About

KMFA's Midday Music Concert Series Presents

Senior Airman Mark Allen Jr. & the USAF Band of the West Clarinet Ensemble

AUGUST 25 at 12:00 PM

SUPPORTED BY WATERLOO AUDIOLOGY

Tuesday, August 25, 2026 | 12:00 PM at KMFA's Draylen Mason Music Studio

About 

KMFA’s free Midday Music Concert Series presents Senior Airman Mark Allen Jr., a talented clarinetist with the U.S. Air Force Band.

Joining Senior Airman Allen for this magnetic performance is the U.S. Air Force Band of the West Clarinet Ensemble, featuring Technical Sergeant Michele Von Haugg, Staff Sergeant Sarah Smelser, Staff Sergeant Julian Bohorquez, and Senior Airman Dalton Tran. Based at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, the ensemble brings together musicians trained at institutions including the New England Conservatory, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, and UCLA.

Their program spans a striking range of styles and eras, opening with Micina's Scene of the Glass Sea and Daniel Dorff's Dark Romance before moving into Marc Mellits' minimalist Ex Machina. Alfred Uhl's Divertimento and Gyulai Gaal's Romantic Games round out the set alongside a clarinet quintet arrangement of Astor Piazzolla's Michelangelo '70, arranged by Allen himself — a fitting close to an afternoon that moves fluidly between classical tradition and contemporary color.

About the United States Air Force Band of the West and Senior Airman Mark Allen Jr.

The USAF Band of the West is a musical organization with an outstanding record of achievement. 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 two popular music groups, Top Flight, and Velocity.  Small ensembles within the unit include Freedom Brass, Spectrum Winds, Mission Winds, and protocol combos. This diversity enables the USAF Band of the West to perform practically any style of music from classical and country to marches and mambos.

The USAF Band of the West has performed for presidents, heads of state, and dignitaries from around the world, earning an outstanding reputation among America's military bands.

You can read more about the United States Air Force Bands at http://www.airforcebands.com/ 

Mark Allen Jr. holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Roosevelt University and a master’s degree in music performance from New York University. He has performed in numerous venues, such as the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Sydney Harman Hall, Symphony Center in Chicago, Harris Theater, the Auditorium Theatre, Boutell Memorial Concert Hall, Ganz Hall, Symphony Hall in Atlanta, and the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts.

Mark regularly performs with the Colour of Music Orchestra and Soulful Symphony, and has been seen in concert alongside artists such as Lucky Daye, Earth Wind and Fire, Billy Porter, and Twinkie Clark. In 2020, Mark was scheduled to go on tour throughout London, Canada, and the US with the Chineke! Orchestra (Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

Mark was accepted as the first Clarinet Fellow with the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he studied with Leslie Grimm. He has performed in masterclasses with Franklin Cohen, Michele Zukovsky, Mark Dover, Tod Palmer, Charlene Zimmerman, and has studied with Alcides Rodriguez, John Bruce Yeh, Trayon Hall, Pavel Vinnitsky, Pascual Martinez-Forteza, and Dr. Robyn Jones.

KMFA's Midday Music Series is brought to you by Waterloo Audiology.

Event Details

• Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
• Time: 12:00 PM
• Venue: KMFA's Draylen Mason Music Studio

Ticket Information

• Cost: FREE (RSVP Encouraged)
• Phone: 512-476-5632

Presenter Details

• Name: KMFA Classical 89.5

KMFA Classical 89.5 is an independent public radio station serving Austin since 1967, reaching approximately 130,000 listeners each week.

Venue Details