In early July, after most of the groups of The U.S. Army Field Band returned to Fort Meade, MD, having completed helping thousands of Americans celebrate Independence Day, I travelled to my alma mater in Potsdam, NY.  The State University College of New York at Potsdam is just a few miles south of the Canadian border and is "up north" from Fort Drum.

I graduated from there in 1975 after attending the Crane School of Music, perhaps the leading music education college in the nation.

During my too short visit I was able to spend lots of time working with high school students attending Crane Youth Music, not really "band camp" because it included orchestra and choral students.  What a great group of young men and women who were highly interested in what it was like to serve in America's Army and were so supportive of and interested in everything our Soldiers do.

It was a little strange to walk the halls of where I studied over 35 years ago but meeting all of these great young Americans sure made me feel optimistic about our Nation's future.

The Musical Ambassadors of the Army, The Army Field Band, will be presenting lots of concerts in the Mid-Atlantic area during the summer.  Check out these free events at www.ArmyFieldBand.com and on our Facebook page.