The Premier United States Service Bands

The eight premier United States service bands provide numerous job opportunities for the prospective professional clarinetist and offer financial stability, job security, and an outlet to perform at a superior level in a variety of settings. Although many published resources exist to prepare candidates for orchestral auditions, few published resources address the audition process and literature for the premier U.S. service bands. This study examines the audition process at these organizations through written correspondence with past and present audition coordinators. It addresses topics such as the system of rounds, the personnel that comprise committees, literature selection criteria, desirable traits of candidates, the role of sight-reading in the audition, and the relationship of each band s process to its mission. Fifteen of the most recurrent audition selections are excerpted and discussed from technical and stylistic standpoints. Appendices include sample audition lists from 2005-2010 and a discography of premier U.S. service band recordings of excerpted literature.

Autorentext

Christopher Nichols, principal clarinet of the 312th Army Band and the Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City, serves on the faculty of Concordia University, where he teaches clarinet and saxophone, woodwind methods, and directs the chamber orchestra. He holds degrees from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, and the Boston Conservatory.