Volume 33 Number 3 June 2006 - International Clarinet Association

Greetings from West Point! As I
write, the clarinet section here at
the U.S.M.A. band is hard at work
preparing for its first West Point Clarinet
Summit, featuring every member of the
sec tion in a performance capacity, as well
as special guests (and former U.S.M.A.
bandsmen) Larry Combs and Steve Girko.
A report appears elsewhere in this issue.
Part of the lead-in to the Summit was a
clarinet choir recital, presented on Feb ru -
ary 26th. Sergeant First Class Christopher
Jones selected the music and conducted
the group on a few of the selections, and
performed on bass clarinet as well as on
B ♭ clarinet! The program featured an ar -
range ment of Holst’s First Suite for Mili -
tary Band in E ♭ , an arrangement by Ser -
geant First Class John Parrette of Mo zart’s
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Peter Schic kele
(P.D.Q. Bach)’s Monochrome, as well as
other music set for clarinet choir.
I was very excited to hear from a few
of my fellow clarinetists in uniform over
the last few months. Senior Chief Musi -
cian Thomas Labadorf of the United States
Coast Guard band in New London, Con -
nec ticut, was featured in recital at Con nec -
ticut College, where he is a faculty member.
The recital, which took place on Feb -
ruary 16, showcased Labadorf in works by
Richard Strauss, Francisco Mignone and
Dan Welcher; Labadorf and a string quartet
ended the program with a performance
of the Brahms Quintet. In addition to his
work at the Coast Guard Band, Tom is the
principal clarinetist on the Waterbury Sym -
phony in Connecticut.
Master Sergeant Melinda Burts, a member
of the clarinet section of the United
States Air Force Band, wrote to tell us
about some of the goings-on in her section.
The band, which works out of Bolling Air
Force base in our nation’s capitol, comprises
eight unique performing ensembles
— The Air Force Strings, Airmen of Note,
Ceremonial Brass, Concert Band, Max Im -
pact, High Flight, Silver Wings and Sing -
ing Sergeants. The Air Force Band performs
a broad variety of musical genres
from classical and jazz, to country and
rock. Throughout the years, components of
the band have journeyed to Europe, South
America, Asia and the Middle East, performing
in more than 50 countries. The
United States Air Force Band provides priority
musical support for the President of
the United States, Secretary of Defense,
Page 26
by Staff Sergeant Diana Cassar-Uhl,
United States Military Academy Band
Secretary of the Air Force, Chief of Staff
of the Air Force, and other senior military
and government leaders. It supports the
global Air Force mission by providing professional
musical products and services for
official military, troop morale, recruiting,
and community relations events. Through
its public concerts, recordings, parades and
ceremonies, The United States Air Force
Band inspires patriotism, projects a positive
Air Force image and preserves our na -
tional heritage.
Senior Master Sergeant Carl Long,
Con certmaster of The United States Air
Force Concert Band, is also the principal
clarinetist of the newly formed U.S.A.F.
Band Chamber Orchestra. The orchestra
recently performed at Georgetown Uni ver -
sity and Bishop Ireton High School, and
plans to branch out with many more performances
in the future. Long has also
been spending time as a studio musician
at Al fred Music Studio. He can be heard
on ed u cational recordings of band and or -
chestra transcriptions of music from Harry
Pot ter and the Goblet of Fire that can be
down loaded from the Alfred Music Web
site. In addition, Carl is currently in his
10th season as the conductor of the Prince
William Symphony Orchestra.
Master Sergeant Shawn Buck is a found -
ing member and clarinetist with the re -
cently formed Inscape Chamber Orches tra,
an ensemble dedicated to the performance
of traditional and avant-garde music for
orchestra and chamber ensemble that performs
throughout the Washington, D.C.
area. Their recent program featuring Stra -
vinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale, Copland’s Mu -
sic for the Theater and Dvorák’s Serenade
was very well received.
As part of The U.S.A.F. Band’s Cham -
ber Players Series, the Clarinet Quartet has
been busy with three recitals over the last
few months in Alexandria and Winchester,
THE CLARINET
Virginia. The members of the group are
Master Sergeant John Romano, Master
Sergeant Brian McCurdy, Technical Ser -
geant Darrin Thiriot and Technical Ser -
geant Brooke Emery. They never fail to
“Wow!” audiences with their interesting
and creative arrangements for clarinet
quar tet by MSgt Romano. And Darrin
Thiriot, when he’s not on duty with the
band, is pursuing a Doctorate in Clarinet
Performance at Catholic University. Also
as part of the Chamber Players Series,
Tech nical Sergeant Jennifer Dashnaw gave
a fantastic clarinet recital at The George
Washington Masonic Memorial in Alex an -
dria, also featuring Senior Master Sergeant
Elizabeth Campeau. The U.S.A.F. Band’s
woodwind quintet gave a recital at the An -
derson House in Washington, D.C. Tech -
nical Sergeant Julianna Arnold is the clarinetist
with this group, which also performed
a recital at the Florida Music Edu -
cation Association convention last fall.
And last but certainly not least, The
U.SA.F. Band’s clarinet section welcomed
its newest member, Technical Sergeant
Ben jamin Bowers, who finished Basic
Training and joined the group in Wash ing -
ton just before Christmas. Ben is originally
from Falls Church, VA, and has a Ba che -
lor of Music in Clarinet Performance from
the University of Cincinnati College-Con -
ser vatory of Music. He also completed an
Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould
School of the Royal Conservatory of Mu -
sic in Toronto, Canada.
I was delighted to receive a letter from
I.C.A. member Barry Jackson, who shared
with me that his love for band music and
the band experience did not come easily to
him, as I indicated in my last column was
the case for me. After a dismal high school
band experience (and a not terribly inspiring
four years of college), Barry found the
good fortune to play in a community band