Music Department honors veterans with Jazz

A large crowd gathered the day after Veterans day to celebrate and honor America’s veterans and military with jazzy tunes performed by NIC’s Music Department.

The Schuler Performing Arts Center came alive with a myriad of trumpet and saxophone solos intertwined with the smooth vibrato of talented voices.

NIC’s Jazz Ensemble and Cardinal Vocal Jazz performed a variety of selections in the concert titled “A USO Salute,” referencing the organization that has been dedicated to entertaining and supporting America’s troops for quite some time.

The Music Department was also joined by special guest, Nicole Lewis, whose silky voice delighted the crowd and complemented the lively musicians.

References from Vocal Jazz Director Max Mendez and Jazz Ensemble director Terry Jones seemed to slip the crowd into another era, with selections like “In a Mellow Tone” by Duke Ellington and an old jazz favorite from Glen Miller “In The Mood.”

Terry Jones expressed his pride and lifted up the musicians and stage hands behind the show saying, “It really is in a lot of ways a privilege to be here.” The crowd was also surprised when Jones divulged that the seemingly breezy performance was only practiced in about 8 rehearsals.

It was apparent from the beginning of the night that the majority of the crowd was older. Well dressed couples made their way to their seats arm-in-arm, others pushed their loved ones in wheelchairs, some of the older men proudly sported jackets emblazoned with their branch of military.

Nicole Lewis and Max Mendez performed the traditional “Armed Forces Medley,” the last selection of the evening, during which veterans in the audience were encouraged to stand when the song from their branch of the military was played.

A large number of veterans stood proudly while their song played, the audience clapping and cheering. The performance ended with a standing ovation, and as the night drew to a close many lingered and visited with friends and family.

A Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy and Marine Corps said this was not the first time he and his wife came out,”I like it all, I always enjoy it. Keep up the good work, the veterans love it.”

The night must have stirred old memories as many from the audience came alone and watched with seemingly nostalgic joy and longing. A pair of elderly women stayed in a tight embrace as one of the women wept. The other woman consoled her with words about a good man who is very missed.

“It was just wonderful, way more professional than anticipated,” Dave and Josette Shultz said. “We were amazed at the performance. It was refreshing to hear those songs, we haven’t heard them in a long time. “It’s interesting because those were all World War II songs and of course our parents were the World War II generation. We grew up with it, it’s timeless music.”