\n<\/p>\n
The 4,300-seat performance space about an hour north of Carnegie Hall was eerily empty, except for nine judges in uniform sitting behind a thick black curtain.<\/p>\n
Ada Brooks, her mouth dry from nerves, lifted the bell of her euphonium, a smaller relative of the tuba, and prepared to play the notes that could determine her future.<\/p>\n
\u201cBreathe,\u201d she thought. \u201cThe beginnings are the most treacherous part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms. Brooks had told herself this before. Her fervent pursuit to professionally play the euphonium, which is not used in traditional symphony orchestras, had come with many stressful auditions. This one was her 10th for the institution that calls itself the nation\u2019s largest employer of musicians: the United States military.<\/p>\n
Time and time again she had practiced and prepared and tried to remember to breathe. She was turned down repeatedly or offered jobs in regional bands. Now came an opportunity for a premium position, a rarely open seat in the prestigious West Point Band.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Some aspects of the audition \u2014 like playing for a jury hidden behind a curtain, to guard against potential bias \u2014 would be familiar to most orchestra musicians. Others were unique to the military. Two of the other four candidates said they had to lose weight to qualify, and the finalists were tested for coordination in marching drills.<\/p>\n
Scores of regional military bands represent the armed forces at ceremonies, parades and holiday celebrations. About a dozen premier bands, including the U.S. Military Academy\u2019s ensemble in West Point, N.Y., perform at inaugurations and foreign dignitary visits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Seats in the premier bands are particularly attractive, providing job security and steady pay \u2014 the starting salary is about $70,000 \u2014 along with health care and other benefits. Those who win them tend to stay for many years, if not their entire careers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ms. Brooks had been practicing three hours a day in Denton, Texas, using high-end recording equipment in her living room to identify imperfections in her pitch or tempo.<\/p>\n
At the audition, she was confident and precise while playing excerpts from works by Schoenberg, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Shostakovich, as well as from the soundtrack of \u201cRaiders of the Lost Ark\u201d by John Williams.<\/p>\n
At one point, a judge asked if she could \u201cbe more declamatory.\u201d She repeated a few measures. After she played Boismortier\u2019s Sonata No. 12 with the band\u2019s principal euphonium player, Staff Sgt. Christopher Leslie, one of the judges barked: \u201cI think you can do a better job matching his style and intonation. One more time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In the end, Ms. Brooks was one of two finalists asked to play additional excerpts and to sit for a face-to-face interview with the judges. The final question came from the band\u2019s conductor, Lt. Col. Daniel Toven: Why is your dream to be in a premier military band?<\/p>\n
Ms. Brooks paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you probably know,\u201d she said, \u201ceuphoniums don\u2019t have a lot of options.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a burst of laughter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
After careful deliberation, Sergeant Leslie delivered the verdict. She was in.<\/p>\n
Well, almost. Ms. Brooks had to complete more than two months of boot camp before she would become an Army musician.<\/p>\n
Ms. Brooks, 27, was introduced to the euphonium by her eighth-grade band teacher in Columbia Falls, Mont. At the time she thought it \u201cwas just a less cool tuba,\u201d as she put it, and nobody was concerned about the limited career opportunities.<\/p>\n
By 10th grade, she had made the all-state band and was no longer planning to study math, science or physics in college. She was now determined to play the euphonium professionally.<\/p>\n
She spent $7,000 on a euphonium and two years at Interlochen, a performing arts high school in Michigan. Ms. Brooks then earned bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in music performance at the University of North Texas, where she made an eight-year commitment to the Air National Guard Band of the Southwest, eager for part-time experience playing music in a military setting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n