The U.S. Field Army Band and Soldiers’ Chorus is performing at Texas A&M University on Friday at 7 p.m. as part of its fall concert tour.
The group will be continuing its long tradition of free public performances, and complimentary tickets are available to the public through the MSC Box Office. The group will perform “This We’ll Defend,” a concert which puts audience members side-by-side with the soldiers who defend our country. Director of the Texas A&M Department of Music Activities, Timothy Rhea, will be guest conducting the second movement of the David Maslanka’s symphony “Give Us This Day”. Select members of the Texas A&M Wind Symphony will join the Army Field Band in the Maslanka symphony and John Philip Sousa’s “Stars & Stripes Forever.”
Brian Sacawa, public affairs representative for the Army Field Band, said the performance will honor heroes of yesterday and ensure that the soldiers standing guard today will be remembered through this concert.
“Every tour that the Army field band does is an opportunity to connect the Army to the American people,” Sacawa said. “We get to honor our veterans and remind the American people that our country is worth protecting.”
Texas A&M was chosen as a stop on the tour for several reasons, said Army Field Band french horn player Kaci Cummings.
“The history of Texas A&M definitely influenced us to perform in College Station on the tour,” Cummings said. “They have many different avenues available to their students. Something the Army has in common with that is that we have so many different jobs available.”
According to Cummings, the tours take about a year to plan from start to finish, and the Army Field Band is on tour around 100 days throughout the year. A unique feature of this specific performance is the collaboration with Texas A&M students who will be performing alongside the Army Field Band.
“We get to let them know that if they wanted to join a military band, that’s an option,” Cummings said. “Even though we have all these different paths, we just want to make sure no one ever feels limited.”
Sacawa said this concert is important because it will offer audience members an opportunity to celebrate veterans and active military members who have made sacrifices for the country.
“In every community that we go to perform and connect with, we bring people together around ideas that we can all agree on and believe in together as Americans,” said Sacawa. “Our military is worth supporting and our veterans are worth saying thank you to.”
To reserve tickets, call 979-845-1234, email [email protected] or go to the MSC Box Office. For more information on the event, visit https://calendar.tamu.edu/tamu/view/event/event_id/110605.