We went to an amazing concert in McHenry last night - by the United States Navy Band!!!!!!!
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| (I did not take this picture. This is the official Navy Band Portrait from navyband.navy.mil) |
McHenry was their last stop on their 25-day, 4000-mile 2012 national tour.
I listen to classical music frequently and I especially enjoy the military-like marches of John Philip Sousa .... but it was TOTALLY different hearing the music live by one of America's most renowned bands!
I believe they played about 15 songs - and they were all equally incredible but there are a few I remember better than others - particularly the ones with the vocalists and Armed Forces Parade, and the one with the soloist on the saxophone.
I didn't get good pictures because we sat kind of in the middle and to the side - plus I didn't have much room left on my memory card so I had to take really low definition pictures and videos. But these are a few of the ones I did get...
This is the "Voice of the Navy", Chief Musician Courtney Williams (left, and below) and the conductor Captain Brian O. Walden (right, and right below).
Chief Musician Williams has the most incredible voice I have EVER heard. He started the program by saying a few things about the Navy but we couldn't see him and thought it was this amazing recording! Mom kept saying she didn't expect that voice out of that guy! All the feature musicians listed in the program have resumes a mile long and this guy was no exception. He sang at the memorial service of Rear Admiral Alan Shepard (the astronaut), and at the "National Day of Prayer and Remembrance" at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., and was the world-wide announcer for the 2008 presidential inauguration!
(This is a link to a page about Muc. Williamshttp://www.navyband.navy.mil/williams_courtney.shtml, and this is a link for a narration about the Navy (Presence with a Purpose) by him so you can hear his awesome voice. http://www.navyband.navy.mil/Sounds/Concert%20Band/williamsPresenceWithAPurpose.mp3
And we got to hear him sing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic"! I did video it but the program actually said videoing was prohibited without prior permission from the Navy - so I think I'd better not post it :( BUT!!! The following video is one of him that's already on youtube! The video begins with Williams singing the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and then goes to the "Armed Forces on Parade" and ends with a part of "Stars and Stripes Forever"! This is very much how it sounded last night. Also, Karissa had the idea that her and Kaitlyn, and I should wear our "Air Force Sister" shirts that we got last summer. So when he said "...if you or a member of you family have served, please stand proudly...", we all stood up for the Air Force's song and unzipped our jackets ... pretty proud moment (Your Always In Our Thoughts, Kent).
Doesn't that voice just send chills down your spine! ...made me shiver :) Of course, the recording cannot in any way compare to hearing it live ... but it helps keep the memory fresh!
A few shots of the band from where we were sitting...not a great vantage point....
The Navy also invited one student from each area high school (about 5 I think) to participate in one song during the evening - that song being "Washington Post" by John Philip Sousa". After the song, the narrator (Muc. Williams) commended the students/musicians as well as their parents for the encouragement and support they provide their children.
This lady here ^ was the female vocalist and she also had a spectacular voice. She had an incredibly clear and beautiful voice as well:) He name is Chief Musician Yolanda Pelzer. She's always had such an amazing voice that Ella Fitzgerald (the lady that could break a glass when she sang really high) invited her to sing on stage with her when Yolanda was FIVE! So she sang an Ella Fitzgerald song ("Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book" by Cole Porter) and a Rosemary Clooney (who was in "White Christmas" and also a famous singer) song - "Mambo Italiano" - and finally, "My Ship" from Lady in the Dark.
These are a few videos I found online with the U.S. Navy band - They are all songs that were performed live for us last night. These were all just performed this February (2012) in Bowie, Maryland under the direction of Commanding Officer Captain Brian O. Walden (who, as I said, was the conductor at the concert we attended last night - March 30).
This was the first song performed last evening: "Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld" by Jacques Offenbach.
"The Spirit of the U.S.N." was second, by Alton Augustus Adams who became the Navy's first African-American Bandmaster in 1917 and led the Navy Band of the Virgin Islands.
Later on, "The Glass Bead Game I" was performed with Musician 1st Class Jason Ayoub performing the French Horn solo.
There was another song they played last night ("La Ronde des Lutins" by Antonio Bazzini) with Musician 1st Class Jonathan Yanik performing a saxophone solo... which was quite spectacular!
The whole concert was amazing...
... a delight,
... a THRILL!
