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“The Yanks Are Coming” provides an overview of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) military bands mobilized during WWI and General John Joseph (“Blackjack”) Pershing's vision to enhance military music in the US Army. The presentation looks at the state of military bands before WWI and the musical influences that helped build the military band program. We will also look at some of the important music figures of the time, including Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Percy Grainger, Robert Russell Bennet, James Reese Europe, Walter Damrosch, and John Philip Sousa.
Jari Villanueva retired from the United States Air Force after spending 23 years with The United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. He is regarded as the country’s foremost expert on military bugle calls, particularly the call of Taps. He is currently the Executive Director of the Doughboy Foundation in Washington D.C. and Music Director/Conductor of The Maryland Military Band.
Villanueva has been working for over 35 years as an arranger for companies like Ludwig Music, Musicians Publications, Music Express, JV Music, and others. His many works for bands and ensembles can also be found at JV Music.net and Sheet Music Plus.
Villanueva's arrangements have been performed by all the top military bands, major symphony orchestras, and community bands. He has guest-conducted numerous groups and delivered lectures on Civil War music, music of John Philip Sousa, history of bugle calls in the US, history of Taps, and African American bands during WWI. Every summer, he is a guest lecturer at the Chautauqua Institute.
Villanueva earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree in 1978 from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University. In 1984, he received a Master of Music degree from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
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