(FORT McPHERSON, Ga. - Feb. 9, 2011) The U.S. Army Forces Command's Army Ground Forces Band spent a good part of the weekend interfacing with the community with a concert at Clayton State University's Spivey Hall in Morrow, Ga., Friday evening, Feb. 4, and holding clinics with high school and middle school band students and performing follow-up concerts at Peachtree Charter Middle School in Dunwoody, Ga., Saturday, Feb. 5.
The band filled Spivey Hall's 400-seat, "acoustically-superior performing arts venue" with a delightful mix of tunes ranging from Leonard Bernstein to John Williams, from Broadway to marches.
"The band always looks forward to playing at beautiful Spivey Hall," said Maj. Treg Ancelet, the band's commander and conductor. "We were fortunate to have students from Clayton State's music department playing with our ensemble. It's always nice to share a musical experience with local students."
The band's outreach to students continued the next day as members of the band coached groups of Dunwoody High and Peachtree Charter Middle School on their particular instruments.
"We came to give a band clinic for students on different instruments such as trumpet or clarinet or percussion," said Master Sgt. Dave Dorris, "We wanted to show them how it's done and how to get better."
After the master classes, each school's band gave a short concert. Next, the AGFB's Brass Brigade gave a lively concert that got the audience to its feet, which was followed by a crowd-pleasing concert by the full Army Ground Forces Band.
"Thank you so much for coming to work with us," Dunwoody High oboist Natalie Beckenbaugh told AGFB oboist Sgt. Kailin Eskander. "Your advice has really helped me develop better practice and playing techniques. Also, the band's performance was stunning, and I thoroughly enjoyed the oboe feature."
Ancelet noted with regard to the band's weekend, "Bringing a musical morale boost to troops is only one Army band mission. Reaching out to the community, especially the young students, is also one of the Army bands' missions."
Lance Kennedy, a Peachtree Charter Middle School student and percussionist, summed up the students' experience:"It was just really cool and fun."
The Army Ground Forces Band provides musical support for the Army's largest command, U.S. Army Forces Command.
The 64 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.
The band and its various ensembles, or Musical Performance Teams, serve as musical ambassadors for the American combat Soldier to the American people, instilling pride in their troops and support for the nation's military through the performance of music at the local, regional and national levels.
For more information about The Army Ground Forces Band, go to www.forscom.army.mil/band/.
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