One of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s most illustrious and longest-standing partnerships was renewed as The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and the Presidential Salute Battery joined forces for the annual 1812 Overture Concert on Summerall Field Aug. 19.
An audience of over 3,000 people packed the parade ground for the traditional end-of-summer extravaganza, according to Jennifer Maly, TUSAB’s director of marketing and public affairs. The event culminated with a rendition of Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky’s celebrated opus featuring The U.S. Army Concert Band, The U.S. Army Chorus and The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets.
Soldiers from PSB joined the TUSAB elements for a show-stopping grand finale, adding precisely coordinated salvos of cannon fire during the overture’s climactic fanfare.
The concert, which is usually held on the grounds of the Washington Monument, returned to Fort Myer for the first time since 2014.
“We’re very pleased to make this concert more accessible to our Arlington neighbors this year,” said Col. Andrew Esch, the 11th leader and commander of TUSAB. “The energy the crowd brings to a concert makes for a very powerful experience for everyone. Once again, we’re always proud to have our Old Guard partners, the Soldiers of the Presidential Salute Battery, join us on the concert’s title piece. The live cannons make the performance unlike any other!”
Composed in 1880 to commemorate Russia’s victory over Napoleon’s invading forces in 1812, Tchaikovsky’s overture has become a staple of military concerts and patriotic celebrations worldwide, achieving an iconic status well beyond its original context.
“Everyone knows it, which I think is a cool cultural thing,” remarked TUSAB Sgt. 1st Class Larry Ferguson, who took part in the concert as a percussionist. “It’s also just an emotional piece, there’s the chorus singing, there’s cannons. It’s beautiful.”
PSB Platoon Leader 1st Lt. Tony Ronchick characterized the concert as an invaluable opportunity for his troops to work alongside another elite Army unit.
“It’s a great honor that TUSAB, the Army’s foremost musical organization, wants a partnership with us, and more so that they want us to do their capstone show,” he said.
To achieve the exact coordination necessary to sync the gun platoon’s fire to the band’s music, Ronchick, as PSB’s officer in charge for the mission, teamed with Associate Bandmaster Chief Warrant Officer Jac’kel Smalls.
Reading from Tchaikovsky’s score, Smalls delivered cues to Ronchick during each of the 29 instances near the end of the piece that call for cannon fire. Ronchick accordingly cued the eight PSB Soldiers stationed at four World War II-era anti-tank guns, instructing them to fire blank, ceremonial shells at the decisive moments.
“This is the most precise mission that we do every year,” Ronchick said. “It takes the most rehearsal. It’s the top mission fired by the PSB by far. Nothing else is even close, because over the course of a five-minute song, we’re firing multiple times at different durations, and every single firing is specifically called for.”
Emphasizing the discipline and skill the assignment demands, Ronchick noted that only PSB’s best Soldiers are selected for the mission.
The distinction was not lost among those chosen.
“You don’t get to do these kinds of missions when you first get here,” said Pfc. Tyler Wilcox. “It’s really nice to be able to go and show how hard we’ve worked for it.”
“It’s nice to be recognized,” added Spc. Brady Buchanan. “It’s an honor.”
Smalls stated that the talent and teamwork displayed at the concert showcases the Army at its finest.
“To me, this performance and partnership between the Army Band and PSB represent the professionalism of our Army and the Soldiers that serve,” he said. “I hope that the audience will walk away having a positive view of America’s Army.”
Leading up to the overture, the 90-minute concert featured a diverse program comprised of patriotic standards like John Philip Sousa’s “Foshay Tower Washington Memorial March” and pops fare such as a musical reading of “Casey at the Bat” and a medley from “Beauty and the Beast.”
In his last solo performance with TUSAB before retirement, Master Sgt. Alvy Powell received a standing ovation after lending his bass-baritone voice to “Ol’ Man River” from the musical “Showboat.”
“It’s what I started singing when I came in 34 years ago,” Powell recalled. “It was my signature piece. I’ve been requested to sing it by three presidents. I figured, if I started with it, I’d request to end with it.”
For Ronchick, too, this year’s 1812 Overture Concert brought a closure of sorts, as it was his last mission as PSB’s platoon leader.
“It’s a great way to go out,” he said.
A video of the full concert can be viewed at www.facebook.com/usarmyband.
Pentagram staff photojournalist Francis Chung can be reached at fchung@dcmilitary.com.