Band marches into town for concert
The United States Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus will perform at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 in the Butler Intermediate High School auditorium.
Tickets are free but are limited. Call 724-282-1859, Ext. 255, or visit www.armyfieldband.com/tickets.
The Butler Eagle is sponsoring this event.
Members of the field band are soldier-musicians who have studied at the country’s leading conservatories and schools of music, performed with major symphonies, and taught at universities before entering the service. All of the musicians have been selected by competitive audition.
The Soldiers’ Chorus, the vocal complement of the band, is made up of 29 vocalists.
The Army Field Band’s concert repertoire is designed to appeal to all audiences, offering classical, semiclassical and popular selections, choral arrangements, novelty numbers and military marches.
On tours of other nations, the band highlights the works of American composers, as well as presenting favorite selections of each host country.
The musical ambassadors frequently travel abroad on tours sponsored by the U.S. Army and the State Department.
The field band also is often called upon to participate in a variety of ceremonial events.
The band has marched in numerous presidential inaugural parades, escorted the president on many occasions and played for visiting heads-of-state.
Commander and conductor of the band is Col. Timothy Holtan.
Holtan previously served as commandant of the U.S. Army School of Music, where he was the primary proponent for all 100 Army bands and oversaw the training of more than 500 professional musicians each year.
A native of Bismarck, N.D., he was formerly a public school music educator in Montana. He has presented concerts and clinics in 40 states, Canada, Japan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Europe.
The concert tour that incorporates the Butler show begins Oct. 6 and continues through Nov. 17.
