Anyone a member of the Military Band (any of them!)

2015-11-16T15:17:26-05:00

My daughter is a freshman in High School and plays flute. She just dropped the bomb on me and stated that she may be interested in playing for the military band! She knows AF as that is what I have been in all HER life....but is there anyone from ANY of the Branch Bands? If so, do you have any tips, recommendations, or otherwise good info that I could pass on to her? Quite a bit of time yet, but would like to help her get the right direction on her side!!

Response by LTC David S. Chang, ChFC®, CLU® made Nov 16 at 2015 6:38 PM

2015-11-16T18:38:05-05:00

The unit I was an AS/3 for consisted of the band, and for us at least, we had trouble finding musicians! I think it is great that she is willing to do it, is she wanting to do the guard or active? There is a difference.

Response by SGM William Gabbard made Nov 28 at 2015 12:01 PM

2015-11-28T12:01:15-05:00

It's like the old Carnegie Hall joke. How do you get there? Practice! As a 28 year veteran of a DC based band, my best advice to her would be to get a great teacher, play in a great band, orchestra, or wind quintet, and then go to a first rate college or conservatory. Several of my colleagues are graduates of places like Oberlin or Eastman. 98% of the people we hire are conservatory grads, the majority with master's degrees.

Response by SGM William Gabbard made Nov 28 at 2015 12:09 PM

2015-11-28T12:09:55-05:00

Closest AF band to you is Offutt I think. I would recommend contacting them directly and asking them. Better yet, try to attend a military band performance (any branch) and talk directly to the musicians about their career journeys. I'm happy to talk offline with you about it. The largest single employer of professional musicians in the world? Yep...the DOD :)

Response by SSG Keith Evans made Mar 24 at 2016 10:30 PM

2016-03-24T22:30:58-04:00

Sir, I know I'm late to the party here... I'm in the Army Band and if you still want info, just send me a message.

Response by SPC Stephen Parlefsky made Nov 26 at 2016 7:23 AM

2016-11-26T07:23:19-05:00

i was a member of the 389th Army Band stationed at Fort Monmouth from late 1965-1968. it was a great experience for me going all over the state of New Jersey playing concerts in the high schools showing kids that being a soldier was not just having a m14 but giving the service a gold star and it was a lot of fun for me being a musician to begin with. We also played for the Signal Corps graduations, officer club dances and other social affairs. I enlisted in 1965 and for me it was a great experience.