The Tacoma Youth Symphony recently returned from touring Washington, D.C. and performing in the annual National Festival of the States concert series. The following is taken from their tour evaluation:

The accommodations were ideal for a group of our size &age range and all the meals were great! The restaurants were ideal choices for a group of our size. They were well prepared to deal with 92 people and the food items were all high quality. The students were certainly never at risk for going hungry!

Our tour manager was the consummate professional! Ilona was very knowledgeable and passionate about her work and it showed. We enjoyed her very much!

The performances were the highlights. Schlesinger Concert Hall had wonderful acoustics! Clearly this is a very fine concert hall. The National Presbyterian Church is beautiful and a wonderful facility to perform in. The unique acoustics of this performance hall made for a great recording. The staff was easy to work with and very
complimentary.

We would be happy to serve as references for MCI and look forward to working with you again.

Dr. Paul-Elliott Cobbs
Dr. Loma Cobbs
Tacoma Youth Symphony

By Tim O’Neil
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/09/2008

Once there were 4.7 million doughboys, the jaunty youngsters in American uniform during World War I. Now there is only Cpl. Frank Woodruff Buckles, born on a farm in Missouri more than 107 years ago.

Buckles, of Charles Town, W.Va., is planning a return to Missouri for the Memorial Day weekend ceremonies at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City.

The memorial, overlooking downtown, was dedicated to the Great War in 1921. It expanded two years ago to include the National World War I Museum.

Buckles was born on Feb. 1, 1901, near Bethany in northwestern Missouri. His family moved to Oklahoma when he was 15. One year later, he lied about his age to enlist in the Army and made it to France during the war as an ambulance driver.

In February, he became the last doughboy after another Missouri native, Harry Landis, died in Florida at age 108. Landis had grown up on a farm north of Hannibal.

The last French veteran of World War I died in March. Germany’s last veteran of that war died in January. Only about a dozen veterans worldwide are known to be alive.

to read more, view the article in it’s entirety here

By Jill Harmacinski
The Eagle Tribune

Methuen High School’s Ranger Band picked up some cash from the police yesterday.

The patrolmen’s union donated $500 to the band, which is headed to Washington, D.C., to perform next month.

The Ranger Band will represent Massachusetts in the National Memorial Day Parade on May 26. It is the only high school band in the state to garner that distinction this year.

On Saturday, the band parents association held a giant yard sale and a baked goods sale to raise money for the trip.

Then, yesterday afternoon, union president and Patrolman Joseph Aiello handed the $500 check to band members. The police then played softball with a variety of hefty professional contenders. Union members faced off against retired Boston Bruins, New England Patriots and Red Sox.

A baseball clinic for kids was held before the game.

Congratulations to all of the marching bands selected to participate in the official National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C.!

Mark you calendars and get your tickets NOW to see Calexico live at Rialto Theatre on Friday, May 23rd. Proceeds of this show will benefit Pueblo High School’s Mariachi Aztlán, helping fund the band’s trip to Washington, D.C. to represent Tucson in the National Independence Day Parade.We can’t think of a better way to represent the Old Pueblo in this traditional 4th of July parade than with a high school Mariachi band. Can you just imagine? I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.

America’s Independence Day Parade takes place every July 4th, right on Constitution Avenue in D.C., between dozens of national monuments, passing by a street audience of over 300,000 spectators. Not a bad gig, eh?

Joining Calexico for the benefit will be flamenco-folk baritone Salvador Duran, Mariachis Luz de Luna, the troupe Calexico has recorded and toured with through the years, and Mariachi Aztlán de Pueblo High, of course. These artists performed with Calexico a year ago this past January at Rialto Theatre, and the feeling of pride for the community in that room was overwhelming—this second time around is not to be missed. For a taste of what you may have passed up the last time around, check out the Ariel Cramer Live Review, and watch some videos the Tucson Citizen took of the event at Ariel Cramer Benefit Videos. Expect the full Mariachi treatment for this show, as well as some sneak peeks at new Calexico material being recorded as we speak.

MCI is pleased to announce that the annual National Memorial Day Choral Festival is officially recognized by the White House Commission on Remembrance. Music Celebrations is honored to have this event recognized. The goal of the National Memorial Day Choral Festival is identical to the purpose of the White House Commission on Remembrance -
“educating this and future generations of Americans to remember the sacrifices and costs in human life made to preserve our liberties, and to instill in them an understanding of what it means to be an American.”

BY R. NORMAN MOODY
FLORIDA TODAY

COCOA - The American Veteran’s Color Guard has drawn salutes, applause and appreciation from spectators at the parades and special events it has participated in since the group formed in 2001.

