Petty Officer 2nd Class Catherine Annette Chauvot, a sailor with family in Berne, joined the Navy over 12 years ago and now serves as a musician.
She is assigned to Navy Band Northwest — one of nine official U.S. Navy Bands located throughout the continental United States, Hawaii, Italy, and Japan — performing this month for Denver Navy Week.

“Navy Weeks are important because they bridge the gap between public knowledge and what the Navy actually does,” said Chauvot in a release from the Navy. “For my particular program, as a Navy musician, we get to go out and be the face of the Navy and make connections with locals in all of the places we visit.”

She went on, “Serving in the Navy is a way for me to do what I love in a world that doesn’t always appreciate or pay musicians," added Chauvot. “It allows me to not only play my instrument, which is something I do love to do, but it also gives me a greater purpose in life …. I’m a trumpet player, so I often play during funerals. That adds a lot of weight to the job. It’s always meaningful to be a musician and potentially change someone’s life through music, but I have the extra layer of also serving the military and contributing to our nation’s freedoms.”