NBC's TODAY and the Ceremonial Brass--an Independence Day tradition Published July 19, 2013 By Chief Master Sgt. Jenn Pagnard Washington D.C. -- It's become an annual tradition for The U.S. Air Force Band's Ceremonial Brass to travel to New York City to perform on NBC's TODAY show, and this year was no exception. This was the Brass' 14th appearance on the show on July 4, but every time it's still very exciting to be there. This year's performance was especially poignant for Chief Master Sgt. Ed Teleky, the drum major for the Ceremonial Brass. This marked his final performance with the group as he will be moving on to become the next chief of Operations for The U.S. Air Force Band. After the group's stellar performance, Colonel Larry Lang was interviewed by the TODAY show hosts. After one of the host declaring that NBC loves having the Ceremonial Brass on each year to celebrate Independence Day, Colonel Lang responded, "We love being here!" He went on to give some information about the mission of the Ceremonial Brass: "Their primary role, and we're so proud of them, is honoring our fallen at Arlington Cemetery. These guys do over 800 missions a year." The night before the group's appearance before millions on NBC, they performed a patriotic opener for the Mets major league baseball game. This was the group's fifth appearance at a Mets game. This particular performance was cut short but inclement weather, but after a nearly two hour rain delay, they finished their program and kicked off the game with the National Anthem. Additionally, Senior Master Sgt. Christine Germain from the Singing Sergeants performed "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch. This proved to be a special treat for the more than 38,000 fans in attendance plus more than 181,000 households watching locally on the Sports New York television network.