The ETSU Jazz band led by David Champouillon will be performing in honor of veteran military musicians tomorrow, April 29.
The concert titled “Spring Jazz in the Culp – A Salute to Our Veterans: Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Airforce Past!” will feature music students of ETSU as well as well-renowned veteran military musicians.
Photograph courtesy of www.etsu.edu
“The military band is the origin of our marching bands, wind ensembles and concert bands,” Champouillon said. “Much of the literature is the basis of concert band literature.”
The featured guest artists are all Air Force veterans, and they have traveled from across the country to be able to perform as honored guests in the upcoming performance.
“This was a chance to honor military band veterans, and all veterans, as well as to have a reunion of those I served with in the band,” Champouillon said. “I have been wanting to do this for a while. The military bands serve a great purpose still today – ceremonial, public relations, recruitment and service events for the bases. Many musicians got their start in military bands.”
The prestige and discipline of military bands is often something other musicians admire and aspire to attain, and Champouillon stressed that this concert will have a profound impact on his students as well as the audience.
“Students get to play with great players, audiences get to hear great players, and these great players get to reunite after 30 years,” Champouillon said. “We all get to say thank you to those who have served our country through music.”
Many of the musicians featured have been playing together on and off for several decades and started their military band careers in the United States Air Force Band of the Golden Gate.
The concert will feature renowned military jazz artists such as Wayne Wilkinson, Ken French and Terry Viano as well as Champouillon himself.
The concert will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. For more information, contact the music department at 423-439-4276.
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