US 7th Fleet Band Mentors Misawa Air Base Students

By Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel Sanford, U.S. Naval Air Facility Misawa, Japan Public Affairs

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (NNS) -- Members of U.S. 7th Fleet Band visited Misawa Air Base and helped mentor local elementary school orchestra members March 8.

The Band's Shonan Brass Quartet spent the afternoon with Sollars Elementary School students, and offered assistance as the children prepare for the school's upcoming spring concert.

The quartet is in Misawa to perform for a retirement ceremony, but decided to maximize their stay in Misawa by helping out young musicians, and by also performing a free, evening concert for Misawa-area residents.

"We always enjoy playing up here in Misawa, but we really enjoy working with the kids, and it definitely keeps us on our toes," said Musician 2nd Class Tony Smouse, a member of the U.S. 7th Fleet Band, who also worked as a music teacher prior to enlisting in the Navy. "I think it definitely prevents us from slacking on our fundamentals, so when we teach children the importance of good posture and good breath support, we have to be a good examples ourselves and reinforce those qualities."

The quartet members worked with the school's fifth and sixth grade orchestra members, and offered advice and encouragement to the students.

"I learned a lot from them," said Sophia Caraballo, a student at Sollars Elementary School, who also attended the concert. "It was fun, and I think it will help us be better musicians in the future."

Sollars Elementary School Music Teacher, Michael Pavlik, said the band's visit will have a lasting impact on the students.

"The kids absolutely loved having the band here," said Pavlik. "They were really, really engaged and it was fantastic to observe.

"During their visit, we broke up the session between fifth and sixth graders," he said. "So after the fifth graders were dismissed, many stayed behind just to listen and learn what the band members had to say to the sixth graders."

Pavlik also said about 90 percent of his students were in attendance for the evening concert, which many found inspirational.

"It was really cool for them to observe musicians of this caliber," said Pavlik. "To be able to hear music played at that level, I think it really helped the kids, and hopefully it will motivate them to continue playing."

Following the concert, Smouse said he was gratified to see the progress the children made, and their enthusiasm for music.

"They were great kids. They were bright and really absorbed the information very quickly," he said. "From the first note they played until we finished, the progress they made was very noticeable."

For more news from Naval Air Facility Misawa, visit https://www.cnic.navy.mil/misawa/index.htm or www.facebook.com/nafmisawa.