MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- The conductor raises both of his arms in a prepatory motion, his baton canted inboard, eyes going wide. In the back of the concert band room stands a medley of percussion instruments manned by Marines. Behind the snare drum Lance Cpl Jonathan Galeana, a percussionist and Fontana, Calif., native with the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Band, stands at the ready.
The conductor cranes his neck forward and looks out at a sea of green splashed in silver, bronze and gold. The MarForPac Band, wearing physical training attire with instruments in hand, returns the gunnery sergeant’s wide-eyed gaze. With a deep breath, the conductor rumbles the band to life.
During the piece “Esprit De Corps,” Galeana keeps time with his index finger encircling his thumb. He waves his arms emulating the conductor at the head of the room.
“I’m always imitating the conductor because at the end of this, I want to be one myself,” said Galeana. “Gunny pulled me up to conduct the slow 'Marines' Hymn' one day, and I totally forgot everything I had learned.”
Galeana says it will be a long time before he becomes a conductor, but his passion for music from an early age has brought him to the band hall, surrounded by professional musicians.
“I started in band in the 6th grade which was funny because I started out on the flute,” said Galeana. “Watching the movie “Drumline” changed everything for me, watching all the tricks in the movie,” he admitted.
The next year, he was “stuck” playing the saxophone, despite his desire to join percussion. When Galeana went to high school, fearing he might be stuck with a saxophone again, he simply lied to his new band director. “I played drums from then on,” he snickered.
He played center snare drum and eventually made it to percussion section captain from his junior to senior year of high school. He hit a wall going into college, fearing he wouldn’t “make it” in a music career. He turned, instead, to civil engineering. But his passion for music was far from burnt out.
“My second year (in college) I realized I missed (music) too much to not do it anymore,” said Galeana. “My old drum instructor called me and asked for help instructing, saying I had ‘more capable hands’ than the others.”
The percussionist came back into the music world teaching, and began playing for his university’s band percussion ensemble at California State University.
“I played for a semester and that’s when the recruiter came along,” said Galeana.
The music military occupational specialties are the only jobs that require extensive experience and auditioning before enlisting in the Marine Corps.
Galeana is fairly new to the Marine Corps, but he’s already auditioning on the level of a staff noncommissioned officer, according to his seniors. This means he won’t have to audition for the rest of the year, much like an intermediate or advanced swim qualification prolongs a requalification date.
Marching band is a favorite of Galeana’s because he gets time on his marching snare, a tightly wound drum with a Kevlar woven drumhead. Playing cadences, he incorporates rim shots into the mix, blasting off a crack that could be mistaken for a gunshot.
“There’s a lot of intensity in it,” Galeana said of marching percussion.
The daily grind for Galeana and the MarForPac Band involves an immense amount of practice.
The day begins with individual practice and lessons by a noncommissioned officer or staff NCO, followed by full band warm-ups. The band then practices ceremonial pieces. After practicing together, the band splits up into smaller ensembles like combo or party bands while the ceremony band stays and continues to practice. Galeana says between daily practice and off duty practice, he clocks in around 40 hours of playing time a week.
During lunch, the band breaks for physical training and comes back to take care of logistical tasks. Various members of the band are tasked with jobs outside the realm of music.
The band is almost completely autonomous, with every player fulfilling administrative, training, maintenance and logistical roles. Galeana is one of his band’s public affairs representatives. When he isn’t playing, he’s taking photos and archiving the band’s history.
“I just got finished with a big pile of photos and newspaper articles from decades ago that we never filed. Just got finished with that project,” said Galeana.
Another preference for Galeana is playing in the jazz combo ensemble.
“I get to improvise and experiment a lot more in jazz instead of sticking to a rigid top-to-bottom piece of music,” said Galeana.
There is much to be done on a regular basis, but Galeana doesn’t let the routine interfere with his passion for his job. He admits that often, music communicates to him on such an emotional level he sometimes fails to interact with people.
“It’s just that feeling. I like getting the chills (listening to a piece). I feel the music all over my body and the emotion it brings out of me,” he confessed. “I don’t mind taking the back seat in a percussion role with minimal playing if I really enjoy the piece.”