NAVAL AIR STATION FORT WORTH JOINT RESERVE BASE, Texas -- The Air Force Band’s Airmen of Note took time out of its nine-day spring tour to perform a concert Monday, April 19 for more than 600 students and faculty at W.E. Boswell High School in Fort Worth, Texas.
While on a tour through North Texas, 18 Airmen performed a concert and collaborated with 17 high school musicians on two musical arrangements as part of their Advancing Innovation through Music (AIM) program.
“The band’s level of experience blew me away,” said Arthur Salinas, a Boswell student and bassist, after performing with the Airmen. “The advice they gave when approaching new pieces of music is experiment. If you need to step out of your comfort zone, it’s just a rehearsal and anything goes. I mean, the heart of your music comes from rehearsal.”
Designed to build positive relationships with local and nationwide educational communities, the AIM program gives Air Force Band members the chance to work side-by-side with students of all ages, in small clinics and in large scale assemblies. With this program, they are able to reach student audiences throughout the nation. In 2015 alone, the AIM program reached nearly 23,000 school students in more than 113 events across 20 states and the District of Columbia.
Senior Master Sgt. Tyler Kuebler, Airmen of Note’s music director and lead alto saxophone player, expressed that these interactions help the Air Force Band program continue to give back to the community.
“AIM is one of the most impactful programs we have because of the direct contact and communication with students all over the country,” Kuebler said. “Within this program, we encounter a number of skill levels and maturity that give us an opportunity to showcase what we are about in the Air Force first, and target them musically to see where they’re at [second], and then incorporate the Air Force’s core values in our interactions. We take that responsibility very seriously.”
With 12 years as a band director under his belt, Kevin Fallon, associate director for Boswell’s bands and director for the jazz band ensemble, saw a change in his students.
“I noticed Dave Post, our drummer, look over the Airman’s shoulder while playing Cat Race, his eyes got wide as he saw choices he was making on how to fill or how to create space and time as a soloist,” Fallon said. “Anytime students at this level are surrounded by professionals, it provides inspiration to work harder to get to a new level. The students have been listening to the Airmen of Note’s recordings and they were impressed. But there’s a difference between hearing them through speakers and experiencing them live.”
In addition to performing Cat Race, the band and Boswell students performed a piece written by Airmen of Note trumpeter, Master Sgt. Alan Baylock.
“It was a real thrill to hear the students perform my arrangement of One Mint Julep," said Baylock. "Once piece of music of mine is published I never know what happens to it - and it's nice to know that in Fort Worth, it's in very good hands."
These Airmen take AIM’s educational outreach program to heart.
No matter what career they’re interested in,” said Kuebler. “The opportunities are limitless if they have dedication, they apply themselves as both professionals, good students and follow their dreams. Hopefully we can show them no matter what their goals are, they can achieve them through hard work and dedication.”
Airmen of Note will continue of Hewitt, Austin, Houston and Beaumont, Texas before traveling to Louisiana as part of its spring tour.