Florida State University Libraries 2016 A Survey and Guide to United States Military Band Trumpet Auditions James Johnson Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF MUSIC A SURVEY AND GUIDE TO UNITED STATES MILITARY BAND TRUMPET AUDITIONS By JAMES T. JOHNSON A Treatise submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Doctor of Music 2016 James Johnson defended this treatise on 5 April 2016. The members of the supervisory committee were: Christopher Moore Professor Directing Treatise Richard Clary University Representative John Drew Committee Member Paul Ebbers Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the treatise has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This treatise would not have been possible without the help of my committee members, whom helped guide me through this process and degree, along the members of the military bands who gave their knowledge and experience in this field to make this treatise a reality. I would like to thank the publishing companies who granted permission to use their materials in this document. I would also like to thank my fiancée for supporting me in every step of this process. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their continued support in my quest for musical enlightenment. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................v List of Figures................................................................................................................................ vi Abstract......................................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WIND BAND ....................................................1 CHAPTER 2 THE RESEARCH......................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 3 THE QUESTIONNAIRE ..........................................................................................8 CHAPTER 4 THE TOP TEN EXCERPTS ...................................................................................12 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................32 APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................33 A. RECORDINGS OF EXCERPTS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE.........................................33 B. ANSWERS FROM SURVEY ..................................................................................................35 C. HUMAN RESEARCH CLEARANCE.....................................................................................38 D. COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS AND FAIR USE DOCUMENTS...........................................39 References......................................................................................................................................50 Biographical Sketch.......................................................................................................................52 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 List of Military Bands Contacted for Study ....................................................................6 Table 2.2 Chart of Trumpet Excerpts ..............................................................................................7 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Summon the Heroes by John Williams/Lavender ........................................................13 Figure 4.2 Pines of Rome Movement II by Ottorino Respighi/Duker............................................14 Figure 4.3 An Outdoor Overture by Aaron Copland .....................................................................16 Figure 4.4 Variations on “America” by Charles Ives/Rhoads ......................................................18 Figure 4.5 Symphony in B-flat Movement I by Paul Hindemith ....................................................20 Figure 4.6 Festival Variations by Claude T. Smith.......................................................................23 Figure 4.7 Toccata Marziale by Ralph Vaughan Williams ...........................................................25 Figure 4.8 Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich/Hunsberger ................................................27 Figure 4.9 Washington Grays March by Claudio Grafulla ...........................................................28 Figure 4.10 Symphonic Dances From West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein/Lavender..............30 vi ABSTRACT This study examines the military’s process of selecting trumpet excerpts used for audition screening along with performance preparation advice for the top ten most commonly requested excerpts within the premier military bands in the United States of America: The Pershing’s Own Marine Band, The President’s Own Army Band, The U.S. Navy Band, The U.S. Air Force Band, and The U.S. Coast Guard Band. The first step in this process is to collect as many audition lists for trumpet as possible and compile them into a single chart. This chart will display every excerpt that is being requested by each of the five premier bands and will also display which trumpet excerpts are requested by multiple bands. From this chart, the top ten trumpet excerpts will be confirmed and sent to members of the premier military bands along with a short four- question survey designed to help understand why these ten excerpts are being requested over others. Using the information gathered from the survey, a learning approach will be provided, suggesting how best to prepare the excerpts for auditions. vii CHAPTER 1 HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN WIND BAND In order to understand the trumpet excerpts being requested for military auditions, it is important to gain an understanding of the use of the trumpet within the wind band and furthermore, understand the history of the wind band in America and how it has changed since its conception. The origins of the wind band (and its music) was entirely functional. While the orchestra was created as a form of artistic expression, the original purpose of the wind band was to provide music for specific occasions, both military and civic.1 The American wind band origins can be traced back to the influence of German military bands. William White states in his book History of Military Music in America that “during the first half of the Eighteenth Century we find that German military bands were superior, in organization and development, to all others in Europe.”2 France and England based their military band models off of German bands. The basic instrumentation of these bands included pairs of flutes, oboes, horns, bassoons, one or two trumpets, and a bass trombone. England was the first country to utilize the clarinet in its bands, surpassing the oboe as the superior instrument.3 During the second half of the Eighteenth Century, England’s military bands made rapid progress and soon became the leading force in military music throughout Europe.4 Since England still occupied colonial America during the better part of the Eighteenth Century, most of America’s wind band influence originated from there. While sacred music was alive and well within local churches and other spiritual venues, secular music was struggling to find its foothold in the New World. Musicians who wanted to perform secular music had to be willing to perform wherever they could, including taverns, government chambers and dance halls until concert halls were established in the early 1740’s. The first known band concert held in the colonial United States took place in Boston in 1729 and other documented concerts are noted in Charleston, South Carolina as early as 1732.5 Over the next decade cities within the colonies began to embrace the music of wind instruments. In the 1 Richard Franko Goldman, The Wind Band: Its Literature and Technique (Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc, 1961), 7. 2 William Carter White, History of Military Music in America (New York: The Exposition Press, 1944), 13. 3 Ibid, 13. 4 Ibid, 14. 5 Richard K. Hanson, The American Wind Band: A Cultural History (Chicago: GIA Publications, 2005), 15. 1 early 1740s a group of people in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania organized their own Collegium Musicum. This group of musicians performed chamber music of Europe’s leading composers at the time, including the first American performance of Handel’s Messiah in 1742.6 During the late 1750’s, the British Ministry sent regimental troops to the colonies including military musicians. These bands performed concerts in almost every major city at the time including New York, Boston and Philadelphia as a way of maintaining their control over the New World. Colonists were quick to form their own local bands as well. The first account of a military band concert was performed by the Royal American Regiment Band of New York on April 13, 1767.7 The American government began to see the advantages of music as propaganda in the years leading up to the American Revolution, and by 1776, the Continental Army was employing over four-hundred wind musicians within their regiments.8 In the years following the war, wind bands continued to flourish throughout the thirteen colonies. In 1798 President John Adams founded one of America’s oldest music