The U.S. Air Force Band Surprises Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Visitors

Visitors to the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center were treated to a surprise holiday performance by The U.S. Air Force Band yesterday. The four-minute performance featured original arrangements of Greensleeves and Carol of the Bells led by the band’s commander and conductor Col. Larry H. Lang. Surprised museum visitors watched as instrumentalists started playing in front of Space Shuttle Discovery and then moved to the Boeing Aviation Hangar to join the rest of the band’s more than 100 members, where the drummers played and vocalists burst into song from the museum’s balconies. The crowd gave an enthusiastic ovation when the performance ended.

Groups from The U.S. Air Force Band will perform at the National Air and Space Museum as part of the Smithsonian’s Holiday Festival, Dec. 6‒7. Click here for performance times.

The National Air and Space Museum building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., is located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. The museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is located in Chantilly, Virginia, near Washington Dulles International Airport. Attendance at both buildings combined was 8 million in 2013, making it the most-visited museum in America. Both buildings are open from 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. every day (closed Dec. 25). 

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