Imagine performing at 222 events in 197 cities for 403,735 people in less than a year. One doesn't have to win American Idolto get there, but joining the U.S. Army Field Band is just as competitive.
The Field Band recruits instrumentalists and vocalists to make up its four main ensembles: the Concert Band, Soldiers’ Chorus, Jazz Ambassadors and the Volunteers. Their mission is to connect the American people with the Army.
“We gain the hearts of the people, instill the love of our country and promote fervor of the flag,” Col. Finley Hamilton, commander and conductor, told the Army News Service.
However, unlike most Army jobs, where a high school graduate with no experience is recruited and trained by the Army, the Field Band recruits from the best music schools, and even then selects only the very best.
“It’s competitive,” said Hamilton. “We choose only the best qualified people.”
Instrumentalists must play music they’ve never before seen, perform major and minor scales and do a solo of their choice. Vocalists must submit digital recordings or sing live when the chorus holds tryouts while they’re touring.
“If the band receives 50 applicants, the selection committee will narrow it down to twelve,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Stephens, education activities coordinator. “But I’ve seen auditions in which no one in the final round was selected.”
Since its formation in March 1946, the Field Band has appeared in all fifty states and in more than thirty countries on four continents.
The Concert Band is the oldest and largest of the Field Band's four performing components. This elite 65-member instrumental ensemble, founded in 1946, has performed in all 50 states and 25 foreign countries for audiences totaling more than 100 million. Tours have taken the band throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, the Far East, and India.
The group appears in a wide variety of settings, from world-famous concert halls, such as the Berlin Philharmonie and Carnegie Hall, to state fairgrounds and high school gymnasiums. The Concert Band regularly travels and performs with the Soldiers' Chorus, together presenting a powerful and diverse program of marches, overtures, popular music, patriotic selections, and instrumental and vocal solos. The organization has also performed joint concerts with many of the nation's leading orchestras, including the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
The Soldiers' Chorus, founded in 1957, is the vocal complement of the United States Army Field. The 29-member mixed choral ensemble travels throughout the nation and abroad, performing as a separate component and in joint concerts with the Concert Band of the "Musical Ambassadors of the Army." The chorus has performed in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, India, the Far East, and throughout Europe, entertaining audiences of all ages.
The musical backgrounds of Soldiers' Chorus personnel range from opera and musical theatre to music education and vocal coaching; this diversity provides unique programming flexibility. In addition to presenting selections from the vast choral repertoire, Soldiers' Chorus performances often include the music of Broadway, opera, barbershop quartet, and Americana.
The Jazz Ambassadors is the United States Army's premier touring jazz orchestra. This 19-member big band, formed in 1969, has received great acclaim both at home and abroad performing America's original art form, jazz.
Concerts by the Jazz Ambassadors are designed to entertain all types of audiences. Custom compositions and arrangements highlight the group's creative talent and gifted soloists. Their diverse repertoire includes big band swing, bebop, Latin, contemporary jazz, standards, popular tunes, Dixieland, vocals, and patriotic selections. The band has appeared in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, Japan, India, and throughout Europe.
The Volunteers is the United States Army's premier touring show band. Since its inception in 1981, this talented five-piece group has performed in all fifty states, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Belgium, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Performances by the Volunteers have included Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Indianapolis 500, Nashville Now, the Calgary Stampede, and many state fairs and festivals across the country.The band has also appeared at sporting events of the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
These musicians are equally at home performing before an outdoor crowd of 100,000 or at a hospital bedside. They have entertained audiences of all ages in venues ranging from state fair main stages and school auditoriums to senior citizen centers and children's hospitals.
Above information courtesy of United States Army
