Snapping instruments to attention with the precision of a music machine, the U.S. Navy Band entertained a sold-out crowd with a Presidents Day concert Monday night at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.
About 1,000 Evanston residents and Northwestern students attended the free performance, which included popular patriotic tunes and classical selections directed by Commander Ralph Gambone.
During their monthlong tour, the band alternates between two main repertoires, but the programs leave room for surprise songs, too.
Besides famous tunes from Dmitri Shostakovich and Peter Tchaikovsky, the concert included a version of “Tam O’Shanter,” arranged by John Paynter, the NU Marching Band’s former director of 45 years.
While the Navy Band makes an effort to play at all the “top-notch” music schools while touring, saxophonist Tim Roberts, Music ’87, said the band had a special interest in performing at NU because about 12 members are alumni.
“(The band) has some of the finest musicians from the best conservatories around the country,” Roberts said. “It’s a statement of the quality of the School of Music at Northwestern.”
Adrienne Carter, who took music classes at NU in 1999, plays saxophone in the Navy Band.
“There’s a variety of big band as well as classical music that both the average listener and seasoned musician can appreciate,” Carter said.
During the performance, about 150 veterans stood for recognition as the band performed a medley of military themes. Vocalist John Fisher finished the program with renditions of Frank Sinatra’s “My Kind of Town, Chicago” and Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American.”
Musicians from Lockport Township High School also joined the Navy Band for one of its patriotic songs. Lockport resident Dolores Kuzniar came to watch her grandson perform.
“Oh, it was just beautiful,” Kuzniar said. “I’m sitting there clapping and keeping time. The last song, that really got to you.”
Music junior Cory Hills said he came to the concert to see some of the band’s percussionists he knew from his hometown near Washington, D.C.
“As far as professional wind ensembles go, they’re the best,” Hills said.
Every year, 56 members of the 90-piece Navy Band tour the country for a month, alternating among five regions with the other military branches’ bands. The performance at NU was the fourth in a series of 22 concerts in the Midwest. The band will also play at the University of Illinois, the University of Northern Iowa and Bowling Green University.
The Navy band last performed at NU about five years ago. Jennifer Bolino, associate director of marketing at Pick-Staiger, said the band initially approached the university and asked to perform.
“We were thrilled, especially since the day happened to coincide with Presidents Day,” Bolino said. “There’s been huge interest – it’s been sold out for more than a week.”
In addition to yearly tours and free weekly concerts, the Navy Band has participated in 19 presidential inaugurations since Congress established it in 1925. The band also presents honors at White House and Pentagon ceremonies and memorial services in Arlington National Cemetery.
“Ever since September 11, the concerts have been very emotional for us, especially at the end,” Roberts said. “The audiences also changed their reaction to what we were doing. It’s definitely a renewed interest in American and patriotic music and military bands.”
