United States Army Field Band and Soldiers Chorus

Yesterday the United States Army Field Band and the Soldiers Chorus came to our town to give a concert, so we went.



Before the concert started the director and a couple of the performers spent some time telling about the band and chorus and answering questions from the audience. I guess I just always assumed this band must be composed of folks who are in the army, and just happen to also play musical instruments. Not so! The audition process to get into the band sounds pretty arduous. I learned that people who are not in the army can audition, but if they are selected, they do have to enlist and go through basic training, etc. as well as pass the physical fitness tests just as regular soldiers have to do. It is apparently made more difficult by the number of days a year they spend on a bus traveling to their next concert site.

The same process is true of the chorus as well. As you can see from the tiny picture below..(I borrowed it from the internet), the men wear nice dress uniforms and the women also have a dress uniform with a long skirt.



Someone in the audience asked if you need an education to audition for the band. The director said anyone COULD audition, but then pointed out that 17 members of the group had doctorates, while a larger number had masters degrees in music, so it seemed a pretty elite group.

When some of the chorus members did solo numbers we realized they were highly trained singers. One woman could have been a serious opera singer.

Apparently they are quite a highly sought after group for concerts in spite of the conditions they set for performing. They have to be sponsored by an organization who will find a venue where they can perform at no charge to them, as well as media to publicize the concert at no cost. Also...the admission to the concert must be free of charge. In spite of that I believe they said they perform something like 230+ days a year.

Of course, one of the most popular parts of the program was the Armed Forces Salute where they played the songs of the Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Marines and Army and encouraged any who had served in any of those organizations to stand as their song was being played as well as their families. The woodcarver was proud to stand for the Navy, Marines and the Army as he had served in the Navy Reserve, the Marines and the Army National Guard.