Photo By Lt.Cmdr. Jim Remington | Chief Master Sgt. Angela Burns, alto vocalist and the flight chief of the Singing...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON - Chief Master Sgt. Angela Burns had already spent many years as a music teacher in her hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina, before joining the military.
Having degrees in both vocal performance and piano from East Carolina University and University of Maryland, Burns auditioned for the Air Force Band’s vocalist group, The Singing Sergeants, in 1993 and joined the force in 1994.
She later signed up for the Air Force Band’s sub-group, Silver Wings, which is a small country band. After just a couple of years there, she returned to the Singing Sergeants as the assistant conductor for eight years and now manages them, with a group of 23 musicians.
With a highly-competitive audition process and a very demanding job, Burns feels she has one of the best groups out there.
“I truly love my job, I love my people, and I’m very proud of them,” she said. “My people are extremely hard workers, and it makes very proud to wear this uniform.”
Burns has been with the Air Force for more than 21 years - both singing and managing in that time. She never thought the military life and she would “jive,” because she explained that most artists and musicians tend to think outside of the box. With the Air Force being somewhat strict and regimented, it can “go against the grain,” she said. But, now she said it’s second nature for her.
“This was my journey to take,” she continued.
Burns originally had three career paths in mind before the Air Force became an option.
She said she wanted to sing on Broadway, be a flight attendant, or possibly a Rockette. Until one day, The Singing Sergeants performed at her high school, “I was amazed by them,” but it still wasn’t enough to make her take the leap, so she contemplated her original three plans for a while longer.
A few years later, after pursuing a flight attendant career and teaching, a friend of Burns informed her of auditions in New York for an opening with The Singing Sergeants. The opening just so happened to be for her voice type. So, she sent in her tape for screening, and shortly thereafter she got a call for an on-site audition.
Apprehensive about accepting because her parents had always warned her to stay away from military people, she went to the audition anyway. She said she was scared to death, but just two days after the audition, she was offered the spot.
“I know it sounds like some kind of script that I’ve been given, but every time I walk out on stage, and if I can affect one person, I believe that is what I was meant to do,” said Burns. “It’s an honor when you see that veteran sitting there. So, I wear this uniform with pride, and I take this job very seriously, because we have a very unique and privileged job with the Air Force.”
Burns said The Singing Sergeants sing just about every style you could imagine from opera to rock and country music. She has witnessed so many times the band’s ability to go into a country or even into a tense situation, and breakdown barriers of communication by singing in the native tongues of our nation’s allies. The Band has stood before French diplomats, singing in their language, as the tears and surprise on their faces set the tone for the meeting to be had.
“We are speaking to them in their language, and that really makes a mark,” said Burns. “This is why we have the Air Force Band, because through music, the words will touch you in a way that’s indescribable.”
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.18.2014 15:12 |
| Story ID: | 142570 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Hometown: | WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 196 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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