‘World Famous’ band strikes a chord for veterans with tribute concert: ‘It’s a tearjerker’
When the No Doubt World Famous Monday Night Band plays a military service song, veterans in the audience stand to be recognized — a moment that still moves longtime clarinetist Rene Suprina.
The band, marking its 80th anniversary this year, will present its annual “Salute to Our Veterans” concert from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, in the Charles Cardona Auditorium at Riverhead High School, 700 Harrison Ave. Admission is free.
Ms. Suprina has been performing military tributes with the band since the 1980s. Sunday’s program includes “Armed Forces Salute,” a medley of military service songs.
“It’s a tearjerker for me even after all these years,” said Ms. Suprina, the band’s president. “I’ve played them thousands of times but the effect on me emotionally never changes.”
The band’s members come from all walks of life, including retired music teachers, college students passionate about music and even middle schoolers.
“Everybody is integrated. Everybody is on a first name basis, and it really is a family,” Ms. Suprina said. “You don’t survive 80 years without having some sense of community.”
Among those musicians is Colin Van Tuyl, the longtime director of the Greenport band, who served four years in the Navy as a musician. A lifelong trumpet player, he’s played with the Monday Night Band since 1984.
“My wife says the same thing after each concert,” he said. “She says, ‘You know, I think that’s the best concert yet.’”
Mr. Van Tuyl first saw the band at an astronomy jamboree, where then-conductor Charles Cardona was leading a singalong, dressed as Darth Vader. Through meeting Mr. Cardona — a former Riverhead music teacher for whom the high school auditorium is named — Mr. Van Tuyl became a member.
That connection to veterans reaches back to the band’s beginnings in 1946, when its members included many who had served in World War II.
Principal conductor Michael Cordaro has multiple family members serving in the military. Sunday’s concert is one of several performances he is taking part in to honor veterans.
“What warms my heart the most is seeing how, for that moment in time, everybody is on the same page,” he said.
When Mr. Van Tuyl joined the band in 1984, he recalled, most veterans in the audience had served in World War II. Their numbers have dwindled over the years.
“It tugs at your heart when you play the Air Force song and nobody in the audience is an Air Force veteran,” he said.
Mr. Van Tuyl stands when the band plays “Anchors Aweigh,” the Navy’s service song.
“Even if there’s only one [veteran] out there, it’s good to play to honor them for their service,” he said.
Steven Ospina Delgado is a reporter with the SBU Media Group, part of the working newsroom program at Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism, which connects students with local media.
