Army Field Band To Offer Free Concert In Crockett
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Master Sgt. David Bullman and Sgt. First Class Michelle Laske, tour coordinators for the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus, were officially welcomed to Crockett Monday with coonskin caps.
Representatives from the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus were in Crockett Monday to tour the site of the band’s future performance. According to Bryan Lake, the Pineywoods Fine Arts Association’s executive director, former County Judge Lonnie Hunt asked the PWFAA to help coordinate the event.
“It was our intention (and still is) to co-sponsor this with the city, Chamber and county in honor of the county’s 175th birthday,” Lake wrote in an e-mail statement.
The performance is slated for 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 19, at Crockett’s Civic Center. Tickets are expected to be handed out by the end of February, and arrangements to pick them up can be made by calling to PWFFA offices from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on weekdays at 936-544-4276.
The 65 member concert band and 29 member chorus is under the direction of Col. Timothy Holtan and consists of the ‘best of the best’ woodwind, brass and percussion instrumentalists and vocalists, tour coordinator Sgt. First Class Michelle Laske said.
“Most of the people in ours have their master's, and a lot have their doctorates' (in music),” Laske said. “It is the premier Army band. They come from the best music schools throughout the country.”
The band just celebrated its 65th anniversary last year and originated as the First Combat Infantry Band during World War II, Master Sgt. David Bullman said.
“It was first put together to gain support soldiers and the selling of war bonds,” Bullman said. “After the war started winding down, they just kind of kept that going as a public affairs thing.”
The band would undergo a few name changes, yet its members continued to serve as musical ambassadors. In the late 1960s, the choir was added along with women members, Bullman said.
“We’ve been in every state and territory,” he said.
Concert-goers can expect a little bit of everything ranging from patriotic to pop music to a special Armed Forces tribute and “Stars and Stripes” at the end, Laske said.
The stop in Crockett is an open invitation to all members of the public; and area band directors within a 50 mile radius can be on the lookout for a special invitation. Laske said they can contact Jason Stephens at 301-677-5331 if they’re interested in having a clinic close to the March performance.
Rachael Riley may be reached via e-mail at Rriley@messenger-news.com
