Photo By Lance Cpl. Francisco Abundes | High school students from across the southeastern U.S. performed alongside the Parris...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- High school students from across the southeastern U.S. performed alongside the Parris Island Marine Band at Forsyth Park in Savannah, Ga., May 12.
The concert was the culmination of the Music Leadership Symposium, which took place from May 9-12. The program affords Marine band members the opportunity to mentor the teens in the art of music. Each student had to audition for this unique experience.
For each day of the symposium, the 18 students and six educators would eat breakfast at the Headquarters and Service Battalion mess hall with section leaders from the band. Then the students and teachers rehearsed with the band members for the entire day, every day until the concert.
“They were able to experience what it was like to be in a Marine band,” said Cpl. Connie Grace, piccolo player for the Parris Island Marine Band. “It’s different than a normal
musical ensemble.”
Plenty of Marines, like Grace, joined without knowing what they were getting into, she said. The students not only played music, but also learned about the Marine Corps and recruit training, Grace said. They participated in the obstacle course and rappel tower as well.
“It was pretty much living the life of a Marine without all the yelling,” said Colin Brosnan, a high school junior who attended the program.
Brosnan said the experience opened his eyes and showed him that music could help him have a professional career in the Marine Corps.
But the students weren’t the only ones who learned from the Marines. The educators received a repair class and a conducting clinic, led by Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Stone, band officer, and Master Sgt. William Call, bandmaster.
These classes on how to lead a band offered valuable training any musician should have, Grace said.
Dominic Madison, the band director from Treasure Coast High School in Port St. Lucie, Fla., said the symposium was a dream come true for the students as well as the educators.
“For them to get a chance to work with professional adults who do this for a job has been a phenomenal opportunity,” Madison said. “The best experience for me was the conducting clinic,” Madison said. “I got a chance to actually conduct a professional band.”
Madison said this experience allows him to speak intelligently about music careers in the Marine Corps. He now looks forward to sharing information with his students about enlisting into the service if that is the right path for them.
| Date Taken: | 05.19.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.19.2011 15:21 |
| Story ID: | 70685 |
| Location: | PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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