Navy Band Set To Perform In WarsawU.S. Navy Concert Band is coming to Warsaw for a free concert. Lakeland Community Concert Association President Grant Magner said the band will perform at 3 p.m. March 19 in the Warsaw Community High School Performing Arts Center. Tickets are free, but are required. Magner said they will be available in a couple of weeks, and a form for the tickets will be published in the Times-Union. The form and a self-addressed stamped envelope should be mailed to Magner at 4107 E. Potawatomi Lane, Leesburg, IN 46538. He also can be contacted for tickets by phone at 574-453-2177 or email at pgm347@gmail.com. The concert will not have reserved seating. Collaboration with celebrities has become a hallmark for the Concert Band, according to the official website at www.navyband.navy.mil. The band was featured with Arthur Godfrey of NBC radio fame in 1927. Gene Kelly was guest star for the first episode of "The Navy Hour" radio program in 1945, which the band produced for an astounding 23 years. More recently, the band featured guest artists Tony Curtis and Gregory Peck. In 2002, the band was filmed performing "America the Beautiful”; the performance was broadcast by the NFL prior to each game during opening week, the website states. In addition to national concert tours and an extensive local concert season, the Concert Band has been featured internationally at military festivals in Oslo, Stockholm and Quebec City. In 1996, the band was honored to participate in the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Fleet in St. Petersburg and in The Baltic International Festival of the Fleets in Kaliningrad, Russia, according to the website. Fifty-six members of the band will perform in the two-hour concert in Warsaw. The Concert Band is the U.S. Navy’s premier wind ensemble, and includes flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, trumpet, horn, euphonium, trombone, tuba, string bass, harp and percussion. The band’s repertoire includes marches, symphonic selections, patriotic works and popular favorites, according to information provided by Magner. LCCA is sponsoring the concert, but it is not a part of the group’s annual concert series. Magner said Warsaw Community Schools also is sponsoring the band’s visit. For more information on the U.S. Navy Concert Band, visit the website at www.navyband.navy.mil.
