ALBANY - The Willamette Valley Concert Band will salute U.S. military veterans with a free concert entitled "Music From World Wars I and II" at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at the Russell Tripp Performance Center, at Linn-Benton Community College.

In addition to a host of patriotic music and marches, the band will play Glenn Miller and Dixieland-style tunes, and have the vocal stylings of The Girls of Company B.

The trio's members, recent graduates of the Western Oregon University music department, are Sherry Alves, Karley Herrick and Sara Morris.

The Girls of Company B were founded in 2002 as part of Coker Publishing's "A Tribute to Veterans" program that performed throughout the Northwest and Southwest United States.

The trio will sing three selections: "Rum and Coca-Cola," "Stardust" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)."

The last song was performed initially by the Andrews Sisters, and revived later by Bette Midler.

The band will continue to bring back the vibrant music of America's war-torn years with a performance of "In The Miller Mood" which features several popular songs from the Glenn Miller Band: "Moonlight Serenade," "Little Brown Jug," "At Last," "I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo" and "In The Mood."

The Glenn Miller pieces will feature a group of saxophones and a clarinet player.

"The Homefront" will feature a medley of popular songs from WWII, such as "Thanks for the Memory," "Bell Bottom Trousers," "I'll Be Seeing You," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree" and "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition."

The band also will perform a WWI medley, including "It's A Long, Long Way To Tipperary," "Keep the Home Fires Burning (Until the Boys Come Marching Home)" and "Over There."

And "Big Band Dixie" will include more songs popular during WWI and II, including "Midnight in Moscow," "Muskrat Ramble" and "That's a Plenty."

Even more traditional Veterans Day music at the concert will include:"Eternal Father, Strong to Save," by Claude Smith, a stirring arrangement of the U.S. Naval Hymn; "Where Valor Proudly Sleeps," composer Robert Longfield's musical impressions of a visit to Arlington National Cemetery; "American Anthem" by Gene Scheer, from the soundtrack to the Ken Burns TV documentary "The War"; and music from the Richard Rodgers soundtrack for the popular TV documentary, "Victory at Sea."

The band also will perform well-known marches from the world wars by John Philip Sousa and Kenneth Alford. The grand finale, as always, will be Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever."

The concert is sponsored by Russell and Duffy Tripp and is free, although donations will gladly be accepted after the concert to help continue the band's patriotic concerts.

The Willamette Valley Concert Band, a community ensemble based in Albany, was formed in 1970. Its membership includes about 55 musicians, ranging from teens to senior citizens, from Benton, Linn, Marion and Polk counties. The band director is Richard Sorenson, an emeritus director of bands at WOU. The assistant director is Christine Barreto, a retired Lebanon music teacher.