The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" performed two concerts, Nov. 13 and 14, in New York. A performance was held at Trinity Church on Wall Street on Friday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. featuring The U.S. Army Chorus and U.S. Army Strings. This concert, conducted by Capt. Scott McKenzie and Maj. Paul Bamonte, was webcast and can be seen in the concert series' archives. See related link.
An enthusiastic audience of over 2,100 New York patrons filled Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, on Saturday, Nov. 14, for the annual U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" concert, this year entitled: "Sweet Land of Liberty."
The hosts for the concert from Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region and The U.S. Army Military District of Washington were Col. Tracey E. Nicholson, chief of staff, and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael W. Williams.
"The New York concerts showed a tremendous output of support for members of our Armed Forces," Nicholson said, adding that "a sense of pride and enthusiasm was in the faces of all who attended -- from our family members, school groups, veterans, active duty military and civilians."
Conductors were Col. Thomas Rotondi, leader and commander of "Pershing's Own," and Capt. Scott McKenzie, conductor of The U.S. Army Chorus. The concert featured The U.S. Army Concert Band, Chorus, Strings, and a special performance by The U.S. Army Brass Quintet. The crowd gave several standing ovations and calls for encores rang throughout the hall.
The program was a musical journey that began with John Williams' " The Cowboys Overture" followed by "Premiere Rhapsodie," by Claude Debussy, which featured the winner of the 2009 U.S. Army Band New York City Metro Area Young Artist Competition, Adela Kim, a Horace Mann School sophomore, on the clarinet.
The U.S. Army Strings wowed the audience as they strolled through the audience on the orchestra level with Richard Rogers tunes, "Autumn in New York," by Vernon Duke, and an original arrangement of Michael Jackson tunes that had the audience clapping and cheering.
The U.S. Army Brass Quintet had the audience on its feet with a spirited arrangement of Three Gospel Favorites: "O Happy Day;" "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot;" and "When the Saints Go Marching In." This performance marked the last New York appearance of long-time members of the Brass Quintet: Sgt. Maj. Woodrow English, trumpet, and Sgt. Maj. Denny Edelbrock, also on trumpet. They will both retire within the next year with a cumulative 67 years of Army service between them.
Featured soloists sang selections from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," notably Sgts. 1st Class Alvy Powell, bass; Colin Eaton, tenor; and Leigh Ann Hinton, soprano, who gave a beautiful and haunting retention of the classic "Summertime."
A tradition each year, Veterans were honored with the performance of Sgt. 1st Class
Michael Brown's arrangement of the service song of each of the five branches of the U.S. Military in "Service Medley." The songs are performed in order from the youngest, the U.S. Coast Guard, to the Army, the most "mature." The concert announcer directed members of each represented service to stand and be recognized when each service song was played and sung.
Finalists from the Young Artist Competition, David Davani, North Side High School, clarinet; Alexander Jaffee, Stuyvesant High School, horn; Nancy Son, W.T. Clarke High School, flute; and Mark Zhuang, Staten Island Technical High School, flute, joined the band for the last selection, Irving Berlin's "Land That I Love" and the encore "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Phillip Sousa.
The Brass Quintet and Sgt. 1st Class Pablo Talamante, tenor, were featured later in the evening on the "Geraldo Live!" television program on FOX.
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