Navy Band Northwest is a

military Band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

is composed of professional navy musicians who operates under the direct control and supervision of

Fleet Band Activities Fleet Band Activities (FBA), formerly the Navy Music Program (NMP), is the central management office for nine active-duty fleet bands of the United States Navy. It is located at Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington, Tennessee. FBA has ...

and falls under the jurisdiction of

Navy Region Northwest Navy Region Northwest is one of several United States Navy Regions responsible to Commander, Navy Installations Command for the operation and management of Naval shore installations in Alaska, Washington (state), Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, ...

. Navy Band Northwest is one of 13 Official Navy Bands located throughout the continental

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

History

The band's history dates back to the

Bremerton Navy Yard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted ...

Band (formed in 1918) and the 13th Naval District Band (formed 1925). In 1944, a group of sailors formed a band at Naval Air Station Sand Point in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. The band was created in honor of the arrival of the F6F Hellcat Fighter Squadron of

Carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

Aircraft Support Unit 7 returning from combat operations in the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The band as a result became known as the "Hellcat Band" . The 13th Naval District Band was officially commissioned in 1953 at Pier 91. The band moved to Naval Air Station Sand Point in autumn 1970 where its name was changed to Navy Band Northwest and then to Navy Band Seattle. In April 1985, the band moved into Building 30, which was symbolic in that the building was part of the

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

where the Hellcat Band welcomed home the airmen that returned from combat. It was closed in 1995 as a result of the

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

Commission, resulting in the band to move across the

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

to a newly inaugurated facility at Naval Submarine Base Bangor in Silverdale in February 1995. It then officially changed its name to Navy Band Northwest on 1 April 1999 as a result of the navy's regionalization initiatives.

Mission

The mission of Navy Band Northwest is to provide musical support for official Navy functions and recruiting efforts. The 35 professional musicians in that band can be called upon to perform in various units and formations: Ceremonial/Parade Band, Big Band, Contemporary Entertainment Ensemble, Brass Quintet, and Jazz Combo. From time to time, specialized ensembles such as a

Brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

or wind ensemble are formed to fulfill a specific performance requirement. In addition to their musical duties, band members carry out all administrative and support functions within the band. One of then more consisting performances it gives is an annual international band concert with the

Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific The Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy is one of six regular force military bands of the Canadian Forces. The Royal Canadian Navy band is based at CFB Esquimalt in Esquimalt, British Columbia that serves as the official musical unit of the C ...

, the Band of the 15th Field Regiment (RCA) and the

I Corps Band I Corps Band or America's First Corps Band (officially referred to as the 56th Army Band) is an American military band maintained by the United States Army and is attached to the Army's I Corps in United States Army Forces Command. It is currentl ...

at the Bremerton Performing Arts Center.

Five Star Brass

It is composed of two Trumpets, French Horn, Trombone and Tuba. Its repertoire includes styles such as classical, dixieland, jazz and contemporary. It is regularly featured at Concerts throughout the

in local Navy and civilian communities.NAVY BAND NORTHWEST BRASS QUINTET “FIVE STAR BRASS”
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References

{{Reflist Military units and formations in Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1953 Bands of the United States Navy 1953 establishments in the United States

History

Mission

Five Star Brass

See also

References