MONROE - Major Daniel L. Price is excited to pick up the conductor's baton of the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America on Sept. 11, for its first performance in Monroe since he took command of the band in July 2008.
Price just spent a year away from music at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Ala., where he attended Air Command and Staff College, earning a Master of Military Operational Art and Science in 2007. He welcomed the chance to get back to working with musicians and is now stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
"I love what we do and what we stand for, from the core values on down. I'm sold," he said about the Air Force band, in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"Being able to deploy and to take musicians overseas to the desert, to get up close with the sons and daughters of your readers, means a lot to us," he said.
The USAF Band of Mid-America is composed of several autonomous units and performing groups.
"We just created a brass hybrid, with vocals, drums and guitar, with a lot of the flavor of (the musical group) Chicago. It blew the guys away. They said, that's not want we expected," Price said.
A recent tour to Iraq for the "Hot Brass" quartet has led a soon-to-be-released up-tempo, contemporary recording of the group in Nashville. The recording will be handed out to the troops for free during their next tour.
"What we're doing - what I'm doing, is in support of the Air Force. The power and affect of music is being used to build relationships," he said. "The opportunity to do that is meaningful and fulfilling to me as an individual.
"It's also fulfilling as a leader at the same time, being in the service part of it and being able to help (the service personnel). In addition, it's just as fulfilling and thrilling to help my people achieve their goals. That's cool," he said.
Music always has been an interest for Price, but certain aspects of music, conducting in particular, eventually gained more of his attention. He earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Cedarville College in Ohio in 1984, and then the Master of Music in 1991.
Residing in the Dayton, Ohio, area from 1980 to 1995, he was an active member of the musical community, and held concurrent positions as Adjunct Professor of Voice at Wright State University, Director of Bands and Choruses at Dayton Christian School, and Orchestra and Chorus Director at Fairhaven Church.
Working on his education while holding down three part-time jobs "all at the same time - it was killing me," he said.
That's when he started hearing the words of a friend of his, Lt. Rich Shelton, commander at Wright Air Force base.
Shelton was part of Price's church orchestra, and had been asking him to consider joining the Air Force.
When Price heard the Air Force Band for the first time, "the level of professionalism blew me away," he said.
"When I got to hear the quality of them, I realized I could be working with full-time professionals. Some of these people have been to musical conservatories. I would have joined earlier, if I had known. It just took time to come into contact," he said.
Price said his audition process was strenuous.
"It was in Washington, D.C., and took the entire day - from 7:30 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m.," he said.
The audition included written and oral tests, and a "massive amount of conducting."
"And if you got through all that, the day ended with an interview," he said.
Scott Air Force Base is Major Price's fourth station, since joining the U.S. Air Force in 1995.
After graduating from Officer's Training School, he served as a staff officer at the United States Air Force Band at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C. While there he was the music director of The United States Air Force "Singing Sergeants," the only choir in the Air Force, and Officer-in-Charge of "High Flight."
He earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees in 1996 from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
In 1999 he was assigned to Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., where he served as the Deputy Commander and Assistant Conductor of the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band.
In June 2003 he assumed command of the United States Air Force Band of the Pacific-Asia in Tokyo. He was named Pacific Air Forces Band Officer of the Year during his first year of command, and in 2005 named USAF Band Officer of the Year.
While in Japan, Major Price has had the privilege of leading the United States Air Force team in the International Marching Festival at the Tokyo Budokan in both 2003 and 2005, as well as taking the Band of the Pacific-Asia on a 2005 tour of Thailand, where they had the honor of presenting a private performance both for and with King Rama IX.
Major Price is married to the former Shawnie K. Booher of Dayton, Ohio, and they have one son, Ian.
Price just spent a year away from music at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Ala., where he attended Air Command and Staff College, earning a Master of Military Operational Art and Science in 2007. He welcomed the chance to get back to working with musicians and is now stationed at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
"I love what we do and what we stand for, from the core values on down. I'm sold," he said about the Air Force band, in a telephone interview Wednesday.
"Being able to deploy and to take musicians overseas to the desert, to get up close with the sons and daughters of your readers, means a lot to us," he said.
The USAF Band of Mid-America is composed of several autonomous units and performing groups.
"We just created a brass hybrid, with vocals, drums and guitar, with a lot of the flavor of (the musical group) Chicago. It blew the guys away. They said, that's not want we expected," Price said.
A recent tour to Iraq for the "Hot Brass" quartet has led a soon-to-be-released up-tempo, contemporary recording of the group in Nashville. The recording will be handed out to the troops for free during their next tour.
"What we're doing - what I'm doing, is in support of the Air Force. The power and affect of music is being used to build relationships," he said. "The opportunity to do that is meaningful and fulfilling to me as an individual.
"It's also fulfilling as a leader at the same time, being in the service part of it and being able to help (the service personnel). In addition, it's just as fulfilling and thrilling to help my people achieve their goals. That's cool," he said.
Music always has been an interest for Price, but certain aspects of music, conducting in particular, eventually gained more of his attention. He earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Cedarville College in Ohio in 1984, and then the Master of Music in 1991.
Residing in the Dayton, Ohio, area from 1980 to 1995, he was an active member of the musical community, and held concurrent positions as Adjunct Professor of Voice at Wright State University, Director of Bands and Choruses at Dayton Christian School, and Orchestra and Chorus Director at Fairhaven Church.
Working on his education while holding down three part-time jobs "all at the same time - it was killing me," he said.
That's when he started hearing the words of a friend of his, Lt. Rich Shelton, commander at Wright Air Force base.
Shelton was part of Price's church orchestra, and had been asking him to consider joining the Air Force.
When Price heard the Air Force Band for the first time, "the level of professionalism blew me away," he said.
"When I got to hear the quality of them, I realized I could be working with full-time professionals. Some of these people have been to musical conservatories. I would have joined earlier, if I had known. It just took time to come into contact," he said.
Price said his audition process was strenuous.
"It was in Washington, D.C., and took the entire day - from 7:30 a.m. until 4 or 5 p.m.," he said.
The audition included written and oral tests, and a "massive amount of conducting."
"And if you got through all that, the day ended with an interview," he said.
Scott Air Force Base is Major Price's fourth station, since joining the U.S. Air Force in 1995.
After graduating from Officer's Training School, he served as a staff officer at the United States Air Force Band at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington D.C. While there he was the music director of The United States Air Force "Singing Sergeants," the only choir in the Air Force, and Officer-in-Charge of "High Flight."
He earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees in 1996 from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
In 1999 he was assigned to Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., where he served as the Deputy Commander and Assistant Conductor of the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band.
In June 2003 he assumed command of the United States Air Force Band of the Pacific-Asia in Tokyo. He was named Pacific Air Forces Band Officer of the Year during his first year of command, and in 2005 named USAF Band Officer of the Year.
While in Japan, Major Price has had the privilege of leading the United States Air Force team in the International Marching Festival at the Tokyo Budokan in both 2003 and 2005, as well as taking the Band of the Pacific-Asia on a 2005 tour of Thailand, where they had the honor of presenting a private performance both for and with King Rama IX.
Major Price is married to the former Shawnie K. Booher of Dayton, Ohio, and they have one son, Ian.