The Mountain Brook High School Band has accepted an invitation to participate in the 75th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Mass Band on Dec. 7, 2016 in Hawaii.
Band members will perform at Pearl Harbor on the pier at the U.S.S. Battleship Missouri with other musicians from around the United States and Japan in a worldwide live webcast “Gift of Music” concert.
World-renowned composer and conductor Robert W. Smith surprised band members with an announcement at a recent concert honoring Veterans Day. Smith, the producer and composer for the 75th Anniversary Pearl Harbor Mass Band event, described the opportunity to perform with the mass band as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to honor both the American and Japanese. “This is a special chance to be a part of history, something to tell your own children about,” Smith said.
MBHS Band members will leave Dec. 4 and return Dec. 9. The trip will include visits to many cultural and historical aspects of Hawaii, including trips to Diamond Head volcano, a Polynesian village, the Dole Plantation and a tour of eastern Oahu. Students will also participate in activities in Honolulu and at the Pearl Harbor Historic Site.
“Our students will perform on the deck of the Missouri, overlooking the Arizona Memorial,” said MBHS Director of Bands Jason Smith. “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.”
