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"AIM"ing in the Summer

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Jake McCray
Washington, D.C. --  It's summertime, and school is out. However, The United States Air Force Band's educational outreach program, AIM (Advancing Innovation through Music) doesn't take a summer vacation.

In July, members from the Concert Band participated in a "side-by-side" clinic at the Vienna Band Camp in Vienna, Virginia. In these types of settings, students and Band members sit next to each other during rehearsal, while the Band member provides tips and pointers. Students have found this interaction to be especially helpful, because they can hear the way a professional would play the exact same music right in front of them, giving the student an excellent model of performance practice. The band director can have the students play through the music, then have Band members play through the same section as comparison.

The Vienna Band Camp has been in existence since 1969, and teaches approximately 530 elementary and middle school students over the course of four weeks. It is a very popular program and serves students from all over the Northern Virginia region.

Originally conceived during the budgetary 'sequestration' of 2013, the AIM initiative continues to serve as the main educational outreach tool, even now that the spending restrictions have been lifted. The program has been a huge success, with clinics, side-by-side events, and concerts performed both locally and throughout the country. Each AIM event is scalable to a multitude of programs from large to small and serves choral, orchestral and band programs, or any combination thereof. If you are interested in hosting an AIM event, please contact Master Sgt. Bryce Bunner at michael.b.bunner.mil@mail.mil.