Memorial Day is the day we remember and honor those military members who have died while serving.  Serving to keep us safe and free and often blissfully unaware of the evils that walk the earth.

To honor the sacrifices of our fallen, one thing we must do is make good use of the days they have made possible for us.  We are free to celebrate and enjoy and this includes celebrating with the music we make.

One of the most important parts of the military services is the music of the Service Bands.  I wasn’t a musician when I was in the Navy and I have unceremoniously pinched this from the US Navy Band YouTube channel.  I hadn’t seen it before, possibly lost in the flurry of covid-eos that came out over the last 15 months.

Many don’t know that the US military employs more full-time musicians than any other employer in the world.  They’ll be busy working this holiday weekend – but you can enjoy the harpists of the US military including counterclockwise from bottom right – US Navy Musician Chief Emily Dickson, US Coast Guard Chief Musician Megan Sesma (the USCG’s first harpist!), US Marine Corps Band (The President’s Own) Master Gunnery Sergeant Karen Grimsey, US Air Force Concert Band’s Technical Sergeant Greta Asgeirsson, US Army Field Band’s Staff Sargent Grace Bauson, and US Army Band (Pershing’s Own) Sergeant First Class Nadia Pessoa.

To all our military musicians (but especially for our military harpists!) –

Thank you for your service!

The video is here – it’s a beautiful listen…and a great opportunity to explore some excellent arrangement ideas.

I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating your unofficial start of summer while honoring those forever in the sun.