IAR Faculty member Lisa Moyer performed in the inaugural parade for President Barack Obama. Out of a record number of 1,400 applicants for the parade, only 90 bands were selected. To demonstrate the popularity and size of Obama’s parade, the 2005 inauguration for then President George W. Bush received 340 applications and invited 47 bands. Lisa Moyer has been a musician for over 20 years and plays multiple instruments, specializing in saxophone and piano. She graduated with honors from Lebanon Valley College with a Bachelors of Music with emphasis in Music Recording Technology. At IAR, she teaches the Basics of Digital Audio, Ear Training and Acoustics, and Audio Post Productions, among others, and is among the school’s most respected and popular faculty members. For the past 5 years, Lisa has been a member of the Big Apple Corps marching band and orchestra. The band delivers over a dozen performances each year. They have performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Paramount Theater, The Hollywood Bowl, and in the NYC Veteran’s Day Parade. Big Apple Corps also performed for both of Bill Clinton’s inaugurations, though not in the inaugural parade, and will have the great honor of playing at Carnegie Hall this February.

An elite group of experienced military musicians selected Lisa’s band to perform on January 20th. Lisa had to be in Washington D.C. to check in at 5:00 am, “It was intense; instruments and bags were X-rayed and buses were checked for bombs,” says Lisa. An estimated 1.8 million people attended this momentous inauguration. “It was emotional to be part of such an historical event,” says Lisa. “It was great just to see thousands of musicians and the top bands in the country in the same place. There is nothing like it. We played John Philip Sousa’s ‘Washington Post March’ for President Obama as we passed the reviewing stand. To march past Obama, see him waving and smiling, you can’t describe that feeling of pride.”