When members of a Kansas Army National Guard unit were welcomed home from Iraq last month, they marched into Topeka’s Kansas Expocentre to the cheers of 3,000 people and music played by the Guard’s 35th Infantry Division band.

When Gov. Kathleen Sebelius needs a military band, she puts in a call to the 35th. As the official band of the governor’s office, it will perform at her inauguration ceremony in January.

And at 2 p.m. Sunday, that same band will perform a free Christmas concert in the auditorium at Baldwin Junior High School.

“No matter what they’re playing, or where, it’s clear they take pride in their music, just as they do their service in the Kansas National Guard,” Sebelius said. “Not everyone can say they have their own band.”

A historical unit

Based in Olathe, the 35th’s band has a long, storied history that dates to World War II. It has performed throughout the United States as well as for the State Department in Honduras, Costa Rica and Ecuador.

The band is made up of nearly 60 members from various backgrounds, including teachers, attorneys, electricians and plumbers, said the band’s director, Chief Warrant Officer Stephen Patterson.

“We have a lot of college students,” Patterson said. “It’s just the normal mix of people that you find in any National Guard unit.”

Daniel Bergman, a 2006 Free State High School graduate, has been with the band for about a year. A trumpet player, Bergman said he joined the Guard to get money for college (he intends to go to Kansas University next semester) and to be in the band.

“It’s just a blast,” Bergman said of playing in the band. “It’s a fantastic job.”

Bergman also recruited a friend into the band. Kelsie Lange is a Free State senior who recently joined the Guard and is looking forward to performing with the band.

A bass clarinet player, Lange sat in on the band’s rehearsals to see whether it was something she wanted to do before signing up.

“It’s like being a professional musician. You know you are getting paid,” Lange said. “The people who are in it are really cool and they are all such good players.”

Kelsie Lange, a Free State High School senior, left, and Daniel Bergman, a 2006 Free State graduate, are both members of the Kansas Army National Guard's 35th Infantry Division Band. Lange, who plays bass clarinet, and Bergman, who plays trumpet, recently practiced at Bergman's house.

Good musicians who know how to play an instrument are what Patterson looks for when he recruits.

“I really don’t care what their background is as long as they can play the instrument well,” he said.

Before being accepted in the band, potential members have to show their musical competency and play their instrument for Patterson.

Training and performing

Like any other Guard unit, the 35th’s band meets one weekend a month. Instead of standard military training, it spends that time rehearsing and performing. There usually is at least one performance on that weekend. Concerts and other performances typically are booked a year in advance, Patterson said.

“We simply can’t work more than one weekend a month,” he said. “If we do, it is really rare. It’s a funding issue. If I bring in 55 guys an extra weekend, somebody has to pay for it.”

Military bands focus on Sousa-style marches and patriotic and ceremonial music. The band also marches in a few parades, and a few members play in a jazz band. The band plays for troops when they go off to war and when they return.

“There are a lot of marches played. It’s mood-setting,” Patterson said.

Patterson, 49, has been with the band 27 years and its director for the last five years. Patterson also is the bugler for the Kansas Army National Guard’s ceremonial platoon and is the adjunct professor of trumpet studies at Washburn University in Topeka.

The band also has made a couple of CDs. Information about the band, its free CDs and how to order them can be found at its Web site, www.kansasguardband.com.

A real treat

When the band performs in Baldwin City it will play a mixture of marches, Christmas songs and patriotic sing-alongs, Patterson said. There also will be a special tribute to veterans.

Those at the concert will be in for a treat, said Will Cooper, the Baldwin City school district’s instrumental music instructor. Cooper has seen the band perform several times and has even played with them.

“I’m sure it is going to be an engaging show,” he said. “I think the appeal of military bands is just their tradition. A lot of what school bands do are a reflection of that tradition, and that is a lot of the appeal.”