MU1 Shana Catandella The Navy Band performs the National Anthem to begin the Mountain Grove, Mo., tour concert, accompanied by the JROTC colors team from Mountain Grove. The United States Navy Band, under the direction of Capt. George N. Thompson, departed on a 27-day nationwide tour which will cover 5,000 miles by bus through nine states, performing 24 concerts for a potential audience of 28,000 people.

The tour began in Frostburg, Md., continued west through the heartland of Missouri and Kansas and the Western states and finished in Santa Barbara, Calif., March 11.

The Navy Band has been making its annual pilgrimage for many years. On Oct. 12, 1925, in the first year of its official existence, the Navy Band departed Washington by train for a swing through the Southern states that lasted eight weeks. Today, the mode of transportation has changed, but the idea of bringing a Navy presence to the interior of the country has not.

The Navy Band offers community relations dividends that are hard to beat as it brings professionalism, patriotism and pride to Americans who are rarely exposed to the Navy’s ships. Many performances take place in rural towns at high school auditoriums or gymnasiums. These venues are usually filled to capacity with a large percentage of the local population who are impressed by the sharp uniforms and impeccable playing of these musical ambassadors.

‘‘Small town America loves the Navy Band,” says national tour director, Master Chief Musician Robert Snider. ‘‘We play large cities, too, but in a small community, we often get better crowds because a concert by the Navy Band is such a special event.”

A typical tour concert begins with the National Anthem followed by a variety of classical and popular favorites. Later in the program, local high school students are invited to perform a Sousa march with the band. The concert concludes with rousing patriotic selections including the military service songs which recognize veterans and their families. After the concert, band members make themselves available to shake hands, sign autographs, take pictures and mingle with audience members. The experience gives concertgoers not only high quality entertainment, but a positive feeling about their Navy and their country.

In the days that follow, the Navy Band receives hundreds of letters and email messages like the ones below:

‘‘Wow! Amazing! When are they coming back? Thank you doesn't seem to do justice for our appreciation of your coming to our school and community. And thank you for starting the concert with the Star Spangled Banner during which everyone stood up and sang! That set the tone for the whole evening and there was not a dry eye in the row I was sitting in! I also talked to the students who played with the band that evening and know they had the time of their life! Thank you!!!!!”

- Gardner, Kan.

‘‘Tonight I had the rare pleasure and privilege of seeing and hearing the United States Navy Band in concert right in my home town. Despite the unfavorable acoustics of the high school gym, the band sounded wonderful. Every moment of the concert was transporting. Those who were not here tonight missed a chance to enrich their lives. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

- Kennett, Mo.

‘‘The talent and effort was of the highest caliber and the men and women of the Band comported themselves in a way that honored their country and the U.S. Navy. It was great and made me proud as an American and as a veteran. Thank you very much.”

- Huntington, W.Va.

A complete itinerary of the tour is available on the Navy Band Web site, www.navyband.navy.mil. You can read stories and view photos of the tour by accessing the Tour Log. Just go to the tour itinerary page and click on the corresponding date.