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Alumni Feature | ROBERT SNIDER
SNIDER RECEIVES ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD IN MUSIC He played the piano, the violin and eventually percussion. It was the percussion that “stuck” for Robert Snider (B.M.E. 1976).
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verybody has that Ringo Starr moment when he was on the Ed Sullivan Show,” Snider said. “I just liked drummers.”
Snider, who recently retired from the U.S. Navy Band after 30 years, received the Alumni Achievement Award in Music this spring. During those 30 years, he played in the concert band and country band for 15 years and then became tour director for the last 15 years.
“He didn’t play favorites. I got chewed out just as much as anybody else,” Snider said. “He was one of the best conductors I ever worked with. He just had a way to inspire.” Snider said his experience in the School of Music was also enhanced because the faculty were performers.
“After 15 years of playing, the tour director retired, and I was on the very, very short list to take over, which I did,” Snider said.
“They were enthusiastic about performance, as well as the classroom,” Snider said. “You got a lot of experience. I tell my students that you want to go to a place where you can play. Every time we had Navy Band auditions, you could tell the practice room players versus those who were out there playing in a bad polka band.”
During that time, he reorganized his staff department and created a team.
After he graduated from UNL, Snider completed his master’s degree at Indiana-Pennsylvania and then took a job at a university in Green Bay, Wisc., and also played in the Green Bay Packers football band.
“I’m really proud of that,” he said. “I have great memories of the whole thing.” Born and raised in Lincoln, Snider’s father, Jack, was the Cornhusker Marching Band Director from 1954 to 1981, and Snider often helped his dad during the summer. “I grew up in this place,” Snider said. He started at UNL in 1972, the first year Professor of Percussion Al Rometo came to UNL. “We’re about five years apart, and we really hit it off well,” Snider said. “He was a teacher, a mentor and a friend. I really appreciate our friendship and the leadership and guidance he gave me. He actually built the percussion department.” One of the best parts of Snider’s experience in the School of Music was the many opportunities he had to perform. “There was always an opportunity to perform. When I was here, I was in marching band, of course,” he said. “There was wind ensemble, symphonic band, the orchestra and one of the jazz bands. Dad also had a lot of brass ensembles, and I played timpani and percussion there. A lot of us had a lot of playing experience going forth.” Snider said he got no special treatment being the band director’s son.
Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts
“After three years there, I got tired of academia,” Snider said. He had always respected the bands in Washington, D.C., so while he was in Boston for a study trip, he auditioned for the U.S. Navy Band and was chosen. “At age 29, I went to boot camp,” Snider said. “In the Fall of 1981, I went back to the band and did 30 years there.” While in the U.S. Navy Band, Snider said he was on the sideline to a lot of history and performed for Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton. He has played for inaugural parades, state funerals and Arlington Cemetery honor funerals. He also performed at the Capitol Summer Concerts on Monday nights. “I always told people that when you’re playing the National Anthem at the Capitol, and you look up and see that dome and see the flag, if that doesn’t get to you, you need to be doing something else,” Snider said. “There’s this real feel for being part of it.” His best advice to young musicians is to play often. “This is based on sitting through 30 years of auditions for a band and seeing people from all over the country,” Snider said. “Know your fundamentals and know how to play your horn. Have experience. Play in a summer park band or a church job. Any playing is experience. We don’t hire musicians that just play great. We hire people that play in an ensemble. Be real strong and play the best you can.” u
Top: Robert Snider rehearses with the UNL Percussion Ensemble in April. Center: Robert Snider receives the Alumni Achievement Award in Music from Associate Dean Christin Mamiya. PHOTO BY TOM SLOCUM
arts MAGAZINE | 2013