AF reserve band performs with local students

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Bryan Franks
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Band of the United States Air Force Reserve wowed more than 300 middle and high school band students at Choctawhatchee High School during a concert Oct. 2 in Fort Walton Beach.

The 40-member band was offered the opportunity by the school's band director Chad Hannah to play at the high school after performing at the 33d Fighter Wing re-designation ceremony Oct. 1. 

"I wasn't going to let the chance to get a professional band to perform for my students pass us by," Mr. Hannah said. "The band is a good model for how we want our students to play and the best way for them to learn is through listening to music our band is planning to play this concert season." 

The concert was treated like a master's class with the Reserve band commander Maj. Donald Schofield stopping between selections to explain various concepts of performance. As a former band director himself, he understands the importance of educating and encouraging future musicians. 

"Performances like this give us an opportunity to engage with the next generation of musicians," he said. "It also gives us the chance to demonstrate Air Force professionalism. As a reserve band, we don't get a lot of time to play as a group, so I expect my members to be great individual musicians." 

Choctawhatchee band members joined the reserve band to play "The Gallant Seventh" by John Philip Sousa. The band first played the piece exactly like the score was written then played the piece with some musical flare changing a typical march into something that brought cheers from the crowd. 

"It was an amazing experience to play with a professional band...I think it made me play better, because I could hear what the music was suppose to sound like," said Daniel Wright, an 11th grade saxophone player at the high school. "It's hard to believe that this was the second time they played this piece of music." 

Some of the highlights of the hour long performance included a clarinet solo in which the musician slowly disassembled the clarinet through the musical number while still playing and a bag pipe solo, the school's assistant band director Kelly Delinski also served as a guest conductor for one of the band's numbers. 

The Band of the United States Air Force Reserve travels all over the world and in the past 12 months has showcased their talent to more than 100 million people including deployed service members.