SIDNEY — The US Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors will perform at the Historic Sidney Theatre on Friday, April 3, 2020, at 7 p.m.
“We are excited to announce that the US Army Field Band Jazz Ambassadors will be performing in Sidney as part of Sidney’s Bicentennial celebration,” Sidney Mayor and Bicentennial Co-Chair Mike Barhorst recently announced.
Known as America’s Big Band, the Jazz Ambassadors are the premier touring jazz orchestra of the United States Army. Formed in 1969, this 19-piece ensemble has received critical acclaim throughout the United States and abroad performing America’s original art form, jazz.
Performances by the Jazz Ambassadors offer some of the most versatile programming of any big band. Concerts include classic big band standards, instrumental and vocal solo features, patriotic favorites, contemporary jazz works, and original arrangements and compositions by past and present members of the Jazz Ambassadors. Many of these original works are available for free download through Perspectives, a jazz education initiative by the Jazz Ambassadors. The Jazz Ambassadors have performed in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, and throughout Europe. They have also performed in joint concerts with the Boston Pops, the National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and at Carnegie Hall with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops. Appearances at international jazz festivals in Montreux, Newport, Toronto, Brussels, and the Netherlands have been met with enthusiastic acclaim, as well as concerts in England, Wales, Luxembourg, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Norway.
“Shelby Countians have served in the military since the county was formed in 1819, and even before that when we were part of Miami County,” Barhorst said. “We knew that as part of our bicentennial celebration, we wanted to have at least one military band perform.”
“Military bands perform only in certain states in certain years,” Bicentennial Committee Co-Chair Bob Guillozet explained. “Nancy Steinke has chaired that subcommittee and has worked hard to locate a military band that was both going to be in Ohio this year, and had an opening in their schedule and able to perform here.”
“We are delighted to welcome the Jazz Ambassadors to Sidney,” Steinke said. “Jazz music originated in the United States, and has been described by some as ‘America’s classical music’”, Steinke continued. “Our audience will love their performance.”
Ticket information will be released in early February. Tickets are free, but there is a limit of four per family.
The mission of the US Army Field Band is to connect the American people to their Army by telling the Army story and honoring soldiers and veterans at home and abroad as the musical ambassadors of the Army.
