Newfoundland man appointed to Military Academy Band at West Point

Newfoundland — Staff Sgt. Joshua Phillips was recently appointed as a French Hornist in the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, NY. After receiving a Bachelor of Music with an outside field in Multimedia Design from Ithaca College, Staff Sgt. Phillips completed a Master of Music degree in Brass Performance and Literature at Northwestern University in the spring of 2005. He has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and also appeared with the International Contemporary Ensemble and Rhythm and Brass. The United States Military Academy Band, the U.S. Army’s oldest active band and the oldest unit at West Point, traces its roots to the Revolutionary War. As the senior premier musical representative of the United States Army, the unit fulfills all of the official musical requirements of the academy, including military and patriotic ceremonies, public concerts, sporting events and radio and television broadcasts, as well as social activities for the Corps of Cadets and the West Point community. The soldier-musicians of this organization are recruited by the Army and selected through a competitive audition process especially for service in the United States Military Academy Band. They are chosen from among a cross-section of the nation’s finest music schools and conservatories. A 1999 graduate of West Milford Township High School and an active member of The Highlander Band Staff Sgt. Phillips is the son of Frank and Lorraine Phillips of Newfoundland, NJ.