Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Airmen of Note - 2 free concerts!

The premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force, The Airmen of Note, will perform in two free concerts this weekend. Both concerts are presented by Cincinnati Opera as part of "Cincinnati Remembers WWI," the opera company's citywide series of events commemorating the centenary of the First World War.

World War I and Silent Night: A Service of Reflection and Remembrance
On Saturday, June 28, Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera, will lead an introduction of the new American opera Silent Night on the exact 100th anniversary of the onset of World War I. Musicians from The U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note, clergy of many of the faiths represented in the war, and members of the cast of Silent Night will gather for a morning of music from the WWI era at Spring Grove Cemetery, where many WWI veterans were laid to rest. The Presenting Sponsorship for this concert is provided by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation.

An Evening of Wartime Jazz
On Sunday, June 29, The Airmen of Note band joins Cincinnati Opera in commemorating the centenary of WWI with a free public concert at Washington Park, across from Music Hall. The concert will feature patriotic favorites and hits from the Big Band era, as well as selections by the first African American military bandmaster, James Reese Europe, who organized an all-black military band to entertain the troops in WWI. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and lawn chairs. Presenting Sponsors: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation and HORAN.

The "Cincinnati Remembers WWI" series of events continues through the next few weeks, culminating in Cincinnati Opera's production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Silent Night on July 10 and 12.

About The Airmen of Note
Stationed at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C., The Airmen of Note band is one of six musical ensembles that comprise The U.S. Air Force Band. Created in 1950 to continue the tradition of Major Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps dance band, the current band consists of 18 active duty Airmen musicians including one vocalist.