Drummer can’t wait to be part of Air Force Band concert
Hutt-based drummer Jeremy Richardson has always had a taste for military ceremony, so leapt at the chance to be part of the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band.
At the end of October he will be showing his prowess when the well-respected band takes the stage at the St James Theatre in Wellington for The Air Force In Concert.
In the annual concert the band takes the audience on an offbeat ride through diverse musical styles, such as popular show tunes and military classics, with some smart choreography to cap it off.
Richardson, who is studying full-time for a Bachelor of Music and Jazz Performance at Victoria University, lists music and surfing as his two passions.
“It’s great to be a musician with the New Zealand Defence Force,” he says. “My grandfather was a pilot in the RNZAF during World War II and I guess, in a way, what I am doing with the band is paying homage to those who went before us.”
The Air Force In Concert provides a great opportunity for the band members to showcase their skills in a good auditorium and to test their limits as artists and musicians, he says.
“There will be a bit of everything — a movie medley, some Piazolla tango music, and the more military style.”
The band is made up of reservists, many of whom are active in Wellington’s music scene. Many come from Wellington’s vibrant jazz community.
The Air Force In Concert will be held at the St James Theatre in Wellington on Sunday, October 29, at 2.30pm.
