The 287th Army Band performs during New Castle's 350th Anniversary Celebration on October 7th at Battery Park. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Deborah Welch)

By MIKE BILLINGTON,
The News Journal, Sussex Bureau reporter
11/23/2001

The 287th Army Band is going uptown - and it is bringing some friends along.

The band will perform its third annual holiday concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington. This year, the combined choirs of The Tatnall School also will perform at the concert.

"We're all really excited about playing at the Grand," said Chief Warrant Officer Ed Hockersmith, the band's commanding officer.

The band, a unit of the Delaware Army National Guard, gave its first holiday concert in more than 20 years in December 1999. It drew raves from a standing-room-only audience at McKean High School.

Last year, the 287th gave two holiday concerts, at Dover Downs and at Newark High School. The concerts were so well attended that, this year, the band opted to hold one at the 1,100-seat opera house, Hockersmith said.

The holiday concerts are the idea of Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, the Delaware Guard's adjutant general. Since assuming command of the Delaware Guard three years ago, Vavala has pushed to involve it in a variety of community activities. It has sponsored drug-awareness campaigns and Thanksgiving dinners.

"We are citizen-soldiers," Vavala said. "We are members of the community and it's only right that we take part in community events."

"We've never performed with a civilian group before. It's going to be so neat," said Sgt. 1st Class Mary Righos, a band member. "Performing together will give these high school students a chance to see what we do and to learn more about the National Guard."

Tatnall choir co-director Genevieve Van-Catledge said her students also are excited.

"It's a wonderful place and the band is first-rate," she said.

The 85 students who make up the combined choirs will perform several patriotic songs, Van-Catledge said. The 287th is still putting together its program, Hockersmith said.

The 287th has not performed at the Grand in more than 40 years, Hockersmith said.

Admission to the concert is free, said Army National Guard spokesman Capt. Len Gratteri.