Air Force band plans three-state road trip by bus

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  While the Band of the Golden West may represent the United States Air Force, its concert band is hitting the road for a three-state road trip in March.

That sounds like a euphemism, but the ensemble of nearly 50 members plans to travel by bus to Nevada, Arizona and California for 11 performances in a 12-day period.

"It's a big, big road trip," said Tech. Sgt. Charlene Mayes, NCO in charge of media relations for the band and french horn player. "This is the best way we could do it to hit all of these areas."

Although the mode of transportation may seem unlikely for members of the Air Force, the material performed will not.

In addition to familiar patriotic fare such as John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," the performance also will include material by contemporary classical composers Johan de Meij and David Holsinger as well as late soul crooner Natalie Cole.

Airman 1st Class Jim Wright, trombonist, will feature in the de Meij piece, "T-Bone Concerto: Rare." Mayes said Wright is a newcomer to the band.

The band will tackle the four movements of Philip Sparke's "Dance Movements" composition, which Mayes described as one of the "heavy-duty pieces" in the performance.

"It's very challenging and cool to listen to," she said. "It's written really well."
Another to which she applied that tag is Holsinger's "To Tame the Perilous Skies," which features triumphant horn swells. Mayes said it depicts two opposing forces fighting from daybreak to battle.

"It's very descriptive," she said. "(It) has a whole narrative behind it."

A guest vocalist will feature on three songs by Cole, who died in December 2015. One of the pieces is "Unforgettable," a 1952 hit for Cole's father, Nat King Cole, which was re-recorded as a multigenerational duet for the daughter's 1991 "Unforgettable" album.

Among the 10 stops is one at the Ikeda Theater at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona. At this performance, Mayes said band members will work with We are also teaming up with Hill Air Force Base, Arizona's Motion Imagery Productions, which will provide production support as well as using the opportunity for a training mission.

The U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West has a seven-state area of responsibility, covering 726,394 square miles and 62.6 million people across Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. It provides rotational support to the Air Force Central Command Band's deployed mission.

Mayes said that although the band covers several Western states and aims to deliver Air Mobility Command's message of "Right effects, right place, right time," she said that through their music, they aim to be as inclusive as possible.

"Whatever air mobility has on the docket, we like to push, but, ultimately, we represent everybody in the Air Force," Mayes said. "We honor. We inspire. We connect. Those are our primary objectives with the community."

For more information, visit the official website at www.bandofthegoldenwest.af.mil.


Upcoming dates for the U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West:

· 7 p.m. March 3 at Henderson Pavilion, Henderson, Nevada.

· 7:30 p.m. March 4 at Ardery Memorial Auditorium, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona.

· 7 p.m. March 5 at Beardsley Park, Sun City West, Arizona.

· 3 p.m. March 6 at Del Webb Center for the Performing Arts, Wickenburg, Arizona.

· 7 p.m. March 7 at Santa Rita High School Auditorium, Tucson, Arizona.

· 7 p.m. March 8 at Sahuarita Auditorium, Sahuarita, Arizona.

· 7 p.m. March 9 at Sundial Auditorium, Sun City, Arizona.

· 7:30 p.m. March 10 at Ikeda Theater, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, Arizona.

. 7 p.m. March 11 at Coolidge Performing Arts Center, Coolidge, Arizona

· 6 p.m. March 13 at Sunrise Park, Palm Springs, California.

· 7 p.m. March 14 at Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, California.