Army Woodwind Quintet from Georgia to Perform Feb. 17

The Woodwind Quintet of the Army Ground Forces Band based in Fort McPherson, Ga., will close its concert tour of Illinois with a performance at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in Kemp Recital Hall at Illinois State University.

Admission is free and open to the public.

The quintet's Illinois tour, led by clarinetist Sgt. Darren Siegardt of Elmhurst, Ill., has included public performances, college and high school concerts, master class and clinics with music students, and discussions about Army band career possibilities.

The quintet's program will showcase the ensemble's mastery of different styles of music ranging from Beethoven to W.C. Handy, from Debussy to George M. Cohan, from Mozart to John Philip Sousa.

As just one of only three Army bands with a national touring mission, the Army Ground Forces Band travels the nation, performing at local, regional and national events. The band also conducts master classes and clinics for music students at high schools and colleges around the country.

The 64 Soldiers assigned to the AGFB have passed highly selective auditions and are among the finest musicians in the United States Army Band Program.  The majority of the band's members have studied music at some of the finest universities and conservatories.

Other members of the quintet are Sgt. Paul Ewert of Blue Springs, Mo,; who plays bassoon; horn player Sgt. Andrew Dykes Jr. of Clarksville, Tenn.; Spc. Kailin Eskander of Lee's Summit, Mo., who plays oboe; and flutist Sgc. Gokben Gurdemir, who grew up in Adana, Turkey.