 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jeig
Date: 2020-03-11 19:25
The United States Navy Band has an immediate opening for the position of clarinet instrumentalist in the concert/ceremonial band. Starting salary is $64,409-$67,469, plus benefits. Members may also be eligible for an enlistment bonus and/or the Student Loan Repayment Program (up to $65,000.) Auditions will be held on May 11, 2020, with resumes due by April 27, 2020. Applicants must be aged *18 to 39* (please note that the maximum age limit has recently increased) and otherwise qualified for service in the U.S. Navy. Contact navyband.auditions@navy.mil or 202-433-2840 for more information.
https://www.navyband.navy.mil/auditions.html
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-03-12 21:19
Make no mistake about it, the major service bands in DC are premium jobs. Yes, there is lots of competition for those slots, so go in as if you were auditioning for an established symphony orchestra.
All service bands do require the same Basic Training the rest of that service's recruits go through (save for The US Marine Band), but it's worth the 6-8 weeks of rough work to get to a really good career.
Also remember there have been a number of great symphonic players who started in the main service bands to include Larry Combs, formerly of the Chicago Symphony (US Army West Point Band).
......and there is FREE medical for life
..................Paul Aviles
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2020-03-12 22:20
Paul Aviles - Make no mistake about it, the major service bands in DC are premium jobs. Yes, there is lots of competition for those slots, so go in as if you were auditioning for an established symphony orchestra.
With these 4 top bands you get in at a higher rate. For example most people who sign up for the military start off as an E1. It takes several years to become an E5 or higher. So people spend 20 to 30 years in the military and often don't reach the pay scale of E5 or higher. These bands start you off as E5 to E6 depending of college degrees.
These players are often very gifted and can sit in some of the top symphonies. Yet the auditions are not easy. The auditions must be close to perfect or perfect. Sight reading is a very big problem for most. It's not really sight reading, because the parts are usually similar to orchestra music or they are actual orchestra parts such as Mendelsohn's 3rd and 4th symphonies, cappriccio espanol, Beethoven and Brahms symphonies are also put up as sight reading. As we all know these can take a week each to master or more.
It's a GREAT gig, so be prepared, there will be at least 100 players there for just 1 spot. A strange thing happened to me when I was in. I mainly played the saxes.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2020-03-12 22:40
I do have to add that there are a few other bands outside of Washington DC that pay very high as well. Ft Meade has one and a fine player named Tom Puwalski was in there. He's an amazing player. He has one of the finest sounds around today. Maybe he will pop in and comment. Someone can write to him and ask to pop in. He was in for 20 years I think. More? Not sure.
When you retire you get one very nice pension. About 2/3rds of your salary at retirement. This could have changed by now. It's been 45 years since I left. You also still get medical and all sorts of military discounts. Yet you may still only be in your 40's when you leave! So much more to do after the military!
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2020-03-13 00:03
》So people spend 20 to 30 years in the
military and often don't reach the pay scale of E5 or higher
If they've been busted a couple times, maybe. E6 in less than 10, E7 in 15 or so is pretty normal. E8 and above is really hard.
Mark Charette. USN, started E4, busted to E3, left the enlisted ranks as E6 after 8 years ...
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-03-13 01:33
Mark,
Well.................
The promotion system in the bands has been fluid. In the average military band the last word I heard was that promotions have stalled somewhat.....and this is coming from the folks who do all their extra courses and additional military training. Time in service doesn't always guarantee steady promotion.
Now the DC bands are different than the rest of their respective services. Back in the day we referred to their promotion system as "blood stripes." You kinda had to wait for someone to die, or retire to move up in rank (the idea is that there is a specific number of each rank allowed.....ya can't have "too many chiefs and too few indians"). Of course many folks stay 20 (or 30) in these bands but they all must finally retire.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-03-14 00:50
I was successful at an audition back in 1978 at Great Lakes (Navy). This was simply for being accepted into any Navy band anywhere. Salary was about the same as my teacher's salary in Canada at the time.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2020-03-16 00:08
Mark, you raised a good point...
You have to have a very clean record. But, it depends on the competition with various instruments too. Well it did before when I was in. So the more clarinets there are competing for promotions the harder it is. Bassoon, tuba, players have maybe 1 player in each band. Trumpets, flutes, all of the rest, saxes, make it much harder to get promoted. Maybe the military has changed? This was how it was when I left. No I was not in very long. Not a career for me. I wasn't married so I had a stinky small bed, a gross roommate, you are thrown in a dorm. Not my style. It's not right that married people got their own homes. Yes the military is far from perfect.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
Post Edited (2020-03-16 00:37)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2020-03-16 03:45
Yup, it's changed.
I think it was ten years ago (there about) where ALL bandsmen were put under ONE MOS. And that should have made life more fair. However, for some reason it has really log jammed promotions of late. As I said, my information is from last Summer when I had a chance to talk to a few Army band "go-getters." The current protocol is to expect those who really want promotion to do all possible on-line military courses and have a top score on your PT (physical training) Test. Of course NONE of that applies to the Specialty bands in DC, so all you hot young clarinet players don't have to worry about any of that.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2020-03-16 06:07
Going back to what I said about successfully auditioning for "any" NAVY band in 1978 at Great Lakes-- I had to do basic training, unlike maybe the US Marine Band and other elite service bands. That plus only one month holiday vs. two as a school Band Director influenced my choice. Seriously, is the military gunna call to service in times of war band musicians? Why the basic training? I may have opted for a military career if I didn't think basic training for musicians was just stupid.
Here I sit as a Canadian citizen having renounced US citizenship 3 years ago due to FATCA (google it), with a brother who was in the US Army and another a retired US NAVY Captain and 1979 Annapolis graduate.
The Most Advanced Clarinet Book--
tomheimer.ampbk.com/ Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001315, Musicnotes product no. MB0000649.
Boreal Ballad for unaccompanied clarinet-Sheet Music Plus item A0.1001314.
Musicnotes product no. MNO287475
Post Edited (2020-03-16 06:09)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2020-03-17 03:14
Very interesting! In the early 1980's when I was in the ONLY band not required to do Basic Training was the DC, Marine Band. I was in the Air Force. I actually liked Basic Training, no the Air Force Basic Training was very easy, compared to the Marines and Army. I heard the Navy was on par to the Air Force. We had to run about 2 miles or 1 1/2 miles a day and very little marching. There were a lot of inside school types of studies.
So are the all of these 4 top bands now exempt from Basic Training? I have no idea. I'm sure people know
When I was in Basic no one had on strips, we were all equals just starting out, however I did get paid at the E5 level. That was very nice compared to E1. This tool place in San Antonio, Texas.
I'm glad there were some changes 10 years or so ago, thanks Paul for that info.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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