Rainbow Division Band plays in New Windsor
The New York Army National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division Band will play a free concert, “Time Change,” at noon on Saturday, Aug. 15, at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, 374 Temple Hill Road (Route 300) in New Windsor. Performances are part of the band’s annual training tour, when the band plays across the state.
Band members of the “Rainbow Division” 42nd Infantry will deliver music spanning and connecting generations. With the expected military traditional and classical music, the band’s range covers Baroque to pop and jazz, to the newest Three Day Pass rock band featuring punk, ska and garage rock. While the program selections vary slightly with venue, possible titles include “Star Trek: Into the Darkness,” “A Disney Spectacular,” “American Soldier” and the “Ultimate Patriotic Sing Along.”
The 42nd Infantry Division Band; photo provided
The Rainbow Division Band has a long history, playing for troops in World War I. “Stretching across America like a rainbow” was a geographical reference for a group whose widely spread origins across the country came together proudly in a unit of precision and inclusion.
Today all members of the band train and maintain fitness on the same weapons and combat skills that all soldiers learn, additionally practicing music. Members of New York’s Army National Guard since 1947, the band deployed in 2005 to Iraq as part of the 42nd Infantry’s Division headquarters. Band members played at ceremonies, in dining halls, for Iraqi officials and sometimes alongside Iraqi musicians.
For more information, visit the 42nd Infantry Division Band’s Facebook page.
