Symphony member critiques Band of Mid-America Published Sept. 11, 2013 By Senior Airman Jake Eckhardt 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Felicia Foland, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra bassoonist, mentored the U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America woodwind quintet, Freedom Winds, as they rehearsed last week. She said that if the tone of the French horn was louder, it would make the sound fuller. "If you could, please, hold out that note," she said. "It's not a hot stove top--don't touch it then release. Give it the time to sound full. That's what you want." Foland spent more than two hours coaching the band on how to perform to the best of their ability as musicians, and as a team, Sept. 5. "Music isn't just a job for me--it's more of a passion," she said. "It's great to share one of the most important things in my life with others." Freedom Winds, which consists of an English or French horn, flute, bassoon, clarinet and oboe, prepared three songs by Paquito D'Rivera. They only played a few measures at a time, so Foland would have enough time to inspect the technique, tone and timing of each part. Tech. Sgt. Kimberly Miller, Freedom Winds NCOIC, said, "I usually try to have an idea of what we need to work on and how much time we need to work on it. This has definitely opened my eyes to how we play together, specifically speaking, to our timing and dynamic range. Those are things we are going to be working on for the upcoming concerts at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Carbondale." Miller said these concerts may be the only exposure to the military some college students have ever had. "We want to make sure that our fundamentals and timing are solid, and that we are making beautiful musical lines, because we represent the rest of the Airmen." Quintet members said the difference in views of music is one of the main reasons the experience helped them. "It's really great that she could make it out here to coach us," Miller said. "She has a slightly different perspective than we do. She has more of an orchestral background as opposed to our band and chamber background. Anytime we can share some expertise, it's a great learning opportunity."