Tough Competition to Snare a Coveted Spot

They had come from across the country -- Texas and Louisiana and Ohio -- to show off their drumming chops in a grueling two-day audition. But now it was near the end. Decision time.

The five contestants, invited to compete from a pool of 32, stood in front of the panel of judges Thursday evening at Fort Myer in Arlington County, fidgeting nervously. The winner would get a highly coveted slot in a band that is never short on sweet gigs, including the White House, the inaugural and Rose Bowl parades and the Kentucky Derby.

Positions in the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, the 69-member Army band whose members wear Colonial redcoats and tricorn hats, don't come open very often. And when they do, the ensemble holds an "American Idol"-like competition.

This time, a snare drumming slot was available. So here they were: the recent college graduate who plays in three symphony orchestras, the dance instructor who has been playing in fife and drum corps since third grade, the music instructor who played a halftime show at a University of Michigan football game, the former member of a Marine Corps field band, and the construction worker who once held a position in the Fife and Drums Corps but gave it up five years ago to pursue rock-and-roll dreams.

The contestants stared straight ahead, waiting for the judges' verdict.

Unlike auditions in which musical talent is all that matters, the Fife and Drum Corps is looking for a few good men and women who can march, stand at attention for long periods and move with military precision. The winner receives not only a spot in the corps but also a ticket to Army basic training.

So before the applicants tapped a single beat, they had to learn some military moves particular to the Fife and Drum Corps.

"Ten-shun!" a sergeant barked.

The right foot must move to the left, she explained. The heels must be together, the toes apart by no more than 45 degrees, drumsticks held exactly parallel to the ground.

"Good gaze," she said. "Eyes are straight and forward."

Then came the standing test. A full half-hour. No movement. No shifting weight. Nothing more than toe wiggling.

"We stand outside for hours on parade grounds in the heat and humidity," warned Chief Warrant Officer 4 Gregory Balvanz, corps commander.