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Sounds
from the Hudson Volume 16, Issue 1 LTC Timothy J. Holtan -
Commander Photojournalists: Contributing
Photographers: NEW
FEATURE A Hudson Valley Holiday
The 2007 A Hudson Valley Holiday promises to bring holiday favorites to families in the area. This year Jay Montgomery returns to sing Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy with Kevin McKelvy (1986 USMA graduate).
The Mid-Hudson Ballet Company, choreographed by the Estelle and Alfonso Dance Studio, delights audiences every year with selections from The Nutcracker. Sgt. 1st Class Laura Bradley will sing Sleigh Ride and Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep and Sgt. 1st Class MaryKay Messenger will perform Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child and White Christmas. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree will feature Staff Sgt. Diana Powers on piccolo and Staff Sgt. Brian Broelmann on bass saxophone. Santa Claus always steals the show at the end. A Night of Gershwin
In 2005 Mr. Hampton was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. Slide’s arranging talents were acknowledged when he received the 1998 and 2005 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement. At the age of 20, he was performing at Carnegie Hall with the Lionel Hampton Band. Other legends he has performed with include Maynard Ferguson, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Barry Harris, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and Max Roach. In 1989, with Paquito D’Rivera, he was musical director of Dizzy’s Diamond Jubilee. In 2004 Slide became musical director of the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. Fairfield County Children’s Choir
The Fairfield County Children’s Choir is a community-based choral program made up of over 260 children in grades four through twelve from communities in Connecticut's Fairfield County. They have shared the stage with such artists as Renee Fleming, Christopher Plummer, Charles Strouse and Stephen Schwartz.
In recognition of this commitment to veterans’ causes, John was awarded one of the highest accolades in the United States: the Bob Hope Award given by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. Despite the demands of his increasingly busy career as an entertainer, John continues to devote much of his time to the causes of homeless veterans.
In 1994, Sgt. Major Grasso moved into the operations division of the USMA Band, eventually becoming operations chief. In 2002, he was promoted to the rank of Sgt. Major. His experience in the USMA Band made him well-suited for this position, and his deep knowledge of Band and Academy operations has been a great asset to the USMA Band and to the Military Academy. Upon retirement, Sgt. Major Grasso plans to remain in Marlboro, New York with his wife, Master Sgt. Rachel Grasso, clarinet section leader of the USMA Band, daughter Meaghan and son Patrick.
Sgt. Major Smither spent the initial portion of his career performing with the Academy Band's field music group, the Hellcats, later moving to the Concert Band. In addition to his duties as Concert Band Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge, Sgt. Major Smither maintained an active performance schedule with the Academy Band's Heritage Brass Quintet. Dedicated to serving both the U.S. Military Academy and the Army at large, Sgt. Major Smither takes great pride in his memories of performing funerals for fallen service members and veterans. His retirement plans include building a home in Branson, Missouri where he will be moving with his wife Melissa, their son Greyson and their foster daughter Kim.
After retirement, Sgt. 1st Class Jones will continue playing percussion with the New York Staff Band of the Salvation Army. In addition, he is currently employed by the Salvation Army's Eastern Territorial Headquarters as the property coordinator in the risk management department. Sgt. 1st Class Jones will continue to reside in the Hudson Valley area with his wife Lisa and son Brandon.
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Sgt.
1st Class Powell of the “Pershing’s Own” U.S. Army Band and Chorus in
Washington, D.C. has had a distinguished career in and out of the
military. Powell is one of the world’s best-known interpreters of the
role of Porgy, having won acclaim for his performances both at home and
abroad. Sgt. 1st Class Powell has performed the role of Porgy over 1200
times with such companies as La Scala, New York City Opera, Live at
Lincoln Center, San Francisco Opera, Cape Town Opera, Sydney Opera and
Houston Opera. As a soloist with the U.S. Army Chorus, he has performed
at the White House on multiple occasions and for numerous presidents and
political figures.
