West Point band concert features Jay Ungar And Molly Mason

West Point - The West Point Band, under the baton of Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Holtan, will present a concert honoring the Armed Forces. The band will feature Grammy award-winning American roots music duo Jay Ungar and Molly Mason. The concert is free and open to the public on Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m. in the Eisenhower Hall Theatre. Jay Ungar and Molly Mason are best known for their performance of Jay’s haunting composition Ashokan Farewell during Ken Burns’ documentary series “The Civil War.” The soundtrack won a Grammy and Ashokan Farewell, originally inspired by Jay and Molly’s annual fiddle and dance camps, was nominated for an Emmy. Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion says: “Jay and Molly make music that is simple and overwhelming . . . joyful and full of feeling . . . an apotheosis of American traditional music.” The band will perform the music of John Phillip Sousa, Jacques Offenbach and others. The band will also feature retiring tuba soloist Master Sgt. Gerald Cates performing John Stevens’ Dances for tuba and band. Cates, from Tullahoma, Tennessee, and a member of the band since June of 1989, will play his final solo with the West Point Band. Allow extra travel time for the vehicle and photo I.D. inspection at Stony Lonesome and Thayer gates. Call the Academy Band’s hotline at 845-938-2617, or check www.westpoint.edu/special before leaving for the concert. For concert information, cancellations and updates call the Academy Band’s 24-hour hotline at 845-938-2617, or visit the band on the Internet at www.westpoint.edu/band.