A Euphonium for Obama
By LIZ BURLINGAME
Whidbey News Times Reporter
Dec 23 2008
The presidential inauguration is just about as close to a royal coronation as America gets. Ceremonies, salutes, and celebrities, and even a party for tuxedoed insiders (the inaugural ball).
Tickets are fetching five figures online as an estimated one million people are expected to pack the National Mall.
Among all the action this January, Coupeville will have its own representative at the U.S. Capitol. Midshipman Aaron Gavin, a graduate of Coupeville High School, will play the euphonium during President Barack Obama’s inaugural parade.
At 20 years of age, Gavin is a student at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York and a member of the academy’s band. The band has played at every presidential inauguration since 1971.
“He’s kind of taking it in stride, but we’ve been peeling ourselves off the walls,” Tessa Gavin said of her son’s reaction.
His relaxed demeanor stems from the Regimental Band’s large number of performances, including the Miss America Pageant, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Cotton Bowl Halftime Show on New Year’s Day and countless other national events.
“We’ve been getting more excited about the inauguration and playing in the mornings to get used to the cold weather,” Gavin said.
After being nominated by Congressman Rick Larsen, Gavin joined the academy two years ago. He spent several months at sea, training aboard U.S. merchant vessels and learning the trade routes of the world. He’s traveled to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Graduates of the academy can join any branch of the service as an officer, and Gavin hopes to intern at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island before applying to flight school.
In high school he was the captain of the tennis team and an Eagle Scout.
“We always told him, no matter what you are going to be, be the best at it,” said his grandmother, Jeanne Wilson.
Gavin’s interest in music began in elementary school. His first instrument was the baritone, before switching to the euphonium (a similar instrument) for the academy band.
“He was shocked when he heard he made the band, he was worried he wasn’t good enough,” Wilson said.
The music director at the academy, Captain Kenneth R. Force, is a champion of British regimental bands and the New York Times called him “... a human encyclopedia of military ceremonial and musical data.”
And like standard mariner training, his band follows a strict, disciplined military structure. For the parade, the band will play four marching medleys, including “Heave Ho,” which is the Merchant Marines’ anthem, and “Life on the Ocean Wave.”
While Gavin’s teachings have him feeling prepared for the inauguration, he did share one concern with his grandmother.
“He heard that at one inauguration ceremony it was so cold outside that a kid got his lips stuck to the instrument,” Wilson said.
She strongly recommended he carry warm water and Vaseline.
As Gavin watches first-hand Barack Obama become the 44th President of the United States and the first African-American to hold the office, his family will be watching him on television.
“I’m very proud of him,” Wilson said. “I can’t tell you what a good kid this is.”
The Inauguration is Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009.
Whidbey News Times Reporter Liz Burlingame can be reached at eburlingame@whidbeynewstimes.com or 360-675-6611.- Civil
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