# The USAF Heritage of America Band



## itywltmt

En français: http://itywltmt.blogspot.com/2011/11/usaf-heritage-of-america-band.html

On my Friday blog, I started a mini-series on the *music of the two World Wars*, and I thought I would keep to the "Armed Forces" theme today by playing some military marches and such.

My go-to resource for such this is the *recording archive of the USAF Heritage of America Band*, which I featured some weeks ago in these pages (alongside its long-time resident composer and arranger Aldo Forte)

Here is a snippet about the Band, from its website: 


> It was one of the original Army Air Corps bands, created by order of the Secretary of War on October 1, 1941 and assigned to Barksdale Field, Louisiana. In June 1946, after a short stay at Brooks Field, Texas, the band arrived at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, its current home.
> 
> For over half a century, the band has represented the Air Force with musical and military distinction. Members bring music to the mid-Atlantic in live concerts and to the nation in televised events such as The Today show and the DESERT STORM National Victory Parade, as well as presidential inaugural events. The Heritage of America Band has performed ceremonies for U.S presidents and foreign heads of state, including the Queen of England and the President of France. Using today's technology, the band reaches a world wide audience through its website and compact disc recordings.
> 
> The band's 45 men and women are assigned to two primary ensembles: the USAF Heritage of America Concert Band and the Blue Aces popular music ensemble. The concert band breaks down into five smaller touring groups: the Heritage Brass Quintet, the Langley Winds woodwind ensemble, Rhythm in Blue jazz ensemble, and are newest dixie style ensemble Heritage Ramblers. Each year, the band's components travel more than 30,000 miles to perform hundreds of concerts for listeners across a six-state region from Pennsylvania to South Carolina.


So, yes, some selections from the standard military band repertoire, as well as concert band pieces - some of which you would not expect!

Happy listening!

*PLAYLIST*
_USAF Heritage of America Band; Major Larry H. Lang, conductor_​
*Keith GATES (1948-2007) *
_Concertino for Flute and Wind Ensemble_ (1996)
Wayne Hedrick, flute
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL342A4365C70739F0

*Gustav HOLST (1874-1934)*
_Suite No.1, for Military Band_ in E-Flat Major, Op.28, No.1
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/recordings/flourishes.asp
(Scroll down to the hyperlinked selections)

*Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)*
_Le sacre du printemps_ (The Rite of Spring) (1911-13)
(Transcribed for wind band by Terry Vosbein)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/recordings/stravinsky-strauss.asp
(Scroll down to the hyperlinked selections)

*Samuel BARBER (1910-1981)* 
_Commando March_, for concert band (1943)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070621-038.mp3

*Edwin Eugene BAGLEY (1857-1922) *
_National Emblem_, march for band (1906)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070619-034.mp3

*Robert MacArthur CRAWFORD (1899-1961)*
_The Air Force Song_ (1939)
(Arr. Bennett)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070619-071.mp3

*Charles A. ZIMMERMAN (1861-1916)*
_Anchors Aweigh_ (1906)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070619-081.mp3

*John Philip SOUSA (1854-1932)*
_Semper Fidelis_ (1888)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-071009-076.mp3

_The Army Goes Rolling Along_, (1917) "The Caisson Song," based upon The US Field Artillery March by E. L. Gruber (1908) (The Trio Section)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070619-079.mp3

_The Stars And Stripes Forever_ (1896)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070619-086.mp3

_The Washington Post March_ (1889)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-071009-080.mp3

Waltzes from the operetta _El Capitan_ (1896)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070621-064.mp3

_Manhattan Beach_ (1893)
http://www.heritageofamericaband.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-070621-051.mp3

:tiphat:*PROGRAMMING NOTE: *The next instalment of _Pierre's Tuesday Blog_ will be _This Day in Music History_ posted exceptrionally next MONDAY November 14th.

*November 11 2011, "I Think You Will Love This Music Too" will be adding a new montage "Remembrance Day" to its Pod-O-Matic Podcast. Read our English and French commentary November 11th on the ITYWLTMT Blogspot blog.*


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