VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Some of the best musicians in the world appeared at the 2024 Grammys. But did you know that we have world-class musicians right here in Hampton Roads? And they happen to be in the U.S. Army.
Benjamin “Bennie” Hall grew up in Hurt, Virginia, outside Lynchburg.
“So my mom bought me a piano when I was five years old,” said Hall. “I grew up in the church playing."
Hall has stood out in the music world his entire life, even being asked to play with the band on the David Letterman show when he was just 19.
“I was in New York and somebody heard me at the music store and it was the guitar player on David Letterman Show. And he said, 'Hey man, you want to sit in with us?' I couldn’t believe it happened, yeah," Hall laughed.
He went on to join the Marines and later became a Sgt. in the Army. But his love of music was always there.
Even while serving his country, he found time to sit in with some of the best musicians in the business, including three-time Grammy winner and Newport News native Bruce Hornsby.
But he tells me the best gig of all is the one he just landed.
“I will never forget that call," said Hall.
Last September, he was chosen to be an instructor at the prestigious Army School of Music in Virginia Beach.
“It felt like the NFL was calling me. It’s like, I got picked!" said Hall.
Hall’s supervisor and tuba player, first Sgt. Mark Lucero, says Hall was chosen out of hundreds of accomplished Army musicians from all over the world.
“We go through a vetting process where everyone here at the school is hand-selected,” according to Lucero.
“I get to play with musicians all around the world 24/7. I get to meet students that come here. Like, we have a student who was just on The Voice," Hall said.
Students, including new Army recruits, watched their instructors perform at the start of a new semester. It gave them a glance at what they’ll be learning in the next two to three years while they call Hampton Roads home.
From here, they’ll go to Army bases all over the world and do what soldiers do: protect our country. But, they'll have one additional duty.
“Our job is to be out in the community telling the Army’s story and representing every soldier that is in the armed forces," Lucero said.
They'll be sharing those stories through music at ceremonies all over the world, from presidential visits to NFL games.
For Hall, it’s the gig of a lifetime.
“[I'm] so glad the School of Music is in Virginia, my home state. I'm so blessed to be here," Hall said with a huge grin.
It’s that humble and gracious attitude that makes this musical maestro, Positively Hampton Roads.
