Olympia High senior joins 2017 U.S. Army All American Marching Band

Years after watching his brother’s ceremonial recruitment to the 2017 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band and promising himself he would one day be selected as well, Connor Austin is finally able to follow in his brother’s footsteps.

The UAAAMB is a U.S. Army-sponsored marching band that features high-school senior musicians. The 125 members are selected from a thousand applicants each year, who are then invited to perform at halftime during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio in front of 50,000 spectators.

“It’s a dream come true, honestly,” Austin, 18, said. “My brother was in the 2014 All-American Marching Band ... and I remember as a freshman sitting and watching his ceremony and that pretty much inspired me to do the same.”

To be selected for the honor of playing with the nation’s best high-school musicians during the event in January, Austin spent the last four years practicing under Olympia High School Band Director Bill Cunningham and playing baritone for his school’s marching band.

“Connor is an outstanding young man, a very hard worker and very dedicated to being the best musician he can be,” Cunningham said. “He takes direction very well, and he’s a self-starter so this goal of his, of making the All-American Band, was entirely his. It was something he decided he wanted to do three years ago, and he did what it took to make it happen. … He’s really motivated, something that is not typical for most seniors in high school.”

“It can be used for so many different varieties of music: jazz, classical and then you have all the different variations of classical.It’s just a very versatile instrument; that’s why I like it.”

— Connor Austin about the trombone

Austin has been playing the trombone since the sixth grade, but his brother Ryan, who plays the clarinet, is the one who urged him to audition for the high school’s band. He practices with the marching band three days a week for about three hours a day and also takes private lessons.

That may seem like a lot of practicing, but Austin wanted to make sure he stood the best chance of being recruited for the UAAAMB — he even submitted two audition videos. However, he believed he did not make it when the acceptance emails were sent out in mid-July.

“I actually auditioned on two instruments, because in the Olympia marching band, I march baritone,” Austin said. “And so I auditioned on the trombone and baritone and they first sent me the email that I got declined from baritone, and I thought I didn’t make it then. And then a few minutes later they sent me the email about the trombone. So that was an emotional roller coaster.”

U.S. Army dignitaries visited his school to host his ceremonial induction into the UAAAMB on Oct. 21. He advises anyone who wishes to join the UAAAMB to make it their No. 1 goal.

“If somebody really wants to do this, it has to be their No. 1 goal,” Austin said. “It definitely was for me. Ever since my freshman year, when my older brother, Ryan, was selected, I was dead focused on making it for myself. I watched videos of halftime shows from previous years, other people’s audition tapes that were posted online, and endlessly practiced musical solos that I thought would be impressive enough to show what I could bring to the All-American Marching Band.”

Once Austin graduates, he hopes to attend the University of Central Florida and study computer programming.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].