Navy band to play here

A Navy brass quartet will perform an open-air concert just prior to the laser light show, Sunday, June 26, according to Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher.

The quartet is part of a 35-piece Navy band stationed at Silverdale, Wash. Different groups of the band make some 400 appearances a year in and around the Northwest.

Ivan Snavely, who heads the Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam, helped make arrangements for the June 26 performance.

Navy Band Northwest is under the leadership of its director, Lt. Bruce Mansfield, and falls under the operational command of Rear Admiral Jeff Ruth.

In order to be selected to take part in the Navy band program, applicants must audition before one of 11 Navy bands. Band members tend to serve from 3-5 years, officials said, and there is a high re-enlistment rate of about 85 percent.

The Silverdale Navy group performs in such places as the states of Washington, Alaska, Oregon, northern California, Nevada, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Colorado, and western Nebraska and Kansas. They will play in front of the seating area outside the Visitor Center starting at 9 p.m. and ending about 9:45, just prior to the start of the laser light show.