Klarinet Archive - Posting 000001.txt from 1996/08
From: Bruce Currie <BCurrie101@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Clarinet Jobs & Brahms in Band
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 1996 02:37:02 -0400
There have been several posts about clarinet openings in military
bands and whether these are 'valid' musical opportunities. I have a
few thoughts about this.
My perspective comes from having been in Army bands 25 years ago
(that long ago?). I was in the 5th US Army Band (Ft. Sheridan, IL)
and the United States Military Academy Band (West Point, NY). I was
one who got along with everyone, but after I got out of the service
(VietNam era), I didn't know if I would recommend it to anyone.
Well, for the right person, I have, and I will.
First, there is a hierarchy of bands within the services. The best
organizations (rather obviously) are the Washington, D.C. ones for
all five services (plus US Army Field Band). Also very excellent
are the academy bands. The assignment to these groups is typically
permanent duty, for as long as a person is in the military. Even
the next level (in the Army) - the headquarters bands - had very
high quality musicians. After that are the field bands. All these
groups still sound very good.
I have a friend who spent six (or eight?) years in the US Marine
Band and then decided to leave. He became a trumpet teacher at a
very fine university for a year and then this year won a position
in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Those years in the military band
were not wasted, but he gained valuable experience, even if it was
not in an orchestra.
>From my time in the service I had many friends who also went on to
teach at the university level or to play in major orchestras. (Even
Larry Combs played in the West Point Band - and Steve Girko.) So
the level of musicianship really is extremely high.
Assuming there are exellent musicians in the military, there are
several related important issues:
1) military conductors
2) military life
3) military music
4) bands in general
Unfortunately, sometimes I feel the players have greater
musicianship than the conductors. This is certainly not always
true. (I always felt that Col. Arnold Gabriel, for example, was an
excellent musician.) But I think sometimes in civilian orchestras
this is also true. Here you need to find out who is in charge of a
particular group, and what he/she is like. Of course, most military
conductors also are routinely reassigned, except for DC.
Probably for most people the hardest thing to come to terms with is
'military life.' The service does own you for a set number of
years, although I found most music commanders do not want to be
harsh in any way. You have rules you have to follow. You have a
dress code, and a 'hair' code. You have a social code. They take
care of your medical issues. They take care of your life insurance.
They take care of lots of things. I found there were many fewer
personal decisions to make than as a civilian. But we performed or
rehearsed a lot - this is a full-time job. There are concerts,
parades, social gatherings, etc. An unspoken, but strong influence
on being in these bands is a feeling of patriotism and pride and
being willing to give up some personal freedoms. But it takes a
person who is readily willing to do this to survive the military
life. If not - *DO NOT* go into a military band. Some may enjoy it
for a few years and then desire to leave. That's OK - you just have
to wait until your enlistment is up to do this, not with just 2
weeks' notice. (How many teachers really would resign and leave in
October and not wait until the end of the school year?) Also, I did
have to go through Basic Training (the Marine Band doesn't). You've
got to grin and bear it: this is geared so that the 'average Joe'
can get through.
Although the general public probably believes that military bands
play marches all day, they really play as wide a variety of styles
as most bands. Also, at least the DC bands and the academy bands
have a series of chamber recitals, from solos to medium sized
ensembles. Some of this music is very advanced and very rewarding.
This lets individual musicians have a musical outlet of their own
choice.
Is band a valid professional and full-time performance medium? I
believe so. Except for transcriptions, you don't have the major
orchestral literature. Some will argue that these transcriptions
are not the same musical aesthetic as the originals. This is always
a personal evaluation. The orchestral literature has many great
works. I find that many orchestras are equally guilty of playing
arrangements of marches or jazz pieces or serious band works. I
believe there are many fine original musical works for band. In
general, although bands play serious music, they play more
'popular' music than most orchestras, and are viewed by the public
as being lighter, less serious. Is someone who decides to play in
Broadway shows not musical because he/she isn't playing in a
concert orchestra? Is someone who plays in the Metropolitan Opera
Orchestra (they *don't* play Brahms, do they?) a greater or lesser
musician than one who plays in the Cleveland Orchestra? To me this
becomes a matter of personal taste and enjoyment.
Just because they are orchestras, is playing in the Peoria Symphony
or the Indianapolis Symphony *better* than playing the the U.S. Air
Force Band? NO - It depends on the individual. If a person really
wants to perform the orchestral literature, fine, but if that
person loves music, and band music in particular, it is possible to
persue a career in military bands. I think most people are afraid
of joining the military and making a multi-year committment. There
is nothing wrong with this. But for some people this is the best
opportunity for a full-time musical career.
Thank you all for getting through this long monologue.
-- Bruce
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Bruce Currie
Lombard, Illinois
e-mail: BCurrie101@-----.com
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