![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/600_5505-1050x840.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRALPH WILSON\/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
\nPatriotic music filled the Community Arts Center on Monday as the United States Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus performed favorites by Aaron Copland, John Phillips Sousa and others during their America the Beautiful Concert. The evening featured the world premiere performance of Evident Truths by Nkeiru Okoye.<\/p>\n
The house was nearly packed as The United States Army Field Band and Soldiers\u2019 Chorus made a stop at the Journey Bank Community Arts Center as part of their Summer 2026 concert Monday night.<\/p>\n
The free concert, sponsored by the law firm of Casale, Bonner, Hillman and Southard, PC., and presented by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette featured an eclectic assortment of music ranging from the patriotic to traditional standards to hip-hop infused anthems, including the world premiere \u201cEvident Truths,\u201d written by Nkeiru Okoye, and featuring Staff Sgt. Lamar Riddick, of the U.S. Army Rappers.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight\u2019s concert is all about celebrating the places, people and ideals that have defined our country,\u201d said co-narrator and vocal soloist Staff Sgt. Alexus Monroe, in welcoming the audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we celebrate our independence in this milestone year, we also reflect on the enduring ideas that we continue to strive for, liberty, opportunity and the belief that all people are created equal,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Sun-Gazette Publisher John Leeser called presenting the concert a \u201cwonderful opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
RALPH WILSON\/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
\nPatriotic music filled the Community Arts Center on Monday as the United States Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus performed favorites by Aaron Copland, John Phillips Sousa and others during their America the Beautiful Concert. The evening featured the world premiere performance of Evident Truths by Nkeiru Okoye.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeading up to the 250th anniversary of our country, it\u2019s an incredible privilege, and if this doesn\u2019t get you excited for that, I don\u2019t think anything will,\u201d Leeser said.<\/p>\n
Fellow co-narrator and vocal soloist Staff Sgt. James Wilson, who has been performing with the Army for six and a half years, told the Sun-Gazette that his enlistment actually stems from his love of music<\/p>\n
\u201cI had thought about the military post-high school, but hadn\u2019t really given it a thought once I chose to go to school for music,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Wilson, who holds a master\u2019s of music from the University of Tennessee, initially had his sights set on performing in the opera. He and his wife would subsequently sell their belongings and move to Germany in pursuit of that goal.<\/p>\n
Upon returning to the states, a colleague from grad school approached Wilson about joining the field band.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/600_5552-1050x840.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
RALPH WILSON\/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
\nPatriotic music filled the Community Arts Center on Monday as the United States Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus performed favorites by Aaron Copland, John Phillips Sousa and others during their America the Beautiful Concert. The evening featured the world premiere performance of Evident Truths by Nkeiru Okoye.<\/p>\n
\u201cI looked into it and talked with my former colleague, and it was neat to think about military service in a way I had never really thought about,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo think, \u2018man, I can serve my country with music,\u2019 in this specific skill set I had was really neat to do,\u201d he said, adding that he comes from a long line of military service, including a brother in the special forces and a sixth great-grandfather that served in the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be a part of that heritage, to be the next generation that has taken up the banner and continued to tell the tale, if you will, has been really cool to remember,\u201d Wilson added.<\/p>\n
Wilson said the band\u2019s ability to play such a wide variety of music comes down to its make-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes down to the quality of people we have,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/600_5649-1050x840.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
RALPH WILSON\/Sun-Gazette Correspondent
\nPatriotic music filled the Community Arts Center on Monday as the United States Army Field Band and Soldiers’ Chorus performed favorites by Aaron Copland, John Phillips Sousa and others during their America the Beautiful Concert. The evening featured the world premiere performance of Evident Truths by Nkeiru Okoye.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of Americans from all walks of life that have joined our group, and it\u2019s been really neat to highlight that unity and diversity,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
Wilson also sees this opportunity as a means of keeping the history of military services past alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic is such a powerful thing, and in doing years of opera, I got to tell some cool stories on the stage, but the stories I get to tell now, with the military, these are real stories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are stories of real Americans that we get to share and connect people to, and get to really honor people who have served,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s been such a big thing about America\u2019s 250th anniversary, where we get to look back and honor our nation\u2019s journey from winning our independence to preserving it for future generations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Likening the discipline needed to complete a master\u2019s degree to that needed to hone specific skills in the military, Wilson said the two were not so dis-similar, though the impacts certainly are.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may not be seeing a Mozart aria, but now I know the mission is connecting to the American people through music and telling these stories,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd within the chorus, there\u2019s so much variety in our backgrounds, whether people have sung on cruise ships or have a music education or done operatic or only pop stuff, everybody brings that experience and we\u2019re going to come together and execute this mission unified as a chorus,\u201d Wilson said<\/p>\n
Wilson said one of his favorite aspects of singing with the group is at times being a soloist, while presenting with the chorus as a unified team.<\/p>\n
At Monday night\u2019s concert, Wilson played acoustic guitar and sang Alex Warren\u2019s \u201cCarry You Home,\u201d which was dedicated to those family members who \u201chold down the fort\u201d when servicemembers are called to duty, including Wilson\u2019s wife, who is currently pregnant with their sixth child.<\/p>\n
Wilson said that soloists are sometimes picked because their voice or style may fit a particular song, though in-house auditions are always held to give all a fair opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I auditioned for the chorus, it was a whole day ordeal. We woke up at 7 a.m., got on base at 7:30, and started our audition at 8:00, and that didn\u2019t end, probably until 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon, because you sing solo things, and then you sing with the chorus, and then you interview with the chorus, and then interview with the commander. It\u2019s a really long process,\u201d he said, calling it \u201cone of the arts\u2019 best kept secrets,\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI get to sing and serve my country, but also get paid on a normal schedule. That\u2019s not something you see a lot in the arts community, so it\u2019s a really special job,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
Community can mean many things in the U.S., and each one of them has a special place for those performing.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless of how big your town may be, we want to connect with as many people as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of my first tours, one night we sang at this at this gorgeous hall for over 1,000 people, and then the next morning, we sang for maybe 30 people at a VA home, and to be able to sing in some really cool places, but also get to be at soldier\u2019s bedsides at a VA home, or in a small town, it\u2019s really beautiful,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have served from all over the nation, and just thinking about our continued national strength, it relies upon supporting our communities, even on the smaller level,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur country looks very different, but it\u2019s still the same Constitution, still the same values, it\u2019s still looking to the future and how we can have a more perfect union, and even though it\u2019s changed so much, it\u2019s still so much the same, and we get to remember during this, this 250th year,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n
For more information on the The United States Army Field Band and Soldiers\u2019 Chorus, please visit www.armyfieldband.com\/soldiers-chorus.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n CONCORD, N.H. (AP) \u2014 Heat as oppressive as British colonial rule is bearing down on the eastern U.S. heading into …<\/p>\n