Inter Lake sponsors brass band concert

The Daily Inter Lake once again is sponsoring an appearance by the Air Force’s Heartland of America Band in the Flathead Valley.

The last time around, in 2008, the band was represented by the Noteables ensemble, performing music from the big band era as well as many patriotic standards. The crowd was large, enthusiastic and well-entertained.

This year, it’s a different ensemble — Brass in Blue, a pioneering symphonic brass ensemble — but the Air Force promises the performance will be just as rousing and the crowd will be just as pleased.

The concert will be Tuesday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m. at the Flathead High School auditorium. It is free, and tickets are still available at the front desk of the Daily Inter Lake at 727 E. Idaho St. in Kalispell. Tickets holders should plan to be seated by 6:45 p.m. If room still is available the night of the show, doors will be opened to the general public at 6:50.

Brass in Blue consists of 10 brass players, one percussionist and a vocalist. The ensemble maintains a rigorous performance schedule presenting a diverse repertoire featuring orchestral transcriptions, patriotic favorites, jazz standards, and new compositions and arrangements.

The group was selected to open the 2008 Grand Teton Music Festival, has performed the National Anthem for a Minnesota Timberwolves game, performs educational master classes for many Midwestern colleges, and regularly receives rave reviews for shows across the Midwest.

The Heartland of America Band, created in 1943, is based at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The 45 musicians currently attached to the band are full-time active-duty members of the Air Force and have gone through basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas.

The group’s touring area encompasses an eight-state region covering 680,000 square-miles — the largest geographical area of any regional stateside Air Force Band. States included are Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

In a column following the 2008 concert, Inter Lake Managing Editor Frank Miele wrote about the Heartland of America band, “It was plain that for one night, in one place, patriotism was not out of fashion, nor was the music of the great American tradition.”