Posted by Doug Whitten on September 10, 2002 at 21:55:49:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Military bands on the wrong track posted by Volker on September 10, 2002 at 14:03:11:
Volker, I agree that it may be ideal for any band, military or otherwise, to play music of high quality and play it very well. But we must not forget that an important part of why we have military bands is to boost morale. Surely a rousing march will fill many people's hearts with pride and spirit. Indeed, marches are a signature of any military band, American and worldwide... but very few of my collegues hold the genre of military marches as an artistic pinnacle. With the mission of morale boosting in mind, it is often more appropriate to play a pop tune to remind our troops of home, or to play Glenn Miller to remind everyone of a time of great cooperation between the US and Germany after the war. Whether it be pandering to the heartstings of a soldier, or a host nation, American military bands are intended to entertain and create music that portrays America. We try to be as artistic as possible, but not at the expense of our mission.
You assert that military bands playing music other than military music is like a fish out of water. Simply, that is very narrow minded. And, if your assertion is correct, a job in a military band would be awful. I like marches, but I can not imagine a career of playing only marches. American musical culture is quite diverse and the music of our military bands also attempts to reflect this variety (somewhat).
Lastly, Berlin is now a city that is not occupied by American (French, Russian, or Brittish) forces. But when I was there from 1988 to 1992 it was very much an occupied city. There were regular anti-occupation rallies at the embassy and graffity everywhere that said , "Berlin is besetz. (Berlin is occupied)" (please pardon my likely misspelling). Granted, it was not a heavy handed occupation, but the city was still governed by an American General up until 1992. Our tanks on the streets and troops in the subway were enough of an occupation that the military felt it was important to ease tensions through the universal language of music.