A Musical Collaboration within our Coast Guard Community

On Sunday, May 7 during the Third Annual Coast Guard Community Festival, the Coast Guard Recruit Band and Lower Cape May Regional Band will come together in a collaborative performance that truly says “Coast Guard Community.”
The idea of this collaboration first sparked when Edward Burke, Ceremonial Section Chief and Bandmaster at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May (TRACEN), and John Drechen, Lower Cape May Regional (LCMR) Band Director, first met back in 2014. The two became good friends with a joint passion for music, and they always discussed getting their bands together for a community performance. Burke saw the perfect opportunity when Master Chief William Hollandsworth mentioned a performance for the Coast Guard Community Festival. He immediately called Drechen to make it happen, and luckily both the LCMR students and the members of the Coast Guard Recruit Band were quick to get on board.
The Coast Guard Recruit Band is comprised of the recruits at TRACEN who come to training with musical talent. Each week, Burke selects those that fit the “minimum” talent level to join the band, “minimum” meaning those that have some sort of previous musical training. “They need to come in with a solid foundation on how to play so we can focus more on playing songs rather than teaching the basics of instrument playing,” says Burke. “I just don’t have the recruits long enough to teach them the basics.”
With recruits coming in at all different times, the band members change on a weekly basis. At any given time, there can be recruits in the band that range from very junior weeks of training (only been in training for a week) all the way to the senior week of training (week 08). However, there are three permanent party members stationed in Cape May that work in the Ceremonial Section under Burke. Those three Seamen act as great teachers and help keep the band afloat, and play within the band as well.
The Coast Guard Recruit Band’s main objective is to be prepared to play the music for the recruit graduations that take place at TRACEN every Friday, roughly 42 graduations a year.
Due to a busy recruit training schedule during the day, the band rehearses Monday through Friday from 0530 until 0700.
The band also performs as a marching band during the summer months for various parades around Cape May County. Further, the band supports retirements, Change of Command Ceremonies and most recently, the two commissioning ceremonies that were held on base for Fast Response Cutters Rollin Fritch and Lawrence Lawson.
“It is truly amazing to see a band where nobody really knows each other come together in such a stressful environment like boot camp and perform to a level worthy of public performances,” boasts Burke.
Drechen shares that this joint performance is an excellent opportunity for the LCMR students to work closely with one of the branches of the military, right here in our own hometown. “The kids are very excited to work with the Coast Guard Recruit Band,” Drechen says. “We’re a Coast Guard Community, and what better way to show it?”
Over the past 27 years Drechen has been with LCMR, the band has had many opportunities to work with the Coast Guard Recruit Band. Not only does this reflect our Coast Guard Community designation, but it also shows the students that music doesn’t just end in high school. Military bands, college bands, community ensembles and professional organizations are out there, and Drechen feels that this performance is an extension of that philosophy.
“This is the first step in a venture that Ed Burke and I have talked about for a long time, and it’s fantastic for the students,” explains Drechen.
LCMR’s band is comprised of 90 students, most of whom have played an instrument since the fourth grade. The band program consists of a jazz band, a marching band, a pep band, a pit orchestra for musicals, a percussion ensemble and a brass ensemble. The band performs at parades, special ceremonies and concerts throughout the year. During the summer, the band welcomes others to join its community ensemble.
As the Coast Guard Recruit Band and LCMR Band come together for this performance at the Coast Guard Community Festival, we can truly see the strengthening relationship between the Coast Guard and Cape May County that continues to grow year after year.