Posted by John Rider on June 18, 2003 at 15:23:03:
In Reply to: Musician's life in the Military posted by Curious on June 17, 2003 at 10:39:42:
My workload in the AF Band of Flight is not too heavy. I spend a lot more tme with my family now than I ever did as a freelancer/teacher in Dallas. That aspect alone makes me feel like a more complete human being. I have a 7 minute commute to work. My kids go to a good school system. I teach at several local colleges. I have been allowed to participate in some wonderful programs (Blast of Brass, in Dallas, TX, being the most recent). I do not get a whole lot of musical satisfaction from my military job, but I get immense satisfaction from adding to someone's retirement/promotion ceremony or playing a concert for an audience who really apprectiates the memories we stir up in them. I take a lot of pride in WHAT I do, still knowing that it is not always of the highest caliber. (But my playing, which is the one thing I CAN control, is always the highest I can produce, regardless of my surroundings.) There are some wonderful players here and we look for our own oportunities to make music. I also really detest playing sousaphone and sitting in traffic. And in Dayton I don't have to do much of either. I had three students perform senior/graduation recitals, one trombone and two tuba, and one will go on to be a lawyer, one to grad school at Michigan and one to pursue another degreee in performance. I feel great about them and look forward to helping more people learn how to make music on a low brass instrument. And my current military situation lets me do this. So, basically, I don't get my musical "jollies" from my military gig. I believe that few military musicians do. But, I get fulfilled by the opportunities and lifestyle that this job allows me to have. Security and complacency can certainly lead to stagnation and complaining, but having the security of a job gives me a lot of peace of mind where my family is concerned. I hope to serve until retirement, then hit the audition curcuit. It will be nice to be getting paid to get ready and then have a steady income while I try to (hopefully) land my "dream gig".
John Rider
Tuba
Air Force Band of Flight