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Chamber music showcases yet another facet of the Musical Ambassadors of the Army. The Field Band has many different official ensembles comprised of members of the larger performing components. The Brass Quintet, Clarinet Quartet, Embassy Brass, Flute and Harp Duo, Horn Quartet, Pentagon Winds, Saxophone Quartet, Woodwind Ambassadors, and Woodwind Quintet include Concert Band performers, while the Vocal Arts Ensemble, Sound Off! Barbershop Quartet, Bel Canto, and VocalEase present a diverse array of talent from the Soldiers' Chorus. These groups perform a repertoire that covers the entire spectrum of chamber music literature, ranging from classical works to folk tunes and light pop. Official ensembles represent the unit in various capacities throughout the year and are an active part of the Field Band's educational outreach program. The Musical Ambassadors also present an annual Chamber Music Series in the Washington Baltimore-Annapolis area, featuring performers from all of the Field Band's components. These concerts provide a unique opportunity for local audiences to enjoy a wide variety of programming from soloists to large ensembles. Vocalists, brass, woodwinds, percussion, and strings perform music from Renaissance to modern in a relaxed, intimate setting. |
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The United States Army Field Band Brass Quintet performs recitals and presents clinics in elementary, junior, and high schools, and colleges throughout the nation. Dedicated to advancing brass quintet music through performance, its members celebrate their repertoire from the Renaissance to the twenty-first century. |
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Formed in 2003 and consisting exclusively of members of the Concert Band, the quintet provides musical performances for the general public as well as serving as a component of the Field Band's educational outreach program. Members of The Chamber Brass draw upon their experiences with some of the nation’s finest orchestras, concert bands, and chamber ensembles as they conduct clinics and perform recitals in middle schools and high schools. |
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The United States Army Field Band Clarinet Quartet was formed in 1989. The quartet has been featured at a variety of professional conferences, including the International Clarinet Society's ClarinetFest, the Music Educators National Conference, and the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. This ensemble is an active participant in the Field Band's educational outreach programs, performing and presenting master classes for students ranging from pre-school to postgraduate. |
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The Ambassadors Jazztet was developed in the legendary style of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. It is comprised of members of the Jazz Ambassadors of The U.S. Army Field Band, the Army's premier touring big band. In addition to performing traditional jazz sextet standards, the ensemble contributes new arrangements and compositions that encompass the varied styles of swing, Latin, jazz waltz, ballads, and Afro-Cuban. The Jazztet has presented clinics at colleges and high schools throughout the United States, addressing such subjects as improvisation, arranging, composition, jazz theory, and practice and performance techniques. Notable performances include the Midwest Clinic, the Iowa Bandmasters Conference, and jazz festivals in Toronto and Victoria, Canada. |
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The Jazz Ambassadors Dixieland Band The Jazz Ambassadors Dixieland Band performs jazz in the tradition of its earliest eras. Virtually all Jazz Ambassadors concerts feature this dynamic seven-piece group, sharing music in the styles of the great King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, and Bix Beiderbecke bands. While on tour, the ensemble occasionally performs separate concerts at VA Hospitals and Veteran Centers. On all occasions, the Jazz Ambassadors Dixieland Band fosters enthusiasm and appreciation for America's original art form. |
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The Pentagon Winds is one of three official woodwind quintets of The United States Army Field Band. Originally formed in 1989 as part of the Field Band's College Clinic Team, this ensemble was reestablished as the Pentagon Winds in 1999. The Pentagon Winds was featured on the prestigious 2001 Kennedy Center Honors Recital. In addition to recital performances at colleges and universities throughout the nation, its members present instrumental clinics and offer coaching in ensemble playing techniques. Their repertoire includes major quintet literature, as well as their own arrangements and transcriptions. |
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The Saxophone Quartet is an official ensemble of the Musical Ambassadors of the Army. The quartet performs a wide range of repertoire including transcriptions, standard saxophone quartet literature, jazz and popular arrangements, and contemporary and avant-garde music. The ensemble seeks to present a program that displays the numerous stylistic and musical capabilities of the saxophone. Since forming in 1999, the quartet has performed frequently on the Field Band's Chamber Music Series, and presented recitals and master classes at the University of Georgia, Kansas State University, Marshall University, the Peabody Conservatory, and the New England Saxophone Symposium. |
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Soundoff! is the official barbershop quartet of The United States Army Field Band. With repertoire ranging from traditional barbershop harmonies to a cappella pop tunes, Soundoff! is sure to delight and entertain. The members of Soundoff! have traveled throughout the United States and abroad, performing for audiences of all ages. Whether singing on a concert hall stage, in a professional sports stadium, or at a hospital bedside, Soundoff! recreates the sounds of bygone eras. |
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The Woodwind Ambassadors is the only ensemble in The United States Army Field Band's educational outreach program to focus exclusively on elementary schools. Its mission is to educate students from kindergarten through grade 6 about the instruments of the woodwind quintet, and to encourage them to discover the joys of music within their lives. The group demonstrates its instruments and their capabilities, presents stories that illustrate specific characteristics of each instrument, emphasizes the diverse nature of music through pieces from a variety of cultures, and facilitates a question-and-answer session for students and teachers alike. |
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