Amanda Marquis, Trumpet.
U.S. Navy Musician. Brass Repair.
When you were 18, what were your career aspirations and how much (if at all) did those change by the time you finished university/grad school?
I grew up studying with Jazz and Commercial players, so though I did some classical playing, I was never interested in an orchestra position. I was really just interested in finding a way to make my living playing, however I could, so my career goals were pretty flexible. I did a semester at Berklee College of Music, but found it to not be challenging enough, and far too expensive. I ended up transferring to University of ME at Augusta, studying with Chuck Winfield of BS&T, and Don Stratton. My major was Jazz and Contemporary music Performance, and it lined up well with what I was good at and what I wanted to do. Unfortunately, I was living in pretty extreme poverty and ran out of scholarships. That was when I looked into joining the military, and ended up in the Navy. I stayed because it was mostly fun and the money was good, and I wanted retirement income. 18yro me had briefly thought about military bands, so it wasn’t super outrageous to me, and financially made a lot of sense. I left school after my junior year, and still haven’t finished my music degree. Since I gig consistently and have no desire to teach aside from one or two occasional students, it didn’t feel important to finish the degree. I graduated with honors from repair school after I retired from the Navy, and got a job as a brass tech right out of school. I like the field, can gig as much as I want, and interact with other musicians on a regular basis - super fun way to make extra money! I had also thought about repair when I was a performance major, so also not a big change of plans.
Over the course of your entire career to this point — but prior to the pandemic — how have you pivoted or changed career paths and why?
While I was in the Navy, I really started thinking about what I wanted to do when I retired. I realized that I wanted a day job in the music industry so that I could turn down the gigs I didn’t want to do. In the Navy I got stuck doing a lot of gigs I had no say in, and wanted to be able to say no when I felt like it! Repair fit in with my lifestyle and personality - active work, not stuck at a desk or doing tons of paperwork, which I hate.
What were you doing at the start of this year (2020), prior to the pandemic?
I was gigging a lot, while working 40hr weeks. My repair schedule is flexible, but I was super busy! I also do a lot of social media for the business I work for, and was starting to step that up. I had a bunch of high- profile gigs scheduled, including a radio show that would have really advanced my playing career.
How has the pandemic changed your career path or goals moving forward?
Well, just hoping to be able to move forward with my playing career again! I am actually doing a little writing and teaching to combat the boredom. I am thankful to be repairing, but it doesn’t fill my need to perform. I will be participating in some virtual recording, and hope to do some recording with my husband, who is a guitarist. I will be glad when we can get back to normal!