Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
The Navy Band Chanters, which performs a free concert at 7 p.m. Saturday at Shelton High School, is the U.S. Navy's official chorus. Based in Washington, D.C., the group regularly performs for the president, vice president and others at national events.
The United States Navy Sea Chanters will perform patriotic tunes, sea chanteys, opera, Broadway and traditional choral music at a free concert at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Shelton High School Performing Arts Center.
Admission is free, but patrons are asked to make reservations at http://www.usnavyband.ticketleap.com/us-navy-band-sea-chanters-shelton-wa.
However, no one will be turned away without reservations.
The Navy Band Chanters are the U.S. Navy's official chorus. Based in Washington, D.C., the group regularly performs for the president, vice president and others at national events that include inauguration day ceremonies and state funerals. The group's Shelton performance is part of a national tour, which includes a concert March 19 at the Everett Civic Auditorium and March 13 at the Assembly Hall at Camp Withycombe in Clackamas, Oregon.
Soprano Antje Farmer of Redmond is the sole member of the group from Washington.
In 1965, Lt. Harold Fultz, then the band's assistant leader, organized a vocal group from the Navy School of Music to sing chanteys and patriotic songs for the State of the Nation dinner. Recognizing the ensemble's popularity, Admiral Arleigh Burke, the Chief of Naval Operations, transferred the group to the Navy Band, named them the Sea Chanters and tasked the all-male chorus with singing songs of the sea. In 1980, the group added women and expanded its repertoire to include Brahms to Broadway.
The group has performed at many events designed to soothe a country in mourning. It performed at memorials for the astronauts who died in the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia, and the presidential wreath laying ceremony at the United Airlines flight 93 crash site following the events of Sept. 11. In 2004, the group performed at the funeral of former President Ronald Reagan at the National Cathedral, and in 2007 performed in the Capitol Rotunda as former President Gerald Ford lay in state.
The group has performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Kansas City Symphony, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and with such stars as Perry Como, Marian Anderson, Kenny Rogers and Lionel Ritchie.
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