Re: Musician's life in the Military


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TubeNet BBS ] [ FAQ ]

Posted by John on June 17, 2003 at 23:28:25:

In Reply to: Musician's life in the Military posted by Curious on June 17, 2003 at 10:39:42:

I feel compelled to chime in on this one. Having just won a job with the Air Force Band of Flight, I do not yet know the "ins and outs" of a military job. I have nothing to share with you about what to expect. I do however have a viewpoint of what it took to consider a job with the military. If one had asked me 4 years ago what I would be doing with my life, I can tell you the words "military band" would have never crossed my lips. I was a somewhat talented, hard working young lad who, like many, had the dream of playing in a symphony orchestra. Nothing else would have done. I started taking auditions in my undergrad, made finals in my first audition, and had several trips to finals in more auditions. This kept "the dream" somewhat fresh, and gave me something to use as musical drive. In my mind, this was enough promise to keep spending money to take auditions. They were not bad experiences, and I'm glad to have taken those auditions.

It was only recently that I sat down and really thought about life as a professional musician. Before then, I figured that I would just keep pursuing degrees until I won an orchestra job. Why not? It keeps uncle sam away from collecting my loans, and prolongs the immense amounts of practice time that college students have the liberty of. Again, I don't regret getting my bachelors and starting my masters. I intend to finish my masters and pursue a doctorate at some point. (end of tangent)

In the past few years, I have thought about how many orchestras have folded, and taken monetary hits. Savannah has a tuba audition... a few years later, they fold. Same situation in louisville... Some of the bigger orchestras in the US, like houston and Pittsburg are having financial troubles. It's a little known fact that most orchestras operate in a deficit every year. What other professions rely almost exclusively on the gifts from donors and corporate sponsors? I once read that ticket sales account for approximately 7-13% of an orchestra's profit. That's hardly enough to cover the price of a season's worth of guest artists/conductors. How can anyone see a promising future in orchestral tuba playing?? Excellent players are winning jobs, and then losing them. This means that the talent pool of people hungry for jobs increases greatly.

Some people may argue that there are plenty of teaching jobs available. As of right now, this may be true. What happens though, if orchestras continue to die out? Will there be a need for a tuba/euphonium professor at XXX state university if there is no legitimate job market for those students to enter? I don't think that people really realize the numbers of students being graduated from hundreds, if not thousands of schools, being told that they are "good enough". This number can be reflected in almost any orchestra audition that does not screen. It's not uncommon for 100 tuba players to show up, all thinking they have a chance of winning. I have heard rumors of screened auditions that have had hundreds of resumes sent to them. Those odds are ridiculously high, and I don't think most people realize just how high they are. One of the hardest hitting comments that has ever been said to me (by my current teacher) was, "Son, you have a better chance of becoming a US Senator than you do playing in a full time orchestra in the US." I thought to myself, "My god... he's absolutely right!" (This is one of the many many times my teacher has made me think this same thought)

So, I've managed to ramble on and on about everything except a military band job. Forgive me.. but I thought it might better explain where I'm coming from, and might be able to offer someone, something to compare with. Now that I have a job, I can look at things a little differently. I am tremendously grateful that I will now have a secure future, with no chance of going bankrupt, and no worries of where the next paycheck will come from. I have been forwarned that the job might not be the most musically fulfilling experience I've ever had. It might be downright terrible at times. No matter how bad those times are, I will remember how lucky I am to be able to play the tuba and get paid to do so. Experiences are what you make of them. If one goes into a situation with a bad attitude, it is unlikely that they will get anything good in return. Even if I'm playing the Stars and Stripes forever (and ever) for the billionth time, I am being paid to do so.. and ultimately, that was my dream.

I'm sure someone if not everyone will feel the need to comment on what I've written. In fact, I welcome any comments, as I love to learn from other people's viewpoints. I just thought I'd share a little of my own thoughts on this touchy subject.

~Soon to be airman 1st class, John Hardisky




Follow Ups: