Klarinet Archive - Posting 000076.txt from 2005/09

From: William Kelly <kell0786@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] RE: Coast Guard Band
Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2005 18:19:49 -0400

I think "peanut gallery" is good term to use in connection with this sort
of post.

On 8 Sep 2005, Bryan Crumpler wrote:
> >All persons entering the Coast Guard Band are enlisted at the pay
> >grade of E-6, as Musician (Petty Officer) First Class. Starting
> >salary between $37,128 and $41,760; full military benefits, 30 days
> >annual vacation and pension plan.
>
> Wow... this really boggles my mind... so I'm going to throw out a few
> questions from the peanut gallery....
>
> How is it that these military band jobs can always pay decent salaries
with
> benefits with guaranteed contracts for 4+ years and vacation plus
> retirement... whereas most orchestras these days (supposedly jobs that
are
> the see all be all for musicians) can barely pay more than 4 or 5
thousand a
> year in services which aren't guaranteed, have no tenure and no contract
> terms beyond 1 year... like 98% of the openings on musical chairs right
now?
>
> Do military bands have _that_ big an audience or does the gov't think
many
> people would be turned off by the fact that it is a military group, and
> therefore are offering these benefits to be competitive? I mean, right
now
> this is the best clarinet job on the market for anyone under 35.
>
> If you can't be gay and enlisted in the military in the US, can you be
gay
> in a US military band? Haha! I'm not knockin' gay people... just
wondering.
>
> And why on earth do they always have a long list of orchestral excerpts
with
> the Mozart Concerto as a required solo for a band audition? Shouldn't
they
> be pulling excerpts from Lord of the Rings or Armenian Dances or Sonoran
> Desert Holiday, with a concerto solo written for concert band
accompaniment
> or something???? I mean... how often are you going to use an
> A-clarinet....... in Band? Haha
>
> The peanuts have spoken.
>
> Bryan
> http://www.whosthatguy.com
> -------------------------------------------------
> My new CD Release MONOCHROME is now available for purchase at:
> www.whosthatguy.com
> -------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
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