“It’s Amazing What The Army Expects From Young Leaders”: Leadership In Army Bands Around The World

David Deitrick was born in 1949 and grew up in Pittsburg, New York City, and Lima, Ohio. His parents were both in the Salvation Army, and his father was an Envoy and Minister. During WWII, his father served as a cook in the Navy. David grew up with two younger brothers and two younger sisters. As a boy, he enjoyed sports, but he was always involved with music. When he was in 3rd Grade, his mother, who inspired his love of music, taught him to play the euphonium, and by the 4th and 5th grade, he was playing during church services. Every summer he attended music camp in New Jersey, and he served as a camp counselor for six years. Salvation Army Musicians Phil Smith, a former Principal Trumpet with the New York Philharmonic, and Steve Bulla, who was the Chief Arranger for the President’s Own Marine Corps Band, were both inspirations in his life. In high school David began conducting at the church and he played in the high school band to keep his skills up. Conducting was his first love and playing the euphonium was his second. After high school, he auditioned for both the Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati, choosing Cincinnati because it offered a better scholarship and two years of conducting in their Music Education Program. At the end of his sophomore year, he was married. He met his wife in the high school band (she played the flute and piccolo). They have been married for 55 years and have raised two daughters and a son. After earning a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1972, and realizing that he was not ready to teach, he decided to audition for the West Point Band. His Army physical in Cincinnati was “eye opening,” and he auditioned for the Army bands in Washington, D.C. He describes the process of auditioning for the Army Band, where the band members first conducted the audition and then if the candidate met the criteria, they called for the Band Commander to listen. After selection, he completed basic training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, and remembers the physical aspects and hearing explosions while he was trying to sleep. He hated going on bivouac and training with pugil sticks. Since he was a college graduate, he was appointed as Platoon Guide, a position of responsibility. He realized the Army was trying to modernize and that VOLAR (the All-Volunteer Army) was coming. At one point during basic training, he had the opportunity to provide feedback to the Company Commander, and to his amazement, the commander listened. After graduating from basic, he reported directly to the Army Field Band. He was stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland, and spent about 4 months on the road each of the nearly five years he served there. When he started at the Field Band he was a Specialist 5 (SPC5) and a Specialist 7 (SPC7) by the time he left. During this period he earned a Masters’ Degree in Conducting from Catholic University. He later earned his PhD through Catholic University, partly due to their flexibility in accommodating his Army schedule. He remembers never particularly liking marching band, and getting used to the saber was a challenge, but he really did not like performing at football games in the cold, especially when the halftime shows were prerecorded. One of the primary missions of the Army Field Band was to tell the Army story in the patriotic sense, and to do that they had to present good quality and professionalism. He applied to be a Warrant Officer and describes his experiences in the 20-week long course at the Armed Forces School of Music. 18 musicians started the course, and by the 10-week mark, half of them had dropped out. He describes judging and rating his peers, and also hearing others’ comments about him. From 1977 to 1979, he commanded the 19th Army Band at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. He describes the challenges the Army faced at the end of the Vietnam War and how it took 15 years to “clean house.” He reflects on poor NCOs, supply issues, and drugs in the barracks, and comments that “we cleaned it up.” While at the 19th Army Band, he received a direct commission to 1LT. At Ft. Dix, the band supported basic training graduation, luncheons, concerts, parades, and presidential support to President Carter. He recalls a funny story, where he performed the Liberty Bell March for President Carter as his exit music, not thinking that that Sousa march was also the theme song for Monty Python’s Flying Circus. In another assignment as the 5th Army Headquarters Staff Bands Officer, he was responsible for inspecting other bands during their drill weekends. From 1981 to 1988, he served with the U.S. Army Band and was the Director of the Herald Trumpets and the Ceremonial Band. In that role, he was responsible for White House arrivals and ceremonial functions. His band also performed at the Pan Am games, the Los Angeles Olympics, and at the Centennial Celebration of the Statue of Liberty with Reagan and Mitterrand in attendance. He reflects on performing a White House arrival for President Reagan, and an incident with the Japanese National Anthem. He describes playing for Presidents Reagan, Carter, and Ford, and for Bob Hope. On occasion they had to play in freezing weather, which presented challenges for their instruments, and often they had to play for funerals. In 1988, when his children were in junior high and high school, the family moved to Europe, and he was assigned to the Army Europe Staff Bands and the USAREUR Band and Chorus. He was in Europe when the Berlin Wall fell and when Desert Shield started, recalling performing “guard duty 24/7.” He remembers conducting a concert in the Frankfurt Opera House and a military tattoo in Mons, Belgium. In January 1993, he reported to West Point, where he assumed duties as the Deputy Director of the West Point Band. He describes the long-term musicians versus the short-term commanders, but in the three special bands that have a national role, stabilization is important. In 1994, he took command of the West Point Band and sought to improve the band’s resilience over his eight-year tenure. He discusses several of the special missions the West Point Band conducts (including performing at Carnegie Hall) and reflects on the decade-long planning process for the USMA Bicentenial Celebration. For that celebration and working with COL Gene Allen, 30 new pieces of music were commissioned, involving a committee process. Some of his most memorable experiences included Saint Pope John Paul’s visit, and the inauguration of President George W. Bush. Once, while performing in a parade at West Point, he remembers watching storm clouds gather, and just as the band got into position for the pass in review, the wind and rain started. First, their hats blew off, and then a wall of water hit the band. They had no choice but to play as the Cadets marched off, and afterward, his musicians dumped buckets of water out of their instruments. He describes a 1995 concert at Trophy Point honoring Morton Gould. Gould was so impressed with the West Point band that he requested the West Point band to play at the Disney Institute, where Gould was the first resident guest composer / conductor. Gould passed away after the first night of a two-day tribute honoring his music after sitting in a box for the show and answering questions from the audience. The next night, David continued the performance with minor modifications from Gould’s daughter as a memorial in honor of Morton Gould. David describes an existential fight for survival for the major Army bands in the 1990s amid budget cuts, but the bands stepped up to prove their worth. In 2002, he retired from the Army and spent a year teaching at Northern Kentucky University as a visiting director before becoming the executive director of the Springfield Ohio Symphony Orchestra for nine years, followed by ten years conducting the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra. Reflecting on his service to the nation, he states, “It is important” for people to “find a way to serve the nation and community with the talents you have.” David loved his time with Soldiers and presenting to the public, and he returns to West Point because the band and community are important.