Neighbors

V.S. native performs in First Lady's Late Show episode

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A Valley Stream native performed with the United States Marine Band at a taping of the Late Show on April 30, when host David Letterman had First Lady Michelle Obama as a guest.

Master Gunnery Sgt. John Abbracciamento, 54, of Falls Church, Va., played his trumpet with the band at the taping, where Obama thanked Letterman for his support of military personnel.

“You’ve been a tremendous support to me and my family, but mostly to our men and women in uniform, and our veterans,” she said.

The band then marched into the studio, to Letterman’s surprise, as they played John Philip Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis.” They also played The Marines’ Hymn and closed the segment with Sousa’s march, “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

“It was fun,” said Abbracciamento, who has been a fan of Letterman since Letterman was on NBC. “It was great to play in his last season…It was a great opportunity. It was, at times, so loud from the audience that I could hardly hear myself play, but that’s great because we feed off of that.”

He said that his nephew, who plays in a rock band, also appeared on Letterman recently.

Abbracciamento started his musical career when he was 8 years old. He graduated from Valley Stream South High School in 1978 and attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He completed his bachelor’s degree in music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1983, and also earned a master’s degree from Mannes College of Music in New York in 1985.

He performs with the Marine Band and the Marine Chamber Orchestra at the White House, in the Washington, D.C. area and across the country during the band’s annual concert tour.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to play with the people I do,” he said. “I couldn’t have better colleagues.”