About Us

Here is some information about the "Sounds of Freedom"

Our History

The band began in 1984 when a small group of proud veterans assembled at American Legion Federal Post 509 in Fresno, California, to present a concert commemorating the end of World War II. Most of the veterans who formed the small group had previous experience playing in the military bands and orchestras of the respective branches of the military in which they served.

The “509”, as it was called, was an immediate success and demand grew for additional concerts. The band answered the demand and immediately became a favorite of the community, giving concerts at the Veterans Administration Hospital Facility and appearing at many civic functions throughout the city, including the annual 4th of July Fireworks Show at the Fresno Fairgrounds; area rest homes; andl concerts at the American Legion Hall.

With the onset of base realignment and closure (BRAC), a shortage of military bands occurred but the need for military bands persisted. To meet this demand, the band stepped up to the plate and has since been available for military ceremonies throughout the state. Members memorized bugle calls and the specific protocols of each branch of the military; and worked to procure the music necessary to support the various military events. This all volunteer civilian band, many of whom are Veterans, soon found itself deployed to military bases throughout the state of California, playing for dignitaries, Ambassadors, Generals, Admirals, Heads of State, and the active rank and file members of all branches of our country’s military.

Currently, the band is composed of non-compensated skilled volunteer musicians who donate their time and skills for the community and abroad. Our oldest member is 96 years old and our youngest is 13.

Hollon Kinney: Founder of the "Sounds of Freedom"

Hollon Kinney is a founding member of the Sounds of Freedom Band, and the band's first director. "There were about a dozen members then", says Kinney. "But we were like family. And we still are", he adds. Soon after graduating from Dos Palos Joint Union High School, Hollon found himself in the U.S. Army Air Corps serving our country in the European theater. He jokes at how his skill as a trumpet player kept him out of the line of fire during the war, but if you press him to tell you more, he will admit to some pretty close calls. A proud World War II veteran who turns 96 this month, Mr. Kinney still plays trumpet. One of his greatest joys is to play taps in memory of our fallen heroes.

Mr. Kinney is currently our oldest member, still dedicated to bring the music to his fellow veterans.

Monte Gmur, Director of Bands

Monte Gmur became Musical Conductor of the AUSA Sounds of Freedom Band 2003, and has since served as a driving force in the promotion of a unique programming style that creates a concert experience that awakens curiosity, imagination, wonder, awareness, and appreciation of band music. Mr. Gmur is well known as an educator, adjudicator, clinician and performer.

Bands performing under his direction have been described as “well rehearsed” and “grand.” A reporter for the Long Beach Press Telegram once wrote that “he brings clarity, balance and precision to the ensemble.”

Mr. Gmur’s teaching experience encompasses many decades with high schools bands, college bands, and community bands. A past president of the Youth Band Council of Southern California, founding member of the Pacific Coast Judges Association, and member of the prestigious National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Mr. Gmur has contributed to the success of several television and motion picture projects; served as musical conductor for the Miss California Pageant; production consultant for: The All Western Band Review, Jerry Lewis’ Muscular Dystrophy Telecast, ARCO’s National Jesse Owens Games, and Disneyland.

Mel Stratton, Associate Director of Bands

Our associate conductor Mel Stratton is a marine corps veteran, a nationally acclaimed educator, adjudicator and clinician. We are extremely proud to have him in our percussion section as our tympanist. Mel has recently received the international attention by being inducted into the drum corps international hall of fame for his outstanding contributions to the international drum corps community.

Working with the Blue Devils during the corps’ formative years, Mel Stratton is a drum corps visual pioneer that helped lay the foundation of success that the corps still stands on today.

A snare drummer with the Blue Devils Drum & Bell Corps in the 1960s (the pre-cursor to the drum and bugle corps), after several years in the United States Marine Corps Stratton settled back in the Blue Devils’ hometown of Concord, Calif.

Only in his 20s at the time, Stratton would become one of very first instructors with the Blue Devils when the group officially formed in 1971, bringing an insatiable creative vision for innovation and change to the drum corps activity.

With the Blue Devils he would serve as a designer and overall visual instructor (then known as marching and maneuvering), in addition to the caption head for the organization’s winter and summer color guard programs. According to 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Rick Odello, Stratton became one of the most influential visual and color guard instructions in Blue Devils history by creating drills that excelled in both visual imagery and difficulty.

With his creative vision, Stratton helped pioneer the staging of corps members on the football field to emphasize musical effects, as well as the use of drill formations and other visual techniques to bring to life the emotional intensity of the accompanying music.

“The visual design of the first Blue Devils championship show in 1976 was foundationally a product of Mel’s sense of visual showmanship and understanding that musicianship and the power of the brass and percussion sections should never be compromised,” former Blue Devils director and 1997 Hall of Fame inductee Mike Moxley said.

Working with a staff made up of future Hall of Fame greats, Stratton would be responsible in the corps’ early years to put the group on a trajectory toward greatness. After placing 23rd in the Blue Devils’ first national tour and trip to the World Championships in 1973, just three years later the group would win its first of four Championships between 1976 and 1980.

After his work with the Blue Devils, Stratton went on to found the California Dons Drum and Bugle Corps in 1984. He also served as director of the marching band programs for notable California schools including Clovis and James Logan High School during the 1980s