Yesterday was the last Veterans Day for me while I’m on active duty in the US military, as I retire at the end of December. It also marked the first year that I was not performing a ceremony, due to unfortunate budgetary cuts, reducing the size of the Navy’s oldest band in half. Despite that negative news, my 27-year career has been varied and rewarding.
My military band service included playing in the Army Reserves and the National Guard bands in Oklahoma and Louisiana, while I earned my bachelors and masters degrees, and followed with a stint in the Army Band stationed at Fort McPherson in Atlanta. That 4-year assignment afforded me the opportunity to travel the US two times each year and to perform for the 1996 summer Olympics, foreign dignitary arrivals, and many military ceremonies.
Seeking more stability and prestige, I auditioned for and won a position with the US Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Maryland, where I have served for the last 16 years playing e-flat and b-flat clarinet as well as baritone sax for the jazz ensemble. Until the budget cuts of this year, the concert band was one of the US military’s premier concert bands.
As a member of the band, I was supported in my performances representing the band nationally and internationally in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia, Madrid Spain, to name a few.
Through the years, the band was conducted by such notable guest conductors as Leonard Slatkin and Gunther Schuller. I was honored to have been a featured soloist on several occasions, including premiering Maurice Saylor’s “Adventures on a Saturday Afternoon”, and performing the Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto (that one had to be rescheduled, as our first rehearsal was interrupted by news of the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon).
Some of my memorable performances include performing for presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barak Obama, and performing for Admiral Zumwalt’s funeral--President Clinton was in attendance and we had to play our instruments for a most attentive audience--explosive sniffing dogs, to prove that the instruments were not, in fact, pipe bombs. Another notable performance was for Admiral James Stockdale’s funeral. He was my favorite Vice Presidential candidate of all time!
In addition to performing rewarding music while in uniform, serving my country, my military career has given me the stability to earn a doctorate degree, pursue private performances, and to operate a small business, setting me up for the next phase of my life! I am proud of my service and grateful for the opportunities it has given me.
My military band service included playing in the Army Reserves and the National Guard bands in Oklahoma and Louisiana, while I earned my bachelors and masters degrees, and followed with a stint in the Army Band stationed at Fort McPherson in Atlanta. That 4-year assignment afforded me the opportunity to travel the US two times each year and to perform for the 1996 summer Olympics, foreign dignitary arrivals, and many military ceremonies.
Seeking more stability and prestige, I auditioned for and won a position with the US Naval Academy Band in Annapolis, Maryland, where I have served for the last 16 years playing e-flat and b-flat clarinet as well as baritone sax for the jazz ensemble. Until the budget cuts of this year, the concert band was one of the US military’s premier concert bands.
As a member of the band, I was supported in my performances representing the band nationally and internationally in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia, Madrid Spain, to name a few.
Through the years, the band was conducted by such notable guest conductors as Leonard Slatkin and Gunther Schuller. I was honored to have been a featured soloist on several occasions, including premiering Maurice Saylor’s “Adventures on a Saturday Afternoon”, and performing the Artie Shaw Clarinet Concerto (that one had to be rescheduled, as our first rehearsal was interrupted by news of the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon).
Some of my memorable performances include performing for presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barak Obama, and performing for Admiral Zumwalt’s funeral--President Clinton was in attendance and we had to play our instruments for a most attentive audience--explosive sniffing dogs, to prove that the instruments were not, in fact, pipe bombs. Another notable performance was for Admiral James Stockdale’s funeral. He was my favorite Vice Presidential candidate of all time!
In addition to performing rewarding music while in uniform, serving my country, my military career has given me the stability to earn a doctorate degree, pursue private performances, and to operate a small business, setting me up for the next phase of my life! I am proud of my service and grateful for the opportunities it has given me.
RSS Feed