I am just finishing my third year in my undergrad studies and I am thinking about which grad schools I want to audition for. I know for sure I want to audition at UNT (Bowman), University of Alabama (Thurman), and University of Arkansas (Pierce). My career goal is to end up in a military band, but I have also considered going the soloist/teacher route. Last semester I was strongly considering auditioning for RNCM and RWCMD and wanted to go the brass band route, but I think financially (futuristically speaking) it would be better to go military band. My issue now is figuring out if going oversees for my Masters (which is becoming a strong aspiration for me) then coming back to the U.S. would be a good idea. Obviously the amount of money I would spend overseas would be astronomical but I would get the opportunity to learn from David Childs or Steven Mead and I would have the reputation of those fine conservatories behind my name. Anyone have any thoughts on this or can offer advice about auditioning for any of the schools listed above? Any help is appreciated. Also here is a YouTube clip of myself playing Sparke's Harlequin with the Eastern Iowa Brass Band. Gauging my abilities may help in your responses (and it's a bit of advertising for me!).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdrJgMuSHSg
Thanks!