KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
The United States Coast Guard Band is touring Alaska this month and will even do a show in Kodiak. Their visit will include a saxophone quartet performance.
The full Coast Guard Band has 55 musicians. The full group will have shows in Juneau and Anchorage, but they’re splitting up to also visit Kodiak and Fairbanks.
They were grouped by section into a brass quintet, a woodwind quintet, and a saxophone quartet, the last of which will be in town on Wednesday.
The band will perform that night and work with the Kodiak High School jazz band Thursday morning. Sean Nelson is a chief musician with the Coast Guard Band. He said the show will feature music from around the world, but he’s most excited to meet with the high schoolers.
“It’s always exciting for us to meet students and to get to play for them and to get to hear them play and to bring our music to them and meet them,” Nelson said.
The goal is to share what the Coast Guard does and inspire new recruits. Kodiak is certified as a Coast Guard City. He says it’s an honor to play in a community with so many active Coast Guard members and veterans.
“We are getting out there to tell the Coast Guard story and meet with the public,” he said. “And then there’s also a chance to highlight our country’s heritage in history – both in music and in patriotism, and to honor our veterans.”
Nelson says tours and concerts like this are an opportunity for the public to learn about what the military does.
“It’s a chance for us to introduce ourselves to the general public and act as a sort of bridge between the civilian and military world,” he said.
The show will be available to the public in the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
