Feb.15, 2010

Feb. 24, 2010:  Update - All tickets have been distributed for this concert. 

U.S. Air Force ensemble to perform free March 6th concert at WVU Parkersburg.

CONTACT:  Dr. H.G. Young III, coordinator of Distinguished Performance Series, 304-424-8248.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The United States Air Force Band of Flight will perform a free concert at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 6, in the College Activities Center at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

Co-sponsored by The Parkersburg News and Sentinel and WVU Parkersburg, the 35-member concert band is the largest and most versatile unit of the Band of Flight.  The ensemble entertains hundreds of thousands each year with its varied repertoire ranging from classical symphonic compositions and military marches to Broadway show tunes and popular contemporary music.

The March 6th concert is part of the college's Distinguished Performance Series.

Tickets for the performance will be available beginning Tuesday, Feb. 16, at the front counter of The News and Sentinel office on Juliana Street and at WVU Parkersburg. Ticketholders need to be seated by 6:45 p.m., March 6. Doors will open for non-ticketholders at 6:50 p.m.  There is a limit of four tickets per person.

The band has performed with various celebrities and guest artists, such as Phyllis Diller, Walter Cronkite, Steve Allen, The Miracles, Trout Fishing in America, Eddie Daniels, Al Vizzutti and West Virginia aviation pioneer Chuck Yeager.

The Band of Flight is one of 12 bands in the Air Force and one of two assigned to the Air Force Materiel Command. It is one of the oldest bands in the Air Force.

The band was activated on Sept. 24, 1942, at Patterson Field (now Wright-Patterson AFB), Ohio, as the 361st Army Air Force Band. Between 1942 and 1948, the band was redesignated three times as the 661st Army Band, then as the 661st Army Air Forces Band and finally as the 661st Air Force Band in 1948.  The band was redesignated as the Air Force Band of Flight in 1991.

The band's purpose is to support the global Air Force mission in war and peace by fostering national heritage and by providing professional musical products and services for official military, recruiting and community relations events.

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For additional information, contact:
Connie Dziagwa
WVU Parkersburg
Executive Director
Institutional Advancement
(304-424-8203 - Office)
E-mail