Giving back to the USNA Music Department was an easy decision: I’m paying it forward.
I only did one semester of high school show choir. I wasn’t skilled at reading music. I was not a very confident singer. But I was given a chance. The entry bar was low - a simple audition during plebe summer cracked open the door. I could hear notes and sing them back. That was it. From those first weeks at Annapolis, music became part of my development and eventually would be some of the highlights of my experience as a midshipman.
As a plebe (freshman year), I was involved in Women’s Glee Club, Chapel Choir, and a supporting ensemble member of the winter musical Oklahoma and the fall Halloween Concert.
As a youngster (sophomore year), Women’s Glee Club traveled to California for our spring break tour, where we got to perform at Disneyland, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, and other sites around Southern California.
As a second-class (junior year), I remember one morning waking up at “zero dark thirty,” rehearsing on the bus on the ride from Annapolis to DC in preparation for our performance as part of the televised Pentagon September 11th Memorial Dedication Ceremony.
In the spring semester of my junior year, I studied overseas in Amman, Jordan. By then, participation in choral music activities was so ingrained that I couldn’t imagine taking a full six months off. A couple of weeks after I arrived, I learned about a local community choir, “Dozan wa Awtar” auditioned, and joined. In addition to the fellowship of weekly choir rehearsals, we performed an Easter concert in Amman. I remember being amused that one of the pieces we learned and performed was a co-ed arrangement of Biebel’s Ave Maria, which was in the repertoire of the USNA Men’s Glee Club, but not a piece I had been able to sing with Women’s Glee Club.
Also during that semester abroad, I was able to gain the proper approvals and travel with the choir to perform a concert in the old city of Damascus, Syria. It was a brief trip, and we were there primarily for rehearsals and the concert. There wasn’t much time for sightseeing, but it was incredible and unforgettable to be a part of a tri-national musical event with choirs from Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. It was an interesting experience to be in a rehearsal where the common language was Arabic and hearing the language spoken with vastly different accents.
Aside from the language barrier, and our different countries of origin, musicians and choir people have similar traits. We are quirky, enthusiastic, and prone to break out into song at any unexpected moment. The concert, held inside a historic church, opened my eyes to something I had never considered - the challenges and triumphs of Christians who kept their faith generation after generation even after their homelands became Muslim-majority.
As an Arabic major, studying abroad in Jordan was a chance to hone my language skills. Through choir, I gained a deeper cultural respect and understanding of my own faith.
The musical memories are some of the brightest highlights from my semester abroad.
When I returned to Annapolis for my first class (senior) year, I served as co-president of Women’s Glee Club. One of the highlights of that year included a Veterans Day tour to Chicago where we sang the National Anthem, complete with a flyover, at a Chicago Bears game.
A few months later was our unforgettable spring break trip to Brazil. It was powerful to be given the opportunity to represent the Naval Academy on another continent and to be ambassadors and examples of women in uniform at the Brazilian Naval Academy, which at the time was still closed to female students.
I remember fondly other smaller musical moments throughout my time as a midshipman: singing the National Anthem with West Point cadets, combined as one choir, for the annual Army-Navy game, and singing the National Anthem to crowds of families and alumni during fall season home football games.
My time and involvement with the music department were not only highlights of my time at the Naval Academy but created memories and friends for life. Even after I graduated from the Naval Academy I continued to find ways to get involved with music. When an injury at The Basic School forced me to get rolled from training and extended my stay in Quantico, I joined a community choir in Stafford, Virginia.
Having a chance to rehearse and see others in the community before a week of classes and military training helped me maintain a positive perspective. In choir, I didn’t have rank. I was just another voice and a member of the team. I had to listen to those around me and blend with the other voices. Each of us were unique and special, but we shined brightest as a synchronized group.
The Naval Academy is not branded as a performing arts school, but I would venture to say that the Naval Academy Music Department’s top quality productions such as Spring Oratorio and Handel’s Messiah are on par with some of the best music schools in the country.
Nobody attends the Naval Academy for the music department but because midshipmen are given the chance to cultivate even the tiniest seed of interest, and provided skilled and patient instructors, the musical talents become part of who midshipmen are and the leaders we grow into.
Whether a midshipman is a gospel singer, a jazz instrumentalist, enjoys the drill of marching with drum and bugle, or the tempo and volume of bagpipes, the music department is an asset offering critical activities for hundreds of midshipmen every single year.
Most of us probably didn’t even realize the mental health benefits that we got from our music department involvement. We just know that we found joy in the camaraderie and respite from the demands of Bancroft Hall. But that time away from the yard, that time away from homework and studies, that time when we practice giving others the spotlight. That’s when we’re really developing servant leadership, listening to each other, and inwardly cheering each other on.
The Music Department has impacted so many lives. If all of us commit to a monthly pledge, even a little bit, will make a lasting impact in the lives of midshipmen for generations to come. Music is a way that midshipmen can celebrate their heritage, learn about history, and grow as members of the team. Midshipmen in musical activities contribute to what makes the Naval Academy great and serve as an inspiring outreach for others through concerts and performances that resonate across communities and cultures.
I choose to pay it forward with FONAM because of the world-class musical experiences I had in the United States and overseas. I give to FONAM because I believe it is important to ensure that the Naval Academy Music Department has the financial support to continue to serve future classes of midshipmen, independent of federal funding or alumni association support.
I’m so grateful for the role that music played in my Naval Academy experience and leadership development from plebe summer, through graduation, and beyond.
