Mountain Brook bands to perform at Pearl Harbor anniversary

The Mountain Brook High School band has officially accepted the invitation to participate in the 75th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Mass Band on December 7, 2016, in Hawaii. 

Band members have been awarded the honor of representing the Mountain Brook community on the pier of the USS Battleship Missouri, with other outstanding musicians from around the United States of America and Japan. The concert will be part of a worldwide live webcast called the “Gift of Music.” 

MBHS band members will be part of paying tribute, and never forgetting the tragedies of WWII. Together with students from America and Japan, the mission will be to show the world how nations that once conflicted can share their cultural practices and present the world a “Gift of Music.” 

World-renowned composer and conductor Robert W. Smith surprised the band with the news at the 2015 Veterans Day concert. 

MBHS band members will leave on Dec. 4 and return on Dec. 9. The trip will include many cultural and historical aspects of Oahu including trips to Diamond Head volcano, a Polynesian Village, the Dole Plantation and a tour of Eastern Oahu. Students will participate in activities in Honolulu and the Pearl Harbor Historic Site. 

Jason Smith, director of bands at Mountain Brook High School, said, “Our students will perform on the deck of the Missouri, overlooking the Arizona Memorial. What an amazing opportunity to be a part of the historic celebration to honor the veterans of one of the most influential events in American and Japanese history.” 

Very soon, the band will begin raising funds to alleviate the total cost of student participation. Visit the MBHS band website or Facebook page to help reach the fundraising goals, or contact Jason Smith via email at smithj@mtnbrook.k12.al.us.

- Submitted by Chris Goldschmidt.