, a former Air Force band conductor and former music director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. During Jessop's Air Force career, he served as director of the Singing Sergeants, commander and conductor of the Band of the U.S. Air Force in Europe at Ramstein, Germany and commander and conductor of the Air Combat Command Heartland of America Band. The National Memorial Day Choral Festival program will feature Ralph Vaughan Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem," Mack Wilberg's "Let Peace Then Still the Strife," John Williams' "Hymn to the Fallen" and much more. Tickets are free but required for this event. As in previous years, the Singing Sergeants will perform in the Memorial Day concert with the National Symphony Orchestra on the west lawn of the Capitol Building on Sunday, May 24 at 8 p.m. PBS's National Memorial Day Concert has become a national tradition, and this will be its 26th year honoring our nation's veterans. Though the guest artists have not been publicly announced, the show will be hosted by Tony Award winner Joe Mantegna and Emmy Award winner Gary Sinise. This event is free and does not require tickets. It will also be broadcast on local PBS stations. Please check your local listings for more information. On Monday, May 25 at 9 a.m., a quintet from the Ceremonial Brass and Technical Sgt. Paige Wroble from the Airmen of Note will participate in the Remembrance and Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Air Force Memorial. Additionally, a ceremonial bugler will render taps as part of a ceremony at the Korean War Veterans Memorial at 3 p.m. For more information: PBS/National Symphony Orchestra http://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/home/ http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/event/NPMEM Choral Festival/USAF Symphony Orchestra http://www.memorialdaychoralfestival.org/upcoming_festival.html Tickets: http://www.memorialdaychoralfestival.org/tickets.html Air Force Memorial http://www.airforcememorial.org/home Korean War Veterans Memorial http://www.koreanwarvetsmemorial.org/