Children tune in Air Force Band holiday concert

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Air Force News Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  The Air Force Band kicked off its holiday season here today with a downtown concert tailored for young concert-goers at the Daughters of the American Republic Constitution Hall.

With performances from four of the band's eight ensembles -the hip-hop/pop band Max Impact, the Singing Sergeants choir, the Concert Band and Air Force Strings - the songs ranged from old familiar holiday favorites to new songs composed by band members.

Band member Master Sgt. Andrew Cleaver was the master of ceremonies for the event, and talked a little about the purpose of the band and the benefits of being involved with it and the Air Force.

"I've been in the service for a number of years," he said, "and I've been to 28 countries. You know, so if you want to grow up and travel, the Air Force is the way to go."

He spoke of how all the musicians play different instruments and do different jobs, but they all work together as a team. The audience, which was made up of mostly middle and elementary school students from the local area and their teachers, responded with enthusiasm, dancing in their seats and applauding with whoops and hollers after each song.

Even not-so-local kids attended the event. Jillian Grall, 9, came with six other family members who drove for three hours from the eastern shore of Maryland to attend the event. As a home-school student, she and her sister, Brianna, 6, and brother, Caleb, 11, had been studying music for the past few months.

"This was my first concert," she said, "and I really liked the harp, and the saxophone, too."

Her mother, Jennifer, said she thought the show was great and worth the long trip. "There is nothing in my area available like this for my children to attend," she said.

The home-school group she belongs to, along with about 300 other families (some of which also attended the show) sent out information about the concert. Jennifer said she was impressed that it was free and catered specifically for the younger crowd. It also introduced them to the Air Force, as they don't know anyone personally in the military. All the children who attended were provided cards to sign for the troops overseas.

"We were sent the cards ahead of time," Jennifer said, "which the kids were very excited about."

They turned the cards into an art project, and "made them fancy," said Jillian. "It was all a lot of fun."

Comment on this story (include name, location, and rank if applicable)