USNA Band Performs with Students

The Naval Academy Band has been spending some quality time with young musicians lately, with our past two concerts featuring students from Anne Arundel County and beyond. 

On April 12, we performed our annual Side-By-Side concert, in which area students perform with the band. This year, the students nearly outnumbered us, as 45 of the top musicians from ten high schools joined us on stage at Severna Park High School to perform a demanding program which included American Overture for Band by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins and Armenian Dances by Alfred Reed. 

USNA Band with Anne Arundel County High School Students

This concert is always a treat for us, as it reminds us of our formidable years as aspiring musicians. In fact, two of our members, MUCS Ray Ascione and MUC Anthony Valerio participated in Side-By-Side when they were students at Broadneck High School and Annapolis High School.

"Rehearsing and performing 'side-by-side' with the USNA Band gave me a glimpse into what it was like to be a professional musician", said MUC Valerio. "It was one of my early experiences that got me interested in pursuing music in college."

On April 19, we performed a concert as part of the Annapolis Music Festival. The concert was held at the beautiful USNA Chapel, which was filled with enthusiastic high school students who had traveled from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. Eleven of their classmates were chosen by their band directors to join us on stage to perform the John Philip Sousa march, The Washington Post.

Performing with students at the USNA Chapel

With the academic school year coming to an end, we look forward to the fall and upcoming opportunities to reach more students through our education outreach programs.