Naval Academy Plans to Cut 30 Percent of its Musicians

The U.S. Naval Academy plans to cut its number of musicians by 30 percent in late 2014.

The preliminary plan is intended as a cost-savings measure, and will involve scaling back the number of performances for the Naval Academy's concert band and big band.

The plan will not eliminate the academy's side bands—Crabtowne Stompers, Electric Brigade, Quintets and ensembles—and the traditional Tuesday City Dock concerts will continue.

"In fact, those concerts may be more robust due to the implementation of U.S. Navy band assets/instruments/capabilities that were not previously resident in the USNA band," according to USNA spokesman Commander John Schofield.

All musicians affected will be offered other opportunities to fill vacancies elsewhere within the U.S. Navy Band, or in one of the several fleet bands  across the world—including Pearl Harbor, Italy and Japan.

Musicians within the Naval Academy had their number of performances scaled back during sequestration and budget restrictions throughout 2013. During sequestration, band travel was limited to within 50 miles of the Annapolis base.