APPLETON, WIS. — Lawrence University has the distinct privilege and honor to host the United States Navy Band live in concert on Tuesday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. Free tickets are required and can be obtained beginning Monday, February 19 at the Lawrence University Box Office, located in the Music-Drama Center, or by phone at 920-832-6749.
The United States Navy Band has been the Navy’s premier musical organization since 1925. Directed by Capt. Ralph M. Gambone, the band features some of the nation’s top musicians performing a wide variety of music ranging from classical orchestral works to original arrangements of current popular favorites, as well as traditional marches and patriotic fare.
The band has played for a variety of events stateside, including in the Washington and New York parades honoring “Operation Desert Storm” troops in 1991 and at the arrival ceremonies honoring Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990. They performed in 1981 for the 52 American hostages returning to Andrews Air Force Base following captivity in Iran; during the State Funeral of President Ronald W. Reagan in 2004; and for the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Service. Internationally they have performed at such events as the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Fleet in St. Petersburg and at the Baltic International Festival of the Fleets in Kaliningrad, Russia.
Gambone, the 11th officer to hold the position of director, has been leading the Navy Band since August 1998. A native of Annapolis, Md., Gambone, has served in the Navy since 1969. He received a bachelor’s degree in music from Towson State College in Maryland and a master’s degree in music from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. In April 2001, he was inducted into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association, the professional association of master conductors and musicians.
