UTSA’s On-Corps band program promotes veteran well-being

The On-Corps group performs at the School of Music Recital Hall.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 — The UTSA On-Corps band program provides veterans with an outlet for artistic expression and a place to create meaningful relationships. In addition to transforming veterans’ lives, the program shows significant potential as a case study on the benefits of music to improve wellbeing music therapy.

On-Corps is a community engagement program offered to U.S. veterans by UTSA Arts at no cost. The band’s veterans receive instrumental instruction and participate in live musical performances. The class meets two hours every Saturday in the fall and spring for group sectional lessons in woodwind, brass and percussion instruments and for large band ensemble rehearsals.

Tracy Cowden, the Roland K. Blumberg Endowed Professor and director of the UTSA School of Music, launched On-Corps in September 2022. Her inspiration came from the New Horizons International Music Association, which offers several beginning music programs for adults. From that idea came the decision to create a beginning and intermediate band for veterans at UTSA.

“It's exciting to realize that we can start to begin to look at a little more challenging music, because the folks have made such progress.”

The band has grown from its first class of 23 members to 80 members and comprises of three ensembles: the Missions Band (beginner), the Alamo Band (intermediate) and the 210 Jazz Band (intermediate). All three ensembles perform a concert in the UTSA Recital Hall at the end of every semester.

On-Corps and its student-veterans, some of whom entered the program without any prior musical experience, have made remarkable progress across four semesters of weekly classes.

“It's exciting to realize that we can start to begin to look at a little more challenging music, because the folks have made such progress, and the group has gotten larger,” said Dean Zarmbinski, On-Corps director and former commander of the Air Force Band of the West.

Many participating veterans have attested to the positive impact the program has on them — from alleviating anxiety and depression to helping them find a renewed sense of purpose and meaning in their lives.

Member David Mercado, a veteran who has played the trumpet in both the Alamo Band and the 210 Jazz Band for the last two years, said that the program has impacted his life for the better, and before joining, he had never played an instrument before.

“It’s something to get them out,” Mercado said about what the program is doing for veterans. “They get to be in the community again and be around fellow vets, and it's something positive to look forward to. Playing and reading music helps keep our minds active.”

Member Patricia Snelson is a former member of the Women's Army Corps who plays the flute in the Alamo Band. She said that despite different military service backgrounds, members have “formed one cohesive unit that's very warming and rewarding to be a part of.” It has been healing for many veterans participating, she added.

Seven out of 100 veterans (7%) will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime, according to statistics from the National Center for PTSD.

UTSA Film and Media student Ireland Robinson touched on the therapeutic and healing aspects of the program in “On-Corps,” a documentary she directed that focuses on capturing the veterans' experiences.

One of the film’s participants, Ed Silva, found healing through On-Corps and other musical activities after his wife of 56 years passed away.

“It's helped tremendously … music had a lot to do with ‘me’ coming back,” Silva said. “I don't know how to say it; it’s like my mind is in a different place now.”

As On-Corps continues to grow, so does its national reputation. The program has captured the attention of other nationwide institutions looking to begin their own bands. One year after the program’s launch, The Congaree New Horizons Armed Services Veterans Band was formed in affiliation with the University of South Carolina’s Congaree New Horizons Band Program. The UTSA band served as a model for its creation.

The Music for Veterans National Association will support the development and growth of these programs. Cowden and Zarmbinski, who are both on the advisory board of the organization, will have an opportunity to see how these ensembles flourish.

Work is also underway to further develop a vision for On-Corps. An advisory committee made up of band participants, On-Corps leadership, UTSA and the broader San Antonio community is in the planning stages.

— Rolando Ramon