Allentown Band Director Ronald Demkee heads to Montgomery, Ala., to be one of the guest conductors March 7 of the United States Air Force Band. The performance is part of the 80th annual convention of the American Bandmasters Association.

"This is a rather big deal in the band world," says Demkee, director and conductor of the United States' oldest civilian concert band which has been in existence officially since 1828 and averages 45 performances each year.

Demkee conducts the Air Force band in the suite, "Der Rosenkavalier" ("The Knight of the Rose"), Op. 59, from the comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss. The nine-minute piece will be performed during closing ceremonies of the annual convention.

When asked why he was selected for the honor, Demkee was quick to give credit to the reputation that the Allentown Band has earned. "I'm standing on their shoulders," he says.

The United States Air Force Band was organized in 1941 with the formation of the Bolling Army Air Forces Band under the sponsorship of Lieutenant L.P. Holcomb, commanding officer of the Air Base Group at Bolling Field, near Washington, D.C.

Demkee, 70, keeps a busy schedule in "the band world." In addition to rehearsing and conducting the Allentown Band, Demkee teaches part-time in the music departments of Moravian College and Muhlenberg College and plays tuba in the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.

Demkee, a graduate of Whitehall High School, taught music at Freedom High School for 30 years.

The musician-director has been awarded many honors in his long career, including the National Band Association "Citation of Excellence," the John Philip Sousa Foundation "Sudler Legion of Honor" and the Allentown Arts Commission "Arts Ovation Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Performing Arts."

In 2005, the Allentown Arts Council presented its first Lifetime Achievement Award to Demkee. He is an inductee of the "National High School Band Directors' Hall of Fame" and has been a member of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association since 1986.

This is not the first time Demkee has been the guest conductor for a military band. He has had the honor of conducting many of the U.S. military bands, including the U.S. Army Band, the U.S. Army Field Band, and the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, the U.S. Navy Band, the U.S. Coast Guard Band, the Marine Band of Washington, and the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band.

Asked to reflect on why studying and performing music remains important in an era of budget cuts in education, Demkee, who resides in Upper Saucon Township, says, "Music is a huge part of what makes us human. Music is part of our cultural heritage."

Demkee enjoys his music-making and his contributions to the music world. He has no plans to start marching to a slower beat.