FORSCOM band pursues professional development with major music industry trainer

FORT McPHERSON, Ga. (April 15, 2011) - The Army Ground Forces Band's Brass Brigade and Loose Cannons are always looking to take their performances to a higher level.

One way these members of the U.S. Army Forces Command's band have sought to do that was by having Tom Jackson Productions of Nashville, Tenn., come here for a two-day training session, April 13-14.

Tom Jackson Productions states that its mission is to help build artists' live music shows, taking their performances from good to great.

The company's teaching and live music producing have influenced artists from numerous genres for successful tours and events. Its methods have helped shape the live shows of many of today's artists such as Taylor Swift, Jordin Sparks, James Bryan and Casting Crowns.

"It's my job to help you 'create memorable moments' in your show so that you will be able to connect emotionally with your audience so that they will leave your show in total awe and amazement," Lang Bliss, Tom Jackson Productions's live music producer, told the band's Soldiers.

The two-day training session consisted of a critique of each song, movement, solo and transition the two groups make during typical performances. After the critiques, Bliss reworked the shows from start to finish, focusing on improving each performer's stage presence.

Bliss also worked with each group on rearranging its musical selections and performing them in a way that would tell a story to the audience.

"It is important to play these songs in a way that will build up your audience's expectation. You have to come up with different approaches to make sure they are engaged in your show at all times," he stated.

"This has been a great learning experience for me. I've had trouble in the past with trying to figure out what to do on stage. Too often you get up there and don't know what to do. This workshop has taught me things like where to stand the microphone and how to work the stage," said Staff Sgt. Tanner, the Brass Brigade's vocalist and saxophone player.

"Tom Jackson gave a seminar at last year's Army Band Leaders Training conference. He was quite impressive on how he helped the musicians with stage presence and relating to the audience," noted Maj. Treg Ancelet, the band commander. "He has really helped us grow and improve these last two days. Our show was great before, but now it is even better."

The 64-member Army Ground Forces Band performs about 300 concerts a year at local, regional and national events. It also conducts master music classes and clinics at high schools and colleges around the country.

The Soldiers assigned to the band have passed highly selective auditions and are among the finest musicians in the United States Army Band Program. The majority of the band's members have studied music at leading universities and conservatories in the United States and abroad.

For information about the U.S. Army Forces Command's Army Ground Forces Band, visit http://www.forscom.army.mil/band/.

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FORSCOM band pursues professional development with major music industry trainer