BRAND new Auxiliary
Public Affairs qualification program became a reality as the first four Auxiliarists were qualified as Auxiliary Musician (AUXMU) Qualifying Examiners (QEs) on April 26, 2016, on Long Island.
Per the procedure released by the Chief Director’s office in January 2016, the first Auxiliarists were qualified by an active duty Coast Guard Band musician.
Conducting the adjudications of the four Auxiliarists’ primary musical instrument to earn their AUXMU1 qualification was Musician Senior Chief Petty Officer (MUCS) Mark McCormick from the US Coast Guard Band. McCormick has been the liaison with the Auxiliary Band since the AUXMU program was first proposed two years ago by John Sasso, then Flotilla Commander of Flotilla 22-7, Fort Salonga, NY. As is typical protocol for earning the title of a QE, McCormick also observed each of the four AUXMU1s adjudicate another musician on a second instrument.
As expected, all received outstanding scores. The four Auxiliarists, Keith Schmidt, Louis DiLeo, Lee Dash and Malcolm Dickinson, are all degreed music educators, and are well versed and trained in music adjudication. “I am really thrilled that these fine musicians are the starting team. Their music skills are outstanding and they already know what to do as experienced adjudicators,” commented McCormick.
The AUXMU qualifying program parallels the New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) which Schmidt, Dash and DiLeo have been adjudicators for and groomed numerous student musicians to prepare for. There is a
similar program in
Connecticut which Malcolm Dickinson is a seasoned adjudicator.
“It was a rigorous process,” commented the National AUXMU QE Coordinator, John Sasso. “The SOP did not explicitly state some details and procedures, leaving a lot open to interpretation and confusion. During the past few months, I, with the help of these three Long Island musicians, developed a guide for the applicant and a guide for the QE. You might say this was a test run,” continued Sasso. “There were still some lessons learned from the process that I have since incorporated in the paperwork.”
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The newly qualified AUXMUQEs with the primary author of the AUXMU program. L-R Malcolm Dickinson 07-04, Louis DiLeo 24-07, MUCS Mark McCormick, Lee Dash VFC 22-07, Keith Schmidt, Band Leader, John Sasso, National AUXMU QE Coordinator, Photo by David Mandel