The United States Air Force band has once again thrilled a live audience at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The incredible success of “flash mob-style” performances in years past have delighted guests of the museum and onlookers, via viral social media platforms.
With a humungous space shuttle towering overhead in the James S. MacDonnell Space Hangar, a single uniformed female Air Force member begins walking through the unsuspecting crowd. She plays What Child Is This (Greensleeves) on oboe and is accompanied by a second oboe and wordless choir. From the hangar’s great complex of scaffolding, a full choral arrangement rings through.
Under the direction of Commander and Conductor Larry H. Lang, the entire Air Force Band launches into a romantic and celestial medley complete with traditional military bravado and drum corps.
The last such performance by the United State’s ambassadors of music to the world featured a cello solo, complex arrangement of Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring, and finally a Joy To The World arrangement that the world will truly remember with the help of social media. This year’s medley was broader, fuller, more exciting and absolutely thrilling.
The brilliance of performances like these demonstrate the absolutely perfect discipline of the band, chorus and its director. With celebration, the Air Force Band exemplifies the welcoming atmosphere of the United State’s most awe-inspiring museum, and the dedication of military men and women in uniform. This spectacular video is the next best thing to having the once-in-a-lifetime experience of hearing this brand of musical joy in such lofty surroundings!