Photo By Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez | Senior Airman Michelle Hooper, U.S. Air Forces Central Command Band keyboard player,...... read more read more
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said that music is the universal language of mankind. The U.S. Air Forces Central Command band demonstrated that on their recent tour.
The AFCENT band Total Force just completed a two-week tour of Kyrgyzstan where they promoted troop morale and demonstrated diplomacy through outreach to the local community.
For most band members, this was their first visit to Kyrgyzstan. Multiple performances in the community allowed them to experience the culture and meet the Kyrgyz people.
"We got to go into the community more on this trip compared to the other counties we've visited," said Staff Sgt. Andy Wendzikowski, percussion player. "I'd never been to Kyrgyzstan before and didn't know much about it."
However, he said the band's first gig taught him a lot about the people here and how the Transit Center strives to continue to build strong partnerships with them.
That first gig was a dedication ceremony at the Bayalinov National Library of Kyrgyzstan in celebration of recent renovations to the library. The gig was followed by performances at Bishkek Secondary School No. 85, Chui Orphanage-Boarding School, Kurenkeyev College of Music, Chui Boarding School for Gifted Children and the Shubin School of Music.
"It was neat to see the kids at the music college who had some refined musical skills and weren't afraid to get up on stage, perform and give back to us," said Senior Airman Michelle Hooper, keyboard player and the band's musical director.
Similar scenes unfolded at most of the community performances - following the band's concert, members of the audience would thank the band by singing or playing traditional Kyrgyz music.
"I thought it was cool to see something like that from this country," said Tech. Sgt. Frances Kness, lead vocals. "I liked the talent and what pride and unity that brought among those in the audience."
Staff Sgt. Josh Byrd, guitar player and vocals, is one of the few members of the band who has visited Kyrgyzstan before and said he is always happy to share American music with the community here.
"When you see the kids enjoying the show, you feel like you are doing some good," he said. "They thought it was so cool to see an American band playing just for them."
The student at the schools weren't such strangers to American music, much to the delight of the band members.
"When we go to these schools, it is impressive to see 7-year-olds singing along to Lady Gaga," said Hooper.
Students were just as impressed with the American band.
"The show was awesome," said Asel Kurmanova, a 19-year-old student at the Chui Boarding School for Gifted Children whose favorite artists are Pink and Lady Gaga. "I liked all the songs and band members. They were very friendly and I liked all their smiles. We felt like we were in America during the concert. We'll be waiting and hoping they come again."
It's responses like Kurmanova's that make the traveling and hard work worth it for the band.
"The most emotionally satisfying aspect is playing for the community, especially when we play for locations like the orphanage," said Tech. Sgt. Steve Moore, the band's audio technician. "These kids are so happy that people have come all the way from America to play for them."
While the band enjoyed sharing American music with the Kyrgyz community, the highlight for many of the members was playing for the service members at the Transit Center. Throughout the week, the band conducted acoustic strolling performances in work centers and morale buildings and held three full shows at Pete's Place, the largest morale location at the Transit Center.
"In the end, we're here to perform for the troops," said Byrd, who has been with Air Force bands for nine years. "I always will like performing for troops most. Over here, while we're deployed we try to remind them of home. It's a more personal performance and connection."
Specializing in rock music, the Total Force band takes special care to include well-known and liked songs into their set. While they perform each song with mastery, the band musicians feed off of the crowd's energy and excitement - something there was no shortage of at the Transit Center.
Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Wilson, 376th Expeditionary Medical Group pharmacy technician, cleared her schedule to ensure she could attend all three of the AFCENT band's performances at Pete's Place.
"I love them," said Wilson, who was selected to sing a song with the band on stage during their last show. "They are amazing musicians in terms of mastery of their instruments, but they are also amazing entertainers, and I have great admiration for both. They have a slightly higher level of musicianship than the other bands that have played here, but are off the charts at entertaining."
While they may not have been able to attend all three shows at Pete's Place, many service members transiting through appreciated the band's energetic performance.
"I've been around nothing but grunts and combat for the last six months," said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Dalton Volk, who was attending the band's last show the night before he was scheduled to fly home. "It's good to be around so many people having a great time. These guys rock. They do what they do and they do it great."
The Kyrgyzstan tour is one of the last gigs for Total Force as the band members prepare to redeploy home soon. For a few retiring band members, this tour will be one of their final tours in the military.
"I couldn't pick a better way to finish up my career - getting to be with a great group of musicians, coming over here, getting to see a foreign country," said Moore who will retire this summer. "I've played a lot of great shows and met a lot of great people. To know this will be one of my last memories in the military is a good feeling."
| Date Taken: | 02.07.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 02.11.2013 04:26 |
| Story ID: | 101770 |
| Location: | KG |
| Hometown: | ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 123 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Total Force rocks Kyrgyzstan, by TSgt Rachel Martinez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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