By Senior Airman Sarah Carter
Reality has finally smacked me in the face. I woke up this morning as a 31-year-old African American wife, mother, and 
airman who has fulfilled her lifelong dream.
In the process I have realized that I’ve touched many lives while supporting several causes that I believe in. I AM SPEECHLESS. I AM HUMBLED. In 1997 I went to Shenandoah Conservatory not knowing where it would take me.
I became a flutist because I was “good at it,” and I didn’t think I was capable of doing much more. After 19 years as a musician something has happened to me that I never thought would happen. I am premiering a flute concerto by a well known composer on a tour with The Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Insanity!!!!
As a young woman fresh out of graduate school I had dreams of becoming an orchestral musician or a soloist. Four years ago I realized that I had to support myself and that pursuing that dream was just that. A dream. Yes, reality bit me hard, but now I’m biting her back!
I grew up as a pretty poor little black girl. My mother was a single parent, and my dad was never around. My mom always made a point to expose my sister and me to the “Arts.” My sister loved theatre, and I loved dance and music. There was always classical music in my house. At Christmas time my mom would play Handel’s Messiah on the record player and we’d bust out the Hallelujah Chorus in 3 part harmony. Little did I know that she was exposing me to something that would shape my future and give me the tools to pursue something that I never could imagine was possible.
Last year I took a recording of the Concerto for Flute and Wind Orchestra by Mike Mower to my commander. He really liked it, but thought it was a little too long for one of our concerts. Usually soloists only play for 5-8 minutes, and this was twice that long. He really liked the first movement and asked me if I would contact the composer and see if he would write a “concert ending” for it. This made me very nervous. I had to ask a composer to change something that they had spent their blood sweat and tears writing…ugh…yeah…right…
Well, in the Air Force we are taught not to question authority, so I contacted Mike Mower and much to my surprise he was willing and excited to write a new ending. Now, I expected him to just change three or four measures in the end of the piece, but he sliced off two minutes and added four. So, we have virtually a new piece of music…with my name on it…PRESSURE!!!!
Mower completed the new ending in September and we weren’t going on the road until the end of January, so I knew that I’d have plenty of time to get it worked up and ready to go…not so much… I hadn’t factored in things like work, TDY, taking care of my family, keeping my house clean, teaching my students, and resting. Not to mention the fact that I would have to keep my playing up over the holidays. I was in for it.
Mower sent me a copy of the flute part through email, and I finally started plugging away at it in October. At first glance I was a little discouraged. As a professional musician you count on the years that you spent slaving away in a practice room to carry you through your career. I usually don’t have to practice too hard now because I put the time in very early. This was not the case. Mike Mower is also a flutist who is notorious for his superb technique. A technique which I do not possess! I found myself in the practice room killing a passage in the piece only to come back the next day and have it completely lost from my fingers and my mind. This was very frustrating.
Now, in the past I would have just set the piece aside and come back to it in a few years…or never…but I knew that I had to play this music. My name was on it. So I kept working. Now, here I am half way through our 12 day tour and I’ve performed the piece 7 times. I feel amazing!
As an African American woman it makes me proud to stand on the stage every night. Sixty years ago this would not have been possible. This opportunity is a testament to how far our country has come and is also an example of where we are headed. It is an honor to be an example to young people that you can accomplish whatever you dream in your life, but it is especially significant for young African Americans. There are not many African American females in the Air Force bands program, and I may be the only African American female wind player. As an airman, sometimes you don’t really realize the significance of the things that you do. As a bandsman it is sometimes difficult to truly understand your place in the grand scheme of the Air Force. I am beginning to realize my purpose…my potential.
I joined the Air Force in 2006 thinking that I would only be a musician who only played her instrument for the occasional ceremony or tour. Boy, was I wrong. When I step out on the stage every night I think about the people in the audience who may be touched by this performance. I think of how proud I am to serve in the U.S. Air Force as a musician. As an African American woman I am truly honored to be an example to young women who, like me, came from little and have accomplished a lot. I’m not the orchestral musician that I once aspired to be, but I am the musician that I dreamed of becoming. Take that reality!!!
The Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve performs its 12-day winter concert tour in different cities throughout Georgia and Florida. This tour featured two world premiere musical pieces. Both musical pieces were written exclusively for the Reserve band. For more information, including video of SrA Sarah Carter performing, visit the Band’s Facebook page.
Photo: Senior Airman Sarah Carter, a member of the Band of the U.S. Air Force Reserve, performs a solo musical piece at the Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College Feb. 1. (Photo courtesy/James Madison Thomas)