Kari Brooks, reporter

Every trumpet player practices hoping that the perfect gig will come along some day. But in the midst of looking for an open symphony seat or a jazz combo spot, how often does the average musician consider the military? But maybe that should be on the top of the list. Being paid a salary, getting health insurance, with full benefits, having your college loans paid off, and even getting a retirement plan sounds like an appealing job to me! Liesl Whitaker thought the same thing and never regretted her decision to go for an Army jazz band audition. Her life before becoming a military musician consisted of playing on cruise ships and getting gigs in New York, but when a friend called her and encouraged her to audition, she went for it, despite her initial hesitation.

Whitaker's laidback personality and great sense of humor made for an exciting and informative lecture. One of the biggest issues she addressed was about finding your own voice. Why did you started playing? Do you still have fun? A lot of musicians listen too much to the negative inner voice that chimes in right about the time that dreaded high note is coming and because of this, they fear the possibility of failure. But Liesl reminded the group, “If your afraid to fail, then you will never succeed.” That's exactly what she lives by in her trumpet playing, and when she chips a note, she says, “So what!” When we become our worst critic, we only get in our own way. Everyone misses notes, so why get down on your self about being human?

Whitaker's approach to playing is what has gotten her so far today. She believes that playing lead requires two main ingredients. First, the lead trumpet must be “married” to the drummer…to be exactly in sync with the rhythm section at all times. Secondly, the lead trumpet must make the band sound good. She also advocates stealing. Licks, that is! Don't hesitate to use other players' licks. Jazz is the one thing in life where stealing is ok!

Staff Sergeant Whitaker was quite clear in saying that she had not come to the ITG Conference to recruit people, but she spoke very highly of her job in the Army. She felt that many people are discouraged from auditioning for military bands because they don't want to go to boot camp, but that you might instead put a different spin on the dreaded boot camp experience. She said, “Why not get paid to be in shape. The required running can actually help your trumpet playing!” Throughout this informative presentation, it became quite obvious that Whitaker loves what she does. Her lecture provided a wealth of knowledge into the life of the military musician and what goes into making a career of playing in the U.S. Army band system.