Often along parade routes, different generations of veterans will rise, stand at attention and salute as the group marches by.

“One thing you’ll see a lot when we’re in the parades is people coming out in front of us to take pictures,” said Gary Cassell, who co-founded the group with George Hoggard.

Now the marchers are preparing for what could be their biggest parade yet — the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C. Last year, some 250,000 spectators lined the streets.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

I just wanted to say thank you for a wonderful trip! Everything went very well from the tour guide, to the bus, to the sight-seeing to the places to eat. Our concerts went well, and we had everything that we needed. The kids had a fantastic time. I think they will remember this trip for a long time to come.

I would love to work with Music Celebrations for our next trips. I was very impressed.

Amy Womack
Mt. Brook Junior High

The American Federation Pueri Cantores, the official student choral organization of the Catholic Church, is pleased to announce that the Pueri Cantores American Festival Choir has been invited to celebrate the Fourth of July this year in Washington, D.C. with an honorary performance along the National Mall across from the White House - all part of the opening ceremony for the official 2008 National Independence Day Parade!

To kick off the Independence Day celebrations, the Pueri Cantores American Festival Choir will sing a patriotic number for the assembled masses at the reviewing stand of the parade. Hundreds of thousands of spectators along Constitution Avenue will be treated to the thrilling sound of this combined chorus of Catholic youth singers!

We just read this touching article about the time Col. Arnald Gabriel, honored former director of the U.S. Air Force Band, spent fighting in Europe while in the U.S. Army during World War II. The Air Force recently announced that a concert hall will be named in his honor.

Col. Gabriel is directing the National Community Concert Band Sousa Festival in Washington, D.C. this June, and he has graciously agreed to return as the director for the second annual event in June, 2009.

By NOELLE STRAUB
Gazette Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Although retired Col. Arnald Gabriel survived the fierce fighting of D-Day and went on to become a famed U.S. Air Force Band conductor, he constantly carries with him the memory of his fallen comrades and friends.

On Jan. 9, 1945, Gabriel was in a foxhole in Germany when a mortar shell hit and killed two of his friends instantly and gave him a concussion. Ever since, that day has been the hardest day of the year for him. And then came word that the Air Force Band would honor him by naming a concert hall after him during a ceremony on Jan. 9.

“For 63 years I have shed tears on Jan. 9, but today it is a day of humility and joy,” he said at the ceremony.

WASHINGTON - Pat Nagel built model airplanes and had all the aviation books she could handle as a little girl in the 1930s. She pursued her passion as a flight attendant and as a docent for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

Now 80, she has been a valuable source of expertise for museum curators preparing the new exhibit “America by Air,” which opens Saturday. Nagel, an American Airlines attendant from 1950 to 1952, was able to explain the purpose of a mysterious compartment on the DC-7 aircraft: It was used for dog crates.

“We were stewardesses. We were not flight attendants,” said Nagel, who will gives tours each week. “People said it was like being a movie star, but get this, movie stars had their pictures taken with us!”

It will be hard to miss one of the newest additions to the museum. The front section of a huge Boeing 747 airliner from Northwest Airlines pokes its nose into the new gallery, which curators spent more than five years developing. The exhibit traces the history of passenger air travel from its very beginning: the early attempts to start up airlines just a decade after the Wright brothers made the first flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903.

Full Article Here

Groups participating in the National Festival of the States in Washington, D.C. are encouraged to extend their stay and visit the historic and vibrant city centre of Baltimore - the Inner Harbor.

Located in the heart of Inner Harbor is Harbor Place, THE place to be for fine dining and entertainment. Select bands may have the privilege of performing to thousands at the ampitheatre that sits just off of the waterfront, an area of “high traffic”.

The National Aquarium, which houses sharks, dolphins, rays and tropical fish among the more than 16,000 creatures in naturalistic exhibits, including a walk-through rain forest, an exciting live-action dolphin show and a new Australian exhibit are “must sees” for visiting groups.

Historic Fort McHenry, where the words to the Star Spangled Banner were penned, is located nearby and should be a high priority to all groups visiting the region.

Because there is so much to do and see, we recommend a full day excursion to Baltimore from Washington, D.C., which is most easily done in a 4 or 5 five itinerary.

Performing groups traveling to Washington, D.C. need to make a visit to the Library of Congress’ Music Division a high priority! Here, groups can see original manuscripts from Beethoven, Bernstein, Copland, Stravinsky and Sousa, among many others, as well as instrument collections that can keep one occupied for days.

