New Harmony plays for more than 5,000 people in Guatemala

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Kost
  • U.S. Air Force Band of Flight Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) --  The United States Air Force Band of Flight's deployed ensemble, New Harmony, recently played for more than 5,000 people in Guatemala.

The group is on tour as part of a United States Southern Command humanitarian mission in support of the Navy's Operation Continuing Promise. The mission provides humanitarian assistance to host nations and sends messages of United States compassion, support, and commitment to the Caribbean and Latin America.

"Guatemala has been another fantastic country for us," said Maj. R. Michael Mench, New Harmony's officer in charge and the Band of Flight commander. "Not only was it amazingly beautiful, but we once again worked with the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City to find locations where support for its initiatives was needed, and paired it with the strategic communications plan for Continuing Promise 2010."

New Harmony consists of a traditional brass quintet, a vocalist, a drummer, and a guitarist and keyboardist. The music New Harmony brings to the mission serves as a bridge from the Continuing Promise vision to each country's citizens.

The brass quintet component provided a calming distraction at medical sites, while the remaining band members boosted troop morale onboard the Navy's U.S.S. Iwo Jima.

The two components also joined forces in several performances to share the band's music with Guatemalan students and community members.

The U.S. Embassy's Access Program, a scholarship curriculum for English-as-a-Second Language university students, sponsored a New Harmony performance in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. After finishing its performance of acoustic rock there, audience members enthusiastically rushed the stage. New Harmony members signed autographs and overcame language barriers to talk with audience members until it was time to return to the ship to prepare for another show at the nearby naval base.

The band also performed for students and community leaders in Tenedores. The performance was of particular significance because it signaled the Continuing Promise presence during the week leading up to the country's independence day celebrations.

"Guatemala has been another fantastic country for us," said Maj. R. Michael Mench, New Harmony's officer in charge and the Band of Flight commander. "Not only was it amazingly beautiful, but we once again worked with the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City to find locations where support for its initiatives was needed, and paired it with the strategic communications plan for Continuing Promise 2010."