Photo By Staff Sgt. Danielle Prentice | Chief Warrant Officer Andres G. Navarro plays the piano during a III Marine...... read more read more
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The night was full of Christmas spirit; the stage was lit up with sparkling lights and decorated with Christmas cheer as the III Marine Expeditionary Force Band took the stage.
The band kicked off their annual Christmas Concert Series Dec. 7 at the base theater aboard Camp Foster.
This year’s concerts have their own twists within them, mixing the influences of Okinawa with the traditional Christmas performances, according to Gunnery Sgt. Michael Stanley, the enlisted conductor of the III MEF Band.
“A lot of families want to have a white Christmas, and they’re not going to get snow here on Okinawa,” said Stanley, a Jacksonville, Florida, native. “It’s much more meaningful because we can provide that little taste of home here on Okinawa, especially for the people that are away from home for the first time for Christmas.”
The concert featured groups such as III MEF Saxophone Ensemble, III MEF Jazz Ensemble, and III MEF Brass and Percussion Ensemble performed throughout the theater, not only on stage.
“It’s great that this concert is performed annually here,” said Capt. Anthony Gantt Jr., an air support control officer with Marine Air Support Squadron 2, Marine Aircraft Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III MEF, and an attendee of the concert. “The way the band localized it was colorful.”
The entire auditorium including Gantt and his family, smiled, applauded and sang along, moved by all the Christmas spirit during the concert.
According to Gantt, this was unlike any performance he had ever witnessed.
“I usually hear them at the Marine Corps Birthday Ball, but tonight was the first time I got to hear them in this setting,” said Gantt a Miami, Florida, native. “It was phenomenal. I really enjoyed it.”
This concert is a sight to see, according to Gantt, who plans to attend every performance, this year.
“I’m going to come to all of the concerts,” expressed Gantt. “I want to sit in the center of the auditorium. I love it. The acoustics were perfect.”
There was more than one favorable performance. Gantt said his favorite was “Carol of the Bells a la trans-Siberian Orchestra” with two electric guitars, and the way they remixed it. According to Stanley, his favorite was the storytelling of “’Twas the night before Christmas” due to the unique way they included the influences of Okinawa and tied in a few Marine jokes.
“Here on Okinawa we are uniquely situated where we can provide people with a Christmas experience they’re not going to get anywhere else,” said Stanley. “It’s a way for us to support our military families, but also to extend that hand of friendship to Okinawa residents. Here they can come on base and experience what Christmas means to us and how we celebrate it, especially through forms of music.”
According to Stanley, the band works to express the Christmas spirit in such a way that it hits home for the audience and members of the band.
The concert included several featured groups of the band, one in particular is not a group, but is a vocalist, Lance Cpl. Brianna V. Snyder, a musician in the III MEF Band, who, aside from playing the flute, sang “Grown Up Christmas List” during the concerts.
“It’s difficult being away from home,” said Snyder, a Boise, Idaho, native, “But it’s a good feeling, being able to share my own love of the holidays with the people of Okinawa and the other military members and their families who are here and away from home as well. It helps me in a way; it makes me feel more comfortable being away from home.”
| Date Taken: | 12.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 12.14.2016 23:07 |
| Story ID: | 217729 |
| Location: | CAMP FOSTER, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 106 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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