Senior Airman Mark Allen Jr. & the United States Air Force Band of the West Clarinet Ensemble

Senior Airman Mark Allen Jr. and the United States Air Force Band of the West Clarinet Ensemble play at KMFA's Draylen Mason Music Studio on Tuesday, August 25, at 12 PM. It's a midday concert, so if you're around downtown on a Tuesday, it's an easy one to slide into during a lunch break.

Allen is leading a clarinet ensemble from the USAF Band of the West, a military musical organization made up of professional musicians. The band covers a lot of ground—more than 125,000 miles a year—performing across Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Puerto Rico. They work in a few different formats: full concert and ceremonial marching bands, popular groups like Top Flight and Velocity, and smaller ensembles like Freedom Brass, Spectrum Winds, and Mission Winds. Over the years, they've played for presidents, heads of state, and dignitaries.

Allen himself brings a strong academic and professional background to the stand. He holds a bachelor's in music performance from Roosevelt University and a master's from New York University. He's played venues like the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and the Kimmel Center, and has shared the stage with artists as varied as Lucky Daye, Earth Wind and Fire, Billy Porter, and Twinkie Clark. He was also accepted as the first Clarinet Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta.

The concert is part of KMFA's Midday Music series, which brings professional musicians into the studio for a lunchtime audience. It's free to attend, and it starts at 12 PM on Tuesday, August 25, at KMFA's Draylen Mason Music Studio, 41 Navasota Street in Austin.