Hi Dafydd, thanks for your question and your interest in British Army Music, and glad to hear you were part of one of the Army Reserve Bands a few years ago. I hope you enjoyed your time there.

I'm afraid I can only speak for the Regular Band (full time) recruiting process here, as the Reserve Bands (part time) aren't my area of expertise. However, if rejoining the Reserves was something you were thinking about getting back involved in then do let me know and I can pass your details onto a specialist who will be able to help you. I do know that we have definitely not had any Professionally Qualified Officers (PQOs) in the Corps of Army Music as Regular Directors of Music, so perhaps you are referring to a Reservist there.

Over the last decade the Corps of Army Music have trialled having Direct Entry Officers, who complete the full year-long Commissioning Course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, join as Directors of Music in the Regular Bands in just a handful of cases. The trial has been positive and all are still serving in various roles. However, the requirement for this type of entry is extremely limited, predominantly because we also still routinely develop Bandmasters internally who join as Musicians and are accelerated through their career with additional Musical Direction training before Commissioning as Directors of Music themselves. This means the British Army Music team will treat any potential Officers very much on an individual case by case basis. I can only assume when you enquired a number of years ago the process was 'turned off' due to a lack of capacity or demand at that time.

If you are interested in enquiring again I would encourage you to do so, as there is always a chance that this career option will be opened up again in future. You don't say how old you are, but do bear in mind the upper age limit is 28 years 11 months for Regular Entry as an Officer and the entry process for the year-long Commissioning course is relatively arduous. I'd suggest you would need to email CAMUSCET20@gmail.com explaining carefully your situation and referencing this conversation so the team could make the necessary enquiries for you.

Alternatively, if you were interested in joining as a Musician and then later applying internally to progress through the accelerated Bandmaster route I mentioned (this can often be achieved within 2-3 years of joining dependent on aptitude), I can say for certainty there that British Army Music are encouraging applications. This could perhaps be another great option for you to join where the route is actively open now. While salaries start for a Musician at £20,000pa, a Staff Sergeant Bandmaster can find themselves on almost £40,000 within a relatively short space of time, and at all levels there are a huge range of other benefits to supplement this including subsidised housing, food, dental care, travel and a non-contributory pension. You can find out the entry requirements and how to apply here https://bit.ly/2JxbJ6d.

I hope that helps answer some of your questions, and I'd be very happy to continue the conversation if that would be useful for you,

Bethan

08 April, 2020 08:28