Members of the Langley Winds woodwind sextet say they are looking forward to sharing their passion for music with a Richmond County audience Friday night at the Cole Auditorium.

The Daily Journal is sponsoring this free show. It is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

Flute player Staff Sgt. Anne Epperly has ties to North Carolina.

She was a member of the Greensboro Youth Symphony, attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and grew up just across the state line in Martinsville, Va.

“It feels very much at home whenever I come back to North Carolina,” Epperly said.

She also said the group is performing at Wake Forest University during its current tour.

“I hope that we communicate our love for music whenever we perform,” Epperly continued. “Our sextet really enjoys playing music, and the pieces each have their own personalities that I hope come through in our performances.”

Clarinet player Senior Airman Jeffrey Boehmer said the group typically tours eight to 10 days every month.

“We just want to have a good time with our music, and demonstrate the precision of the Air Force,” Boehmer said. “We really focus on keeping the American musical tradition alive through patriotic music.”

Heritage of America Band Director of Operations Ray Landon explained this is a community-oriented performance.

“The Langley Winds woodwind sextet is a group of five very talented musicians, who represent one of the core values of the Air Force: ‘Excellence in all that we do,’ through their music,” Landon said. “We would also like for our audience to understand that right now there are a lot of deployed airmen across the globe making real sacrifices for our country. This concert is a way of thanking the community for supporting them, and to remind the audience there a lot of people out there making those sacrifices.”

“The Daily Journal is always happy to work with the Cole Auditorium to bring quality musical experiences to our readers and the community as a whole,” said Publisher Rick Bacon. “Bringing in groups from our military gives us the chance to enjoy a great night out, for free, and honor our veterans at the same time. I hope every veteran who can will join us that night.”

“It is always a real pleasure having the military bands perform for our audience,” Cole Director Joey Bennett said. “These talented individuals are never disappointing as they tour through our area, and I think that having the Langley Winds perform will be no less impressive. It has been some time since we have been able to showcase a woodwind group in our series.”

Bennett said the auditorium has distributed a lot of tickets for the event, and it is expected to fill up.

“We hope to have a full house for the performance,” he said. “I am hoping that everyone will be excited to see the group perform. Being able to offer the concert free of charge is a nice treat for the audience. We hope to draw community members that may not be able to attend our series performances.”

The sextet is one of eight ensembles of the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band.

For more information about this performance, call the Cole Auditorium at (910) 410-1691.

Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.