Alvy’s
wife, Gina Watson Powell, has performed as a member of the Lyric Opera
Cleveland and Toledo Opera. She has been a guest artist with the Fairfax
Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Smith Symphony, the
Master Works Chorus of Washington, D.C. and the Bowling Green
Philharmonic. 
Trombonist
Slide Hampton 
Irish Tenor John McDermott
Sergeant
Major Carmine Grasso, operations, has served the Army and U.S.
Military Academy for over three decades. He joined the Academy
Band in 1974 as a bugler in the Hellcats. For nineteen years he provided
daily ceremonial music for the Corps of Cadets, a 200-year old tradition
at West Point. Sgt. Major Grasso also participated in other
performances with the Hellcats, including a performance in Germany in
1992. 
Sergeant
Major Robert Smither, trumpet, will retire from the USMA Band,
concluding a career of over twenty three years of dedicated service to
the United States Army. Sgt. Major Smither joined the Academy Band
in 1984. A native of Freeman, Missouri, he holds a Master of Music
from the University of Oklahoma. He has studied with Jacob Larson;
Jim Elswick, principal of the Springfield, Missouri Orchestra; and Mel
Broiles, co-principal of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. 
Sergeant
First Class Robert Jones, percussion, from Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania, joined the Jazz Knights in May of 2003. Sgt. 1st
Class Jones entered the Army band program in August 1987 and attended
the U.S. Army Element School of Music in Little Creek, Virginia.
His assignments took him to the 4th Infantry Division Band, Fort Carson,
Colorado; the 2nd Infantry Division Band, Camp Casey, South Korea; the
323rd Army Band, Fort Sam Houston, Texas; the 1st Infantry Division
Band, Bamberg, Germany and the 283rd Army Band, Fort Benning, Georgia.
Staff
Sergeant Nathan Eby, percussion, is originally from Redlands,
California. Prior to arriving at the Academy Band in September of
2007, he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music in Music
Performance from California State University and University of
California-Los Angeles, respectively. He is currently working
towards a Doctorate in Musical Arts at UCLA. Staff Sgt. Eby has
held numerous prestigious performing positions, including assignments
with the Rhythm Slam Percussion Ensemble and the touring productions of
Shockwave and CyberJam. 
Specialist
Kristen Mather, clarinet, earned a Bachelor of Music from Youngstown
State University in 2005. There she studied with Robert Fitzer.
In 2006, she attended DePaul University in Chicago and studied with
Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal clarinetist and former USMA Band
clarinetist, Larry Combs. Staff Sgt. Mather has a varied musical
background, performing with the Warren Philharmonic, the American Wind
Symphony Orchestra, the Ohio Light Opera Orchestra and with renowned
jazz bassist Dave Holland. She joined the Academy Band in October
of 2007. 
Staff
Sergeant Carla Moebius, trumpet, joined the United States Military
Academy Band in August of 2007. She received a Bachelor of Music
Education from Indiana University, and has held classroom and private
teaching positions in Indiana, Illinois and in Washington, D.C.
She received her Master of Music in trumpet performance from the
University of Maryland where she served as an adjunct faculty member in
instrumental education. Staff Sgt. Moebius also served as the
administrator for the Maryland Boys Choir and lead singer and trumpeter
for Retrospect, a Washington, D.C. based dance/variety band. Her
trumpet teachers include Edmund Cord and Chris Gekker. 
Staff
Sergeant Shane Pettit, instrument repair technician, from Easton,
Pennsylvania, joined the U.S. Military Academy Band Support Staff in
September of 2007. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in tuba
performance from Temple University. Prior to joining the Army band
program, Staff Sgt. Pettit was an active freelance tubist as well as a
full-time repair technician in the Philadelphia area. He
apprenticed under Ed Coles of Regional Music Service in Millville, New
Jersey, and was a journeyman repair technician under Bret Gustafson of
Gustafson Music in Philadelphia. Prior to joining the USMA Band,
Staff Sgt. Pettit served with the 2nd Infantry Division Band in Korea,
and was also an instrument repair technician at the Armed Forces School
of Music, Little Creek, Virginia. He most recently served as tuba
instructor at the Armed Forces School of Music.