You know, I'm so thrilled that so many of you support our fellow musicians who choose to serve in the US Armed Forces, even those who (shudder the thought) never actually go through basic training. Just makes me proud.
For those of you who wonder about the quality of the US Marine Chamber Orchestra and are so concerned about where they get strings, may I point you towards this paragraph from the band's website at http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/ "The U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra officially emerged as a concert ensemble at the White House, under the leadership of William H. Santelmann, Marine Band Director from 1898-1927. Santelmann, who auditioned for the band on clarinet, baritone, and violin, developed the Marine Chamber Orchestra by requiring all wind and percussion performers to be proficient on a stringed instrument. This requirement was eliminated in 1955. Today’s Marine orchestra musicians hail from some of the nation’s most prestigious conservatories and display an intense and musical mastery of their instruments." Here in the Washington DC region, the members of the Marine Band (and that includes the chamber orchestra) are considered some of the finest musicians arounds. I don't hear members of the Navy, Air Force, or Army bands "dissing" their colleagues for not getting muddy. They have a job to do like everyone else, and the USMC owns their backsides 24-hours a day just like everyone else. And I'm sure the members of the Marine Band would be surprised to hear that they are not respected by other Marines. Articles about them have consistently noted that while they do not enter the Corps the same way everyone else does, they earn and return the respect of other Marines. Now if they could just earn the respect of the members of this list, all would be good I'm sure. Margaret Margaret F. Dikel The Riley Guide 11218 Ashley Dr. Rockville, MD 20852 301-881-0122 mfri...@erols.com www.rileyguide.com
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