Watch: The Air Force Band Turns the National Air and Space Museum Into a Concert Hall

It was business as usual Tuesday as visitors strolled around the gallery of the National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall.

Then, a lone cellist strolled to the center of the room, sat down and began to play.

When the soft, sweet opening lines of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring floated from the belly of his cello, visitors stopped in their tracks to catch one of Johann Sebastian Bach's most famous songs. But the surprise wasn't over yet. Soon, a bassist and conductor appeared; a woman took off her coat and began a violin accompaniment. Eventually, 120 musicians and vocalists crowded the first and second floors of the museum as the United States Air Force Band put on its first flash mob at the most visited museum in the country.

The performance was the first of nearly 30 holiday performances the band has scheduled around the National Mall and the greater Washington, DC, area.

If you weren't lucky enough to catch the flash mob in person, we have you covered: watch the performance in the video above.

You can also catch more of the U.S. Air Force bands this weekend at the Smithsonian’s Holiday Festival at the National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History.

Erica R. Hendry | | READ MORE

Erica R. Hendry is the innovations reporter/producer for Smithsonian.com