USAFE Band tours Poland after months of planning

Published Oct. 23, 2009
By Master Sgt. Kelley J. Stewart
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

NOWY SACZ, Poland -- The U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band played six concerts in Poland Oct. 20-25 to celebrate and commemorate 90 years of Polish-American cooperation. This concert series took Staff Sgt. Meredith Healy about two months of planning to pull it all together.

The most labor intensive part of her job concerned planning the itinerary so it takes care of the people in the concert band so they can do their job, "which is to perform," the euphonium player said.

"The operations representative coordinates with the embassy on proposed locations and dates based on potential venues, and band ops works with them on a proposed itinerary," Master Sgt. Charles Anderson, operations director, said.

This tour to Poland was projected a year ago when the operations section did its annual tour planning with USAFE Plans Division's Polish desk.

"We booked specific concert dates through points of contact that work at the American Embassies," the trombone player said.

The only training Sergeant Healy, who has been in the band's ops section for five months, received in planning a trip that take the concert band to six different cities in Poland in six days was actually doing it. She did admit to having a mentor who went with her on the advanced team to check out the venues.

"The mentor is also on this trip, and there are other operations (representatives) here to help, too," she said.

Sergeant Healy has also coordinated trips for the Wings of Dixie to Norway; Slovakia; Stuttgart, Germany; and smaller towns in Germany since she began working in the ops section.

According to Sergeant Healy, the best part about planning this trip was seeing the venues.

"It's exciting to go out on the advance to see the venues and the people, and then bringing the band out. The venues come to life when people see us perform," she said.

While on the advance visit, the trip planner has to consider whether the stage is large enough for the concert band, which consists of 41-people for this trip. The planner also has to consider how to get the gear into and out of the venue, can the buses get to the venue, are there dressing rooms and are there places to eat.

"The most challenging thing is you have to prepare yourself that even with the best laid plans, there will be changes and challenges," she said.

This tour started off with a challenge in Wroclaw when one of the equipment trucks got lost on the way to the first venue and arrived 10 minutes the curtain went up. The band was putting percussion instruments together and finishing the set up in mess dress.

Another responsibility Sergeant Healy has during this trip is to keep everyone on schedule and putting out any fires that might pop up.

The USAFE Band's Operations Section has eight musicians assigned to it who trip plan for about 300 performances a year.

"Each person in the ops section is assigned as a primary for his or her group's performances," Sergeant Anderson said.

Smaller groups composed of members from the concert band include Check Six, Five-Star Brass, Winds Aloft, Wings of Dixie, and a clarinet quartet. Touch 'n Go is another USAFE band that plays rock, but is separate from the musicians in the concert band.