Featured Event
Navy Band Celebrates Black History Month
The U.S. Navy Band will celebrate Black History Month in February with a series of concerts
commemorating the musical and cultural contributions of African-American composers and performers
to the U.S. Navy and the nation.
Eight Navy Band members will perform “Pioneers of Navy Music: A History of African-Americans
in the Navy Music Program,” on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 6:00 p.m., at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage.
This multi-media presentation features the works of African-American musicians such as William Grant
Still, Alton Augustus Adams (the Navy’s first African-American bandmaster), Langston Hughes and
Howard Swanson, among others. Through live music, photos, and video accompanied by narration
written and presented by Senior Chief Musician Mike Bayes, the band’s chief archivist, this recital
highlights the significant cultural contributions made by African-American musicians. For more
information, please go to the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage website at: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/schedule.html
The Navy Band Brass Quartet will perform at the U.S. Navy Memorial’s Arleigh and Roberta
Burke Theater on Friday, Feb. 17 at 12:00 p.m. With guest vocalist Musician First Class Cory Parker, they
will present selections that tell the story of African-American diversity in the U.S. Navy. This concert will
feature the works of Duke Ellington, Clark Terry (who served in the Navy during WWII), and Alton
Augustus Adams.
The Navy Band Commodores jazz ensemble will perform at the Navy Memorial’s Burke Theater
on Monday, Feb. 27 at 12:00 p.m. Featuring vocal soloist Chief Musician Yolanda Pelzer, this concert will
highlight the music of Billie Holiday and other African-American performers and composers as well as a
narrative lecture component by Senior Chief Mike Bayes.
The U.S. Navy Memorial is located in Washington, D.C. on Pennsylvania Avenue, between 7th
and 9th streets, N.W. The Burke Theater is inside the Naval Heritage Center.
