The Army’s premier touring musical organization, the United States Army Field Band, entertained a nearly full house at the C. L. Hoover Opera House Saturday night.

The audience had an opportunity to hear performances ranging from the Armed Forces Salute and The Stars and Stripes Forever to a trombone solo “Annie Laurie,”  and vocal group ensemble songs. There were even two Opera performances, “”O mio babbino caro” and “Papageno.”

One of the band members, Staff Sgt. Heidi Ackerman, sings alto in the Soldiers Chorus. She is a former school teacher turned soldier who has been in the U.S. Army since 2013. Prior to joining the opera she also performed professionally with the Arizona Opera. ” I knew that I wanted to be on stage fulltime, but I wanted the financial security of a fulltime job. And learned about the military’s options for professional musicians.”

Ackerman went through auditions, and then Army basic training for 10 weeks at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, before becoming a member of the band.  They tour the nation. “We have been to probably almost every state. The Field Band has the United States divided into five quadrants basically and so every long tour, every spring and fall we go to one of those different quadrants. ” This time the band is on a 10-state midwest tour where they flew to California and are working their back to Washington D.C. from California.

Ackerman noted for the most part she feels at home on stage. “The beautiful part about this job is we spend so much time on stage we can get very comfortable. Which means and ensures that the audience is going to get the highest quality performance, and see that high top professionalism that the Field Band and these soldiers have to offer.”

This was the first appearance for the band at the C. L. Hoover Opera House.