Serving with Music
A Julian Middle School band director is heading to Qatar this summer to perform for troops.
Playing an instrument while singing in a rock band can be challenging enough. Try doing it in a combat zone with desert temperatures reaching as high as 130 degrees and sand blowing in the air, far away from the comforts of home. That’s what Tom Kanwischer, 31-year-old band director at Percy Julian Middle School, will do this coming summer when he and other members of the Air National Guard Band of the Midwest head for their deployment cycle to the Middle East and beyond, to locations so hot that sound amplifiers have been known to melt. This will be Kanwischer’s first time going overseas to perform since enlisting in 2005. He’ll be singing, playing bass, as well as trombone. Kanwischer’s rock band, Permanent Party, will be bringing …
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