Band members, Kyrgyz citizens share culture through music

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MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) --  Members of the Air Force Band Yuma played 10 concerts during an eight-day tour Sept. 4 through 11 throughout Kyrgyzstan.

The band visited Manas Air Base and performed at a number of schools, orphanages and other venues in the local Kyrgyz communities.

Yuma is a five-person band that fuses elements of contemporary music from today's hip-hop, pop and urban sounds as well as everything in between. During their performances, band members played songs from well-known bands and artists such as Destiny's Child, Maroon 5, Christina Aguilera and Jimmy Hendrix, not to mention original works from the band itself.

During a trip to the Bishkek Music College, approximately 100 Kyrgyz students at the music college hollered every verse and clapped their hands to the rhythm of the Black Eyed Peas smash hit, "Let's Get It Started," sang by Master Sgt. Regina Coonrod. 

What was more surprising was the reaction at the concert .

The band also entertained more than 150 students at the Bishkek School for the Deaf. The children, all either partially or fully deaf, enjoyed rap and Latin American songs, not because they knew the words, but because they could feel the heavy beats. Vibrations of the drums and riffs from the bass guitar.

Master Sgt. Ryan Carson, a band vocalist, brought up children so they could feel the music drumming out though the speakers and into their hands.

"The students were surprisingly more responsive compared to most of our audiences," Sergeant Coonrod said. "The kids were really into the music. They were all up singing and dancing to the beats and vibrations."

"This is all the kids have talked about for weeks," said Karpeova Dinara, the senior educator for the deaf center's preparatory school. "And this is all they will talk about for weeks after they leave. It really was a big occasion for them." 

The largest audience of any performance on the trip was at the Nizhanchiusk Orphanage, with approximately 350 children The children sat quietly in anticipation until Sergeant Carson broke the ice with a high-energy medley that brought them all to their feet and out to dance.

The children had loads of fun dancing and playing instruments with the band, but were sure to respect their teachers' instructions and return to their chairs after each song. Several bashful young boys also took a liking to Sergeant Coonrod while she sat close amongst them and sang sweetly to each of them.

While Yuma made a huge impact in the hearts of the young Kyrgyz children, they entertained and boosted the morale of more than 1,000 Airmen and servicemembers at Manas AB.

"I was very pleased to see the positive impact the band had on the morale of the troops at Manas, and was especially thrilled to see their impact in the Kyrgyz community," said Chief Master Sgt. Barbara Taylor, the band superintendent who accompanied Yuma on their visit. 

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