When it comes to being honored as a performer, U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Anthony Caldwell has bragging rights.

Caldwell was the guest of honor during a concert performed by the West Point Band at the U.S. Military Academy Saturday, July 2, 2022.

The band will play his music piece titled “At the Point.”

Caldwell, a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, is a member of the 208th Army Band located in Concord, North Carolina. The primary mission of the band is to promote the esprit de corps for U.S. service members, and to serve as goodwill ambassadors throughout the Carolinas.

Caldwell said he is a musician, assigned to the woodwind quintet, consisting of the bassoon, flute, French horn, oboe, and clarinet.

“I am assigned to the woodwind quintet, where I play clarinet,” said Caldwell. “Not only am I a clarinet player, I’m also the music librarian.”

In addition to those duties, Caldwell said he is also assigned to perform at small ceremonial and concert band functions.

His interest in music started from the age of 7, when he studied under a teacher for about two years. From there, he continued his journey, playing solo until the sixth grade, when he learned to play clarinet.

Caldwell reminisced of an interaction that happened sometime around his ninth-grade year in high school when he sent his first music piece to U.S. Marine Corps Col. Michael Colburn, the former commander of the “President’s Own” Marine Band.

“He responded with a Marine Band coin and a heartfelt letter encouraging me to continue my studies in music,” said Caldwell. “That's really what spurred me to join the Army as a musician.”

Caldwell said his interaction with the West Point band started around 2019 when Lt. Col. Tod Addison, commander, showed interest in his first premiered composition "First In, Last Out," a piece dedicated to the memory of service members on Veterans Day.

He wrote “At the Point” as a token of appreciation to Addison, who was leaving the band to pursue other goals at the institution.