The music division–formally created in 1896 and established in quarters within the Library’s Jefferson Building upon its completion in 1897–traces the origin of its collections to the thirteen books on music literature and theory that were contained in Thomas Jefferson’s library, purchased by the Congress in 1815. At that time, the cultivation and development of a music library were scarcely matters of great importance. By the closing years of the century, however, some 400,000 music items had been added to the Library’s collections, largely effected through the deposits under the Copyright Act. Today, the Music Division’s collections number close to eight million items, including the classified music and book collections, music and literary manuscripts, microforms, and copyright deposits.

Click here for more information about the Music Division

The nation’s Capitol will play host to some high-stepping strutters when the Dearborn High School marching band takes to the streets during the annual Memorial Day parade.

It’s a big job — the band was selected to represent Michigan in the parade.

While they’re there, the band will attend a concert at the Navy Memorial, visit the Smithsonian Museum, the Supreme Court and will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony before the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

To help defray expenses — band supporters said it would cost about $600 per student to travel to Washington, D.C. — a series of fundraisers was organized to get the band on the road.

Click here for full article

WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia (CNN) — Christmas walks into Colonial Williamsburg on boots, battle-dress soft soles padding across cobblestones in the dusk of December’s first Sunday.

Turning 50 in 2008, the modern Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums field more than 100 players.

Tens of thousands of “guests,” as the city calls its tourists, fall to a hush when they hear a rhythmic click. More than 100 fife-and-drum artists are moving coolly, silently in 18th-century uniforms along lanes and pathways, striding in ghostly precision to the clicks of their drummers. They are eerily stone-faced youths, sturdily ignoring the modern masses pressing to glimpse them.

In the late 1700s, these teens might have been the first killed on fields of American Revolutionary battle. The noncombatant fifers and drummers were the communications units of their armies, ordering attacks, retreats and other maneuvers with their melodies and cadences.

Tonight, their command is a happy one. Their synchronized moves mean the annual Grand Illumination is starting in Williamsburg, and more than 25,000 visitors are reported on the streets to see them.

Click here for full article

Here’s an excerpt from an article titled “One of the last” that was published in yesterday’s edition of the Grand Forks Herald.

At age 106, [Frank] Buckles is believed to be one of only three living American veterans of World War I, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“For many years, I would read the figures in The Torch (a veterans magazine) in two columns - one was the number of 4.7 million-something veterans who served, and the other, which kept going down, was the number of us that were still alive,” Buckles said in an interview earlier this year. “I knew one day it would come to this. But I didn’t think I would be one of the few still around to talk about it.”

Buckles is the youngest of the three known living U.S. World War I veterans. When interviewed earlier this year, his voice was raspy, he had difficulty walking and he needed help getting dressed each morning. But his mind was keen, and the memories of his two years in Europe during the war remained clear.

In May, Frank Buckles served as a marshal for the National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C., sharing the starring role with actor Gary Sinise. White House officials also had offered to give Buckles a tour on Memorial Day, but his doctor advised that the parade was more than enough excitement for one day.

Buckles said he doesn’t mind all the attention. It’s a salute to his generation, and he just happens to be the only one of his contemporaries available to take a bow. But he said he is a bit concerned over whether he is the right guy for the parade.

“What are you supposed to do when you lead a parade?” Buckles asked.

Besides Buckles, the VA has identified the only other living World War I veterans as Harry Landis, a 107-year-old living in Sun City Center, Fla., and Russell Coffey, a 109-year-old in North Baltimore, Ohio.

Veteran’s Day presents one of those unique opportunities to stop, take a breath, and truly remember and honor the heroes who serve to protect our rights and freedom. How often do we, as ordinary citizens, really get a chance to do anything at all to say “thank you” to these brave young men and women, past or present?

Participants in the National Festival of the States concert series in Washington, D.C. have the distinct honor of performing at historic venues throughout our nation’s capitol, and often for a diverse group of U.S. veterans. This is one opportunity where we can actually touch veterans through music, and truly thank them beyond a day off of work. Music Celebrations goes out of the way to ensure these heroes are available and able to attend many of our performances in D.C.

Say you’re in the mood to indulge in a shoe-shopping spree — does a certain city pop to mind? How about an urban destination for a romantic weekend? Where in the U.S. can you find the most compelling museums or thrilling club scene? Is the city with the most attractive citizens also the one with the best opportunities for people-watching?

Headline News, Travel + Leisure and CNN.com spent three months collecting 60,000 votes, from local residents and visitors, on what they like (and don’t like) about 25 urban destinations across the country. Voters were asked for their opinions on culture, shopping, people, food and city characteristics — and they gave us more surprises than we anticipated.

Well, America has an opinion — and America has spoken.

Click here for the full report

I loved playing in my high school jazz band. So much that I went on to major in jazz in college. And even after I learned that being a professional jazz musician wasn’t in the cards, I still kept playing in the big band.

