The U.S. Air Force Band, shown here on stage during a performance, comes to CU 麻豆影院 on Feb. 9 and 10. Photo courtesy Technical Sergeant Patrick Brush.
Musical excellence, intrastate collaboration and the 70th birthday of the U.S. Air Force will all be on display at the College of Music this February.
On Feb. 9 and 10, the College of Music鈥檚 band department hosts the U.S. Air Force Academy Band for a series of master classes and a joint concert in Macky Auditorium. Donald McKinney, director of bands at CU 麻豆影院, says the two groups had been eyeing a collaboration for some time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a unique event鈥攕omething we鈥檝e never done before,鈥� McKinney says. 鈥淭hey were looking for a chance to collaborate with the university, and Macky Auditorium was a big draw, too.鈥�
鈥淲e strive to be on the cutting edge of our field and collaborations with great musicians are a big part of that,鈥� says Captain Shanti Simon. Simon is Flight Commander of the , the largest of nine ensembles of professional musicians at the academy.
鈥淎dditionally, we cherish the opportunity to spend time in the 麻豆影院 community and share the stories of the great things our Air Force is doing around the world,鈥� Simon adds.
The February visit will consist of master classes with the graduate brass and woodwind quintets and will culminate in two concerts: one with the CU Symphonic and Concert bands on Feb. 9 and a joint concert with the USAFA Band and the CU Wind Symphony on Feb. 10.
Says McKinney, 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting that all of our students, even the Concert Band, will be involved. Some of them might end up playing in military bands someday, so being able to see up close what their daily routine is like will be a great learning aspect of the collaboration.鈥�
Senior Airman Adrian Holton, a trumpet player in the band, says part of the goal for the USAFA band is to provide students with a window into the professional music world. 鈥淲e were all there once. There were certainly questions I wish I could have had answered about the life of a military musician, and it鈥檚 great when we can give back and share knowledge of our successes and our failures.鈥�
Additionally, each of the groups will perform a piece written by American composer David Maslanka. Maslanka will be in residence at the college during the collaboration.
鈥淎ny time we can expose our students to a living composer is really valuable for them,鈥� McKinney says.
The Air Force Academy Band will premiere a piece Maslanka wrote for the armed services branch鈥檚 70th birthday. 鈥淔irst Light鈥� is a work in two distinct movements: one dark and one light.
鈥淚n meeting with Maslanka, we didn鈥檛 see the need to limit him on ideas or messaging, but now that the piece is written we can certainly hear the Air Force story in the music,鈥� Holton explains. 鈥淭he idea of darkness moving toward light鈥攐f real change coming from a place of struggle鈥攊s relevant to all aspects of life, but certainly to the Air Force, where we鈥檝e gone from propeller blades to jet planes to guided missiles throughout our history.鈥�
McKinney, who will lead the Wind Symphony in a performance of Maslanka鈥檚 鈥淭raveler,鈥� sees a future for more collaborations like this one.
鈥淲e have a fantastic composition program, which means collaboration between our bands and that department, but every couple of years at least we also bring in a guest composer to work with our bands. And now that the Air Force has seen our willingness to work with them, it opens the door to more collaboration with military bands.
鈥淎nd it ties into the College of Music鈥檚 strategic plan and the idea of partnerships with other institutions. Part of our mission is to expose students to different opportunities than they would have at other institutions.鈥�
鈥淎s Air Force musicians, we collaborate with musicians from premier institutions. We enjoy having the chance to make a positive impact,鈥� Holton adds. 鈥淪o we embrace opportunities to collaborate with music programs like CU鈥檚, especially when [campus]听is right up the road.鈥�
The is Thursday, Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Macky Auditorium; the is Friday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Macky Auditorium. Like all College of Music events, both are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the College of Music events calendar.
