My First 6 Months as an Army Conductor

At the end of April, I'll celebrate my first six months as a Band Officer in the U.S. Army. As the Executive Officer and Associate Conductor of the U.S. Army TRADOC Band at Fort Eustis, VA, I have already conducted three big public concerts, three outreach concerts at schools, six military ceremonies, and a recording session. I have also marched in my first parade ever (St. Patrick’s Day in Norfolk) and conducted the National Anthem at a Norfolk Admirals hockey game. This summer, the band is very busy with concerts and ceremonies - I estimate I’ll conduct 25 TRADOC Band performances between now and September. I love it.

My job entails more than music-making, though. There is a great deal of paperwork and meetings, too. I imagine the work load is very similar to that of an assistant or associate conductor at a big symphony orchestra. Of course, as a Soldier-Musician, I am also required to stay physically fit and competent in “warrior tasks and drills” (like firing and cleaning weapons), and we Soldiers are tested in these areas periodically. It’s not for everybody, but I enjoy all these aspects of this job.

I love Army language. In the Army, we call rehearsals “training,” and performances are “missions.” So we do a lot of training and missions. I love some training concepts and principles, too, like “train as you fight,” and “train to standard, not to time.” All of these concepts apply directly to civilian music-making, so I think I’ll share them with you in the near future. This blog has languished lately (since I started it, really), but I’ll make a concerted effort to share with my civilian musical friends some interesting and useful musical ideas more regularly from here out. For now, I’ll just sign off with some of my favorite organizational mottos.

"Always forward" - 1-34 Infantry Brigade,
"Standards - no compromises" - Officer Candidate School,
"Victory starts here" - U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command,

Silas