The best part of high school jazz band was playing for and listening to other bands. That’s where so much of the learning happened. It’s important for ensembles to hear similar ensembles play, but the subtleties of interpretation between one concert band’s performance of the Firebird Suite compared to another’s pales in comparison to hearing a plethora of peers improvising on the same night. As we toured the local competition circuit, we knew who the top bands and soloists were and looked forward to seeing what they had up their sleeve this week.

But the farther we went from home, the more exciting the experience became. Traveling even an hour from our hometown introduced us to jazz bands from schools an hour the other way, schools from outside our region. New bands, new soloists, new charts - it was all very exciting! And the icing on the cake at any competition was if a university jazz ensemble came to close the show. Nothing beat hearing music at that level. Those bands sounded as smooth as silk; their groove laid deep in the pocket, the solos seemed effortless……

Now, Music Celebrations has partnered with Washington, D.C.’s BIG BAND JAM, to kick this experience to the next level. By traveling to D.C. in late April - a beautiful time of year to visit: the flowers are blooming, but it’s not yet hot - you and your jazz ensemble can have the opportunity to participate in the city’s largest and most exciting jazz festival - the Big Band Jam.

Managed by Harry Schnipper, Executive Director of D.C.’s world-famous supper club Blues Alley, the Big Band Jam features 10 days of non-stop jazz in venues all over the District. In any one day, jazz lovers can attend a workshop of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, hear a few hours worth of big bands at the picturesque Sylvan Theater, attend a masterclass at the Kennedy Center, hear a top-flight university or professional ensemble perform on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, and catch a show at Blues Alley. For 10 days, D.C. truly becomes the District of Jazz.

We want you to be a part of this festival. Not just as a listener, but as an active participant! Music Celebrations has partnered with the Big Band Jam to be the exclusive recruiter of top-notch out-of-state jazz ensembles to PERFORM as part of the festivities. Every ensemble will be featured at the Sylvan Theater on the National Mall, and will have priority access to take in as many masterclasses and concerts as they can fit in their stay.

Help your musicians hear the talents that exist beyond your local circuit. Give them the opportunity to hear top university and professional bands from around the country. I’ve seen few opportunities for high school jazz bands as exciting as this one and you can only take part in it by contacting Music Celebrations. Send us an e-mail or call us at (800) 395-2036 today!

Seeing Mickey & Co. gets more expensive for third time in past two years

Another reason why touring groups should avoid Orlando and perform in MCI’s National Festival of the States concert series instead!

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Walt Disney World is raising ticket prices for the third time in two years, company officials announced.

An adult one-day, one-park pass will increase 6 percent, $67 to $71 beginning Sunday. Discount packages also will be affected, but the per-day cost could be less than $23 for adults who buy as large as a 10-day package.

The change is due to an annual planning cycle of travel wholesalers, tour organizers and commercial publications, Disney officials told the Orlando Sentinel.

Click here for full article

The parade was definitely the BEST PART OF THE TRIP. I think this was set up very well not only for the students but also for the band directors. We have attended many festivals over the past few years, and I can say, without a doubt, that the National Independence Day Parade was the most well organized, stress free, friendly, safe, and enjoyable event we have had the privilege to participate in.

From the pre-planning to the initial check in to the photos to the end of the parade, there was not a single glitch. In fact, we were able to warm up in the lawn near our “element sign,” complete photos, and relax before the parade stepped off. As we moved from our staging area to the first steps and notes of the parade, everything flowed smoothly. It seemed like the parade started and we were having the time of our lives. It was an incredible experience to see all of the spectators cheering on the students as they played their hearts out.

After the parade, the band members said that it was the best they had ever performed. We were able to meet Vince Patterson who generously loaned us a Sousaphone for the parade. He was very helpful and made so many nice comments about the performance! It was lovely to meet and work with such a gentleman who had such a warm and kind spirit.

All of the staff for the parade made it their mission to serve the parade participants. This was evidenced in the set up, the lunches, the availability of water, and the manner in which they worked on the day of the event! Thank you so much for inviting us to perform and experience this incredible parade and event!

Julie Trent, Director
Willow Canyon High School

The tour to Washington, D.C. was a success. The venues were well chosen. The aura of performing at the grave of John Philip Sousa is great. The performance at the WWII Memorial was amazing in every way. Our tour guide was probably one of the most intelligent guides I have ever met. Music Celebrations as always does a great job helping us pull off a great tour. Congratulations to you guys! I will be happy to serve as a reference for Music Celebrations!

Mickey Mangum, Band Director
Kosciusko High School