Posted by farah chisham on June 20, 2003 at 10:52:59:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Musician's life in the Military posted by js on June 20, 2003 at 01:10:23:
I am in the navy band and the musical aspect is pretty diverse:
I do funerals (although haven't been out in the cemetary for quite some time)
I do other ceremonies: Pentagon arrivals, retirements, play colors and anthem for dinners, Lutze (big admiral retirements--these are among the most difficult ceremonies but are only done in the summer), and sometimes, the occasional odd gig.
I also get to play concerts. Tons during the summer: Capitol Concerts, Concerts at the navy memorial that include all of our sub-groups, concerts at high schools, AND we tour 4 weeks out of the year (tour is one of the highlights).
and Chamber music concerts.
Sean plays the susaphone around 95 percent of the time, so my gig is definately more musically diverse.
This is why I really like my job so much. I am never doing the same thing more than 2 times a week on the same instrument. And if I do (they are usually funerals), it isn't that horrible at all. Makes me get in shape at least and since I have an extremely small stride, I work EXTRA hard to keep up. It is the potholes in the road that I hate, but the cemetary is currently working on those roads. It is also very beautiful there during the fall foliage changes. I know this sounds a little "Pollyana", but it is the way I truly feel.
farah