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Time:

Thursday
December, 16, 2021
07:30 PM - 08:45 PM

Location:

W 196

Category

Special Performance

Conductor

Conductor Thumb
Chief Warrant Officer Two Benjamin W. McMillan, Musical Director

Program

Download

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The U.S. Army Blues, part of the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Army. After informal beginnings in 1970, this 18-piece ensemble became an official element of the Army Band in 1972. Comprised of exceptional jazz musicians from across the nation, the Army Blues strive to fulfill their mission through public concerts, educational outreach, and the preservation of the tradition of America’s unique art form: jazz. The Army Blues have performed at prestigious venues such as the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the famous Birdland jazz club in New York City, and the legendary jazz club Blues Alley club in Washington, DC. The band has shared the stage with jazz greats such as Dave Brubeck, Doc Severinsen, Stanley Turrentine, Slide Hampton, Dr. Billy Taylor, Kevin Mahogany, and Terell Stafford. The Army Blues give frequent performances at national conferences such as the Jazz Education Network annual conference, the International Trumpet Guild conference, the International Trombone Conference, and the Music Educators National Conference. The musicians of the Army Blues perform regularly at the White House, the Vice President’s Residence, the State Department, and for high-level military protocol and ceremonial events in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The group plays a vital role in Army recruiting as part of the Twilight Tattoo performances seen by thousands of tourists each summer in Washington, DC, and surrounding areas. Members of the Army Blues have played for Habitat for Humanity volunteers in New Orleans during the cleanup efforts following Hurricane Katrina. In conjunction with the USO and the office of the Sergeant Major of the Army, individual members of the band have volunteered to travel to Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan during the holiday season to perform concerts for the troops stationed there. Serving as musical ambassadors, the Army Blues have conducted numerous clinics at schools and colleges throughout the United States. Members of the Army Blues engage in community educational outreach, working with young musicians in local schools. In collaboration with the Library of Congress, the Army Blues play seldom-performed yet historically significant music from the Library’s jazz archives. To celebrate their thirty-fifth anniversary, the Army Blues recorded a double CD album entitled Blues at Thirty-Five in 2007. This album won two Washington Area Music Awards (“Wammies”) in the categories of Best Big Band Group and Best Big Band Recording. Since that time, the ensemble has recorded Live at Blues Alley an educational initiative release called Blues Plus You and most recently, a collaborative effort with the Library of Congress titled Jazz from the Stacks. Blues + You - Free Music and Downloads (designed for band directors and band students)https://www.usarmyband.com/play-along#Blues

The U.S. Army Blues

Conductor's Bio

Chief Warrant Officer Two (CW2) Benjamin W. McMillan is a native of Dacusville, South Carolina, to parents Hugh and Virginia McMillan. He completed secondary education at Wade Hampton High School in Greenville, South Carolina. Mr. McMillan graduated from nearby Furman University in 2000, earning Cum Laude honors with both the Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and the Bachelor of Music degree in Trumpet Performance. Mr. McMillan subsequently earned the Master of Music degree in Trumpet Performance from the University of North Texas in 2003. He also attended the University of South Carolina for post-graduate study in music and served as a band graduate assistant. Mr. McMillan joined the South Carolina Army National Guard as a Musician (Trumpet/Bugler) with the 246th Army Band in April 2005. He graduated Basic Combat Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in June 2006, and he was selected for early completion of Advanced Individual Training at the US Army School of Music at Join Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia. His Active Duty enlisted assignments include the Training and Doctrine Command Band, Ft. Monroe, Virginia, the US Army Europe Band and Chorus, Tompkins Barracks, Germany, and the US Army Signal Corps Band, Ft. Gordon, Georgia. Mr. McMillan is a Commandant's List graduate of Warrior Leader Course, an Honor Graduate of Advanced Leader Course, and an Honor Graduate of Warrant Officer Candidate School. Mr. McMillan’s most recent military education includes Warrant Officer Basic and Advanced Courses. Prior to leading The Army Blues and Downrange, Mr. McMillan led the 1st Infantry Division Band, Fort Riley, Kansas, and the 399th Army Band, Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. Throughout his military career, CW2 McMillan has enjoyed performing as featured soloist and guest conductor across the United States and Europe to include guest-conducting the St. Louis and Salina Symphonies and recording with the International Military Musicians Society. In December 2019, Mr. McMillan led the 1st Infantry Division Brass Quintet on a troop morale deployment in support of the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve across Kuwait, Iraq, and austere locations in Syria, representing the first US Military music mission in that country. Mr. McMillan is a recipient of the Colonel Finley Hamilton Outstanding Military Musician Award. He has been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (2OLC), the Army Commendation Medal (3OLC), the Army Achievement Medal (4OLC), the Army Good Conduct Medal (2nd Award), the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. Mr. McMillan is an alumnus of Sigma Pi Sigma, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Beta Kappa Honor Societies in Physics, Music, and Academics. CW2 McMillan has been married for eighteen years to Mary Lee McMillan, daughter of Harold and Elizabeth Grumann. They have one child Benjamin Wade (“Mac”) McMillan, Jr. (9) and a cat Grace.

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