Standing stage right, Staff Sgt. Ryan Scott operates a camcorder on a jib shooting extreme close-ups or wide angle shots as requested via headset by Staff Sgt. Joshua Buxton. 77th Army Band musicians played their annual Veterans Day concert with some also manning video cameras to pre-record the music and air it Nov. 11 on Facebook.
Warrant Officer Richard Townes directs the 77th Army Band during a recording session at McMahon Memorial Auditorium Nov. 5, in Lawton. The band also recorded music selections Nov. 4, which were then assembled for the band’s first-ever virtual concert Nov. 11.
Staff Sgt. Joshua Buxton, concert production noncommissioned officer in charge, directs the recording angles and effects of six fellow band members on video recording equipment throughout the hall. Buxton, who originally joined the band as a trombonist, has been producing and shooting Army videos for about the last six years.
FORT SILL, Okla., Nov. 12, 2020 -- The 77th Army Band presented a special concert salute to veterans Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. harkening back to the post’s early days with a program titled “Frontier Living.”
The evening of music featured marches, such as “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “The Light Cavalry Overture,” popular at the tail end of the 19th century, but conveyed via livestreaming on Facebook, drawing on 21st century media concepts.
“I think that it’s really important that we honor our veterans, and if we have to do it virtually that’s great for us as musicians to still reach out to the community in some fashion,” said Staff Sgt. Joshua Buxton, production noncommissioned officer in charge, of the band’s first virtual concert.
Although the concert appeared live, as it was broadcast at 7 p.m., the band prerecorded the music Nov. 4 and 5 at McMahon Memorial Auditorium in Lawton.
But more than Army melodies, Buxton also directed six fellow band members who recorded the concert from six different cameras on stage, in the balcony, and other parts of the auditorium.
The concert appeared on the Facebook pages for the band as well as Fort Sill. However, should you have missed the concert, social media enables the virtual audience to select the concert from the Videos folder on either Facebook page and listen at a time that fits their own schedules. If that still doesn’t appease the audience, the band also has a YouTube.com page people can subscribe to.
In times past, Buxton would have played his trombone or perhaps spoken to the audience through a megaphone. Now his duties reached to the back of the auditorium where he managed the work of multiple camera operators, also band members.
“I’m going to be speaking with all the camera operators telling them what shots to go for,” he said.
The end product, for Buxton, is all about reaching veterans and honoring them for their service.
“It’s something I cherish every day that we have a lot of veterans in the United States and to be able to honor them with music that’s the most powerful gift we can give,” said Buxton, who hails from Hinton, Oklahoma.
Buxton said he’s been doing this additional duty for about six years. “A lot of us serve in multiple roles, so my role has been as a public affairs/producer. I’ve taken a great interest into learning this stuff.”
And that’s good for the Army, for after Buxton completes his assignment here, he will move on to Fort Meade, Maryland, where he will become the video producer for the Army Field Band.
Though Buxton will move on, he said other skilled musicians will step in.
“Army bands are great about picking talent throughout the world as there are many individuals from other countries who have served in Army bands,” he said.
Or, they come from just down the road.
French hornist Sgt. Preston Drain has been with the band for nearly two years. He’s something of a local product growing up in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Also, four years with the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras plus a college degree at the University of Central Oklahoma drew him even closer.
In addition to playing his instrument, Drain serves as the unit public affairs representative where he records and edits videos.
Moving over from the Oklahoma Army National Guard, Drain said active-duty service agrees with him.
“I love it, because I get to play music first, (playing for) changes of command and retirement ceremonies, the Veterans Day and holiday concerts,” he said. “But, we’re also Soldiers so we work out to stay fit, qualify on our weapons, and get to do some really fun stuff that many musicians never do.”
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