U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers' Chorus concert first class

The performance given by the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers' Chorus Tuesday night at Colony High School was, in a word, awesome.

For two hours, the band and chorus entertained the packed gymnasium, treating visitors to a wide variety of musical and choral selections, from patriotic standards to pop culture tunes.

The 1,000-plus people who attended left the performance feeling a little better about America after hearing the uplifting selections.

The band, which has played around the world and for several heads of state, stopped at Colony High School as part of its Alaska tour. The night before, the band played at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, and the fire alarm kept going off during the performance. Because of that, a handful of people from Anchorage made the trip to Colony, just to hear an uninterrupted performance, and the band did not disappoint.

"I think we could all use a little dose of patriotism right about now," said Bert Hall, one of the organizers of the event.

The show opened with a patriotic prologue and the Alaska Flag Song, followed by John Philip Sousa's "The Invincible Eagle." "The Roman Carnival Overture" by Hector Berlioz showed the more dramatic side of the band, and it was followed by a comical arrangement called "The Book Report," which included singing and music from "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."

A modern piece, "The Olympic Spirit" by John Williams, was followed by a rousing piccolo solo by Sgt. Maj. Nan Raphael.

The final piece before the 15-minute intermission was a collection of classic television crime fighting show themes, from programs that included Dragnet, Hawaii 5-0 and Batman.

Those who left during the intermission missed the best part of the entire show.

The second half of the performance was outstanding, and truly represented what the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers' Chorus is all about.

Following a number of choral selections and "An Ellington Portrait," Col. Finley Hamilton, the commander of the band, talked about the Sept. 11 attacks and offered a moment of silence. As the capacity crowd fell silent, a bugler played "Taps" in honor of those killed in the attack. It was a classy and fitting tribute that left a big impression in the minds of many.

Following the tribute, the band played the official "West Point March," which kicked off a string of selections that rounded out the night in style.

"Armed Forces Salute" was a medley of the official anthems of the Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and Army, and as each service's song was played, people in the audience with an attachment to that branch of the military were asked to stand. On a day when American military personnel were flying above Afghanistan on bombing missions, it was nice to see every member, and former member, of the military honored with the medley of songs.

The performance was followed by "God Bless America," in which the entire audience joined in, with many people waving the flag, arm in arm in a show of unity. Following a long ovation, Hamilton returned to the stage for an encore, a rousing rendition of Lee Greenwood's classic tune, "God Bless the U.S.A." that brought a few tears to the eyes of people in the gym.

Following another standing ovation, a second encore, "America, The Beautiful," was presented.

Not wanting to go home just yet, the crowd gave the band and chorus another long standing ovation, which resulted in one final song, "When the Saints Go Marching In."

It marked the first time the band and chorus performed in the Valley. They last visited Alaska in 1985.

"We like it here," Hamilton said. "If you can find us a couple of airplanes, we'll be back."

The band played in Barrow, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Sitka and Juneau as part of the Alaska tour.