Opus 282 - "In the Fight" (feat. Cedric Mayfield)

So as I continue my work with the American Composers Forum, which is keeping me quite occupied, I have naturally been thinking a lot about this notion of America as I speak to from time to time here on the show.

When I think about those uniquely American musical aesthetics and stories that I try to highlight and center in our reinvestigation of this phrase, classical music, the tradition of wind band always comes to mind.

Of course, wind band and Music for Winds definitely predates the United States, but there's no question that band has an American flavor.

You know, that has evolved over the years is something that you don't see in many other parts of the world, certainly not throughout arts ecosystems.

It's one of those difficult things to actually engage because there are a couple of professional wind bands out there.

I'm thinking of the Dallas Wind Symphony.

for example, and there's a famous one in, uh, Tok in Japan, the Kosei Tokyo wind band, I believe it is, but you know, it's not the same to commission or, or really get, uh, some engagement with these ensembles because they're fewer and far between.

There are some really great ones at, um, colleges and some conservatories, but largely if you want to get that professional perspective on wind band music and wind band performance, you have to look at the military.

Um, All of that to introduce someone I'm very pleased to feature on this opus of Triloquy.

His name is Cedric Mayfield.

Cedric is a phenomenal clarinetist and a recently retired member of the United States Coast Guard Band.

Now, as a society, we're generally taught to thank veterans for their service because, well, that's just what we're supposed to do, right? They're supposed to get on the airplane first, all of that, just because.

It's something we're conditioned to sort of think about and engage in in many ways.

But today, I have to offer gratitude first.

from a place of genuine gratitude in a way that rings for me personally.

Growing up, especially in the South, you know, wind band commands massive respect.

Anybody who was at the University of Memphis during my era knows that you did not show up late or unprepared to wind ensemble.

That was the premier ensemble over the orchestra, over any of it.

Um, so for me and for many other young musicians, it was the high level professional recordings from military bands that served as the reference point and as the blueprint for how we prepared for rehearsals, how we practiced.

And in some cases, what we would end up doing for a living, we didn't have the New York Philharmonics of recordings or that sort of thing, you know, of wind band literature, because that's just not what those institutions do.

So it really was those, um, military ensembles that paved the way and, as I said, served as the blueprint for what we were supposed to be doing with our instruments.

My performance career, of course, was with orchestras, but Cedric and his colleagues literally provide the soundtrack to the musical development of countless young musicians.

So I say with my full chest to the military musicians, thank you, thank you for your service.

In this episode, Cedric and I pull back the curtain a little bit on what it means to be an artist in the armed forces.

We talk about some of the harsh realities of the job, like navigating government shutdowns where musicians have to play without pay.