UAPB music student Bryan Wade will represent UAPB in Washington D.C. in June as he participates in The 369th Experience Band. He will be one of 65 students representing 21 HBCUs at the event. Bryan will start his tour on June 13th-20th with the band in Washington D.C. with Continuing the Legacy, a week-long series of events and performances celebrating Juneteenth, Black Music Month, and African Americans’ military and musical contributions throughout history.
Other planned band activities for the week in Washington D.C. include a performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and a parade with top U.S. military bands passing the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) and concluding at the National World War I Memorial site in Pershing Park. After their performances in Washington D.C., the new 369th Experience Band will continue with performances in New York City, Brest and Paris, France, and other historical locales.
According to John R. Graham, Jr, UAPB Director of Bands, “This is another outstanding opportunity and exposure for our deserving students. We thank this organization for teaching history while providing a real-world experience for these young bright African American males. Bryan is an outstanding student musician who will represent our university extremely well. We are proud of him.” Meet the band members at https://www.369experience.com/meettheband.
The 369th Experience is part of a series of events endorsed by the World War I Centennial Commission to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I in Washington D.C. The 369th Experience Student Band members will learn the history and repertoire of the original Harlem Hell Fighters Band. In addition, the band will retrace their steps by performing the band’s repertoire at centennial celebrations. This historic series of national and international programs and musical events depict the African American and Puerto Rican experience in World War I through the eyes of the 369th U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as the Harlem Hell Fighters.
Bryan’s participation will honor these soldiers by acknowledging, preserving, and celebrating their contributions to the world and to music as they help us recreate the Harlem Hell Fighters band. Led by Bandmaster James Reese Europe and Drum Major and Lead Vocalist Noble Sissle, the famous Harlem Hell Fighters regimental band’s spirited arrangements of ragtime, jazz, and blues first introduced European audiences to the novel sounds of this American music. Learn more at www.369experience.com
