The
University of Alabama percussion ensemble doesn’t just have any leader, their teacher is Beth Gottlieb, who along with her husband, is a member of actor Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan Band, and a good friend of his as well.
“He said, ‘well, I have a band,’ and at first we thought, ‘yeah, actor/band, right,’ but it turns out it’s really good and he asked us to sit in and the next thing I know, we ended up joining the band full time in 2005,” explains Gottlieb.
Four years later, this percussion teacher and her group are continuing to travel the globe to do their part in thanking U.S. troops. Friday, she’ll head to Afghanistan to perform.
“It’s just an unbelievable feeling as a musician, it’s like living the dream and it’s really neat because I can bring back stories to these students as a professional musician and teach them what it’s like,” says Gottlieb.
Her students say all of her accomplishments truly inspire them to stick with their dreams.
“It’s really cool hearing the places she’s been, the countries she’s seen, the gigs she’s done and it inspires you, you want to get to that level,” says student Joe Collins.
“It’s been definitely an interesting journey for all of us, she’s told us so many neat stories about the troops and everything and it’s been very inspiring too altogether really,” says Gottlieb’s son and student, Brian Radock.
Thankfully for these students, Gottlieb’s experiences don’t cost them extra tuition, her life lessons, come free.
The Lt. Dan Band will be in Afghanistan for 8-9 days, visiting at least three different bases. They’ll spend the Thanksgiving holiday with the troops
