Christopher Buchanan came to New Haven Thursday with his trumpet, sitting down with a brass quintet to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” just minutes after 10 a.m.
It was a teaser for a concert he had waited 20-some years to play.
Buchanan is one of 56 members of the U.S. Navy Band who will play Saturday night at Woolsey Hall, on the band’s first-ever New Haven stop.
A collaboration between the city and Yale that is 91 years in the making — the band has been touring since 1925 — the concert is free and open to the community, and will also feature 10 New Haven high school musicians.
On Thursday morning, several band members including Buchanan made a stop at City Hall, where state Development Specialist Lindy Gold, city arts czar Andy Wolf (who made the band gig happen), and U.S. Small Business Administration veterans affairs officer Frank Alvarado and others were waiting with a warm welcome to the city.
Alvarado.
Calling it “one of the concerts you’ll never forget,” Alvarado issued a proclamation of gratitude on behalf of the city.
“We’re so grateful,” added Wolf, shaking hands with Captain Kenneth C. Collins, the group’s commanding officer and leader, as he smiled for an onslaught of cameras.
For band members like Collins and Buchanan, who see their mission as “representing the 300,000 men and women in the U.S. Navy” fighting overseas, the concert marks an opportunity to introduce both the band and its musical selections, often dripping fanfare, to more people.
Buchanan, a graduate of musicology and composition programs, said he sees a new city and accompanying new audience as a reminder of why he’s been practicing his craft for more than 20 years.
Lucy Gellman Photo
Buchanan.
“My grandfather played trumpet, and when it was time when kids started to pick up instruments in school, he went up into the attic and pulled this trumpet out. He was a bombardier navigator in World War II and he would play trumpet on the side … So he pulled this thing out and said: ‘Hey! Do you want to try this?’ I may have made a couple horrible sounds on it and said: ‘OK.’ So I started playing.”
He fell in love with brass. Studying composition at the University of Illinois, Buchanan “realized that I needed a day job,” and decided to be a performer, which would let him compose on the side. “I ended up being a performer,” he said. After seven years with the U.S. Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, he joined the U.S. Navy Band two years ago.
He’s stoked about performing in a new venue, he said. “I walked by the hall the other day — it looks spectacular,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll sound great in there.”
To listen to an interview between Paul Bass and Andy Wolf about this concert, click on or download the audio above.