Picture the brass section of a symphony orchestra.
Now, instead of formal attire and a brightly lit concert hall, imagine the principal horn player wearing camouflage fatigues, crouching over a loaded rifle at a firing range. For the thousands of classical musicians employed by the U.S. military, this seemingly incongruous image is a reality.
The military calls itself the nation’s largest employer of musicians, and its ranks include some of the country’s most coveted musical performance jobs. Seats in premier military bands are often as competitive as those in the top symphonies in the country, in part because of their stability, pay and benefits.
There are aspects of the job that might require adjustment for a civilian musician, though. Band members must adhere to strict military standards — such as passing physical fitness tests, wearing a uniform during rehearsal and, most daunting of all, completing 10 to 12 weeks of boot camp with no access to their instruments.
My latest story, which published this morning, explores how some musicians become service members. I spent more than eight months following the journey of one euphonium player, Ada Brooks, from her audition for the West Point Band through a freezing stint at boot camp in the Ozarks, to her first concert.
In today’s newsletter, I’ll explain the unique role that military bands play in the classical music world and the intense demands that come with the job.
Shipping out
Music and the military have long been intertwined. Drums were used to set the pace of marches, and fifes served as battlefield communication before there were radios. The country’s first military band, the United States Marine Band — known as “The President’s Own” — was formed by an act of Congress in 1798.
Loras John Schissel, a senior musicologist at the Library of Congress, said that during the Civil War, band members would put down their instruments, take up their weapons and fight — and then resume playing.
Today, a military musician’s duties beyond music can involve performing drug tests for cadets or teaching classes. One West Point Band member told me that she helps maintain the band’s website. And while direct exposure to combat has become increasingly rare for military musicians, it is not unheard-of. In 1941, all 21 musicians aboard the battleship Arizona died in the attack on Pearl Harbor while passing ammunition to the ship’s guns. On Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Army Band helped with search and rescue at the Pentagon.
A stable career
There are scores of regional military bands that represent the armed forces at ceremonies, parades and holiday celebrations across the United States. A smaller group of elite bands — including the West Point Band, The President’s Own, the U.S. Air Force Band, the U.S. Army Band and the U.S. Navy Band — perform at inaugurations and foreign dignitary visits.
Seats in the premier bands are particularly attractive. The starting salary is about $70,000, and the musicians also receive tax breaks, education benefits and health care. Because of these factors, band members tend to stay for many years, if not their entire careers.
This stability can be appealing for classical musicians, who have fewer opportunities to make a living than many other performers, as Donald Passman, an author and music business expert, explained to me. “It’s ironic that jazz and classical are the most difficult, challenging and require some of the most skilled people, and yet those two areas make much less than pop music,” Passman said. “If you’re a pop musician, you can still do concerts on your own, which is not as easy for a viola player.”
Culture shock
Some aspects of a military band audition — like playing for a jury hidden behind a curtain, to guard against potential bias — are familiar to most orchestra musicians. Other details are unique to the military. When I attended an audition for the West Point Band, two of the other four candidates said they had to lose weight to qualify, and the finalists were tested for proficiency in marching drills.
Military life can be a shock to musicians, most of whom have no prior experience with the armed forces. One tuba player in the West Point Band, Staff Sgt. Alec Mawrence, said that at first it was “a little weird” to have to wear a full combat uniform to play the tuba. “Eventually, your head is shaved and you’re screaming, ‘Yes, drill sergeant,’” he said.
But the benefits are apparent. Mawrence, who attended Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, said that he could think of very few others in his graduating class with a career in music.
As Brooks, the euphonium player, told me: “Basic training is no big deal compared to 20 years of a performance job.”
For more: Read my full story, which includes photographs by Christopher Lee of Brooks’s time at boot camp.
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