Julian Bohorquez returns to Lamont
Julian Bohorquez (third from left) with the rest of the Mission Winds and the Lamont clarinet studio.
Airman First Class Julian Bohorquez earned his Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance from DU's Lamont School of Music in 2016. He then went on to complete his Master of Music from Carnegie Mellon University in 2019. In March of 2022, Airman Bohorquez joined the Air Force and was assigned to the Band of the West, JBSA Lackland, TX.
Lamont was proud to welcome Airman Bohorquez back on October 23-24, this time in his capacity as a member of the Mission Winds of the United States Air Force Band of the West. The Airmen assigned to the band are highly-trained professional musicians who have dedicated themselves to serving their country through music.
The USAF Band of the West travels more than 125,000 miles annually and provides hundreds of performances to military and civilian audiences throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Puerto Rico. The organization is made up of the large ensembles Concert Band, Ceremonial Marching Band, Dimensions in Blue, and three popular music groups, Warhawk, Top Flight, and Velocity. Small ensembles within the unit include Freedom Brass, Gateway Brass, Spectrum Winds, Nightwatch, Mission Winds, and protocol combos.
The USAF Band of the West has a long lineage in the United States Air Force. The band was created on October 1st, 1941 at Moffett Field, California and moved to Enid Army Airfield soon after. With the birth of the United States Air Force in 1947, the band moved to what eventually became Lackland Air Force Base. The band was inactivated in 1955 but reactivated in 1959. The title "Band of the West" was used for years until May 1st, 1997 when it was granted official status. They have performed for presidents, heads of state, and dignitaries from around the world earning an outstanding reputation among America's military bands.
While at Lamont, the Mission Winds gave a masterclass for clarinet students, a public recital, and a lecture/Q&A entitled "Musicians' Life in the Military."
