Musicians of the Household Division

From Graduate to Professional

by Lance Corporal Rachael Kendall

The thought of having a career as a musician in the British Army intrigued me.Whilst at school and sixth form college I performed in a variety of ensembles from wind ensemble to swing band, orchestra to symphonic wind band. However, my favourite musical activity was performing as a pit musician: embracing the challenge of swapping between different wind instruments and experiencing the strong sense of camaraderie among the musicians, the production team and the performers. It was not until I was at sixth form college that I first encountered a military band when The Band of the Life Guards (amalgamated to form the Band of the Household Cavalry) visited and provided an opportunity to play alongside them.

It was always my intention to study at university and so subsequently enrolled at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in 2013 under the tuition of Naomi Sullivan. Whilst at university there were many performance opportunities. A particular highlight was playing in a saxophone quartet whose success in internal and local competitions lead to performances across the UK. The thrill and enjoyment I derived from these performances, particularly working as part of an ensemble, confirmed that I wanted to pursue a career in performance. The university experience prepared me for employment in many ways, but the music industry is a notoriously competitive environment. The British Army had vacancies on saxophone and were offering an opportunity to perform globally as well as providing the certainty of a regular income.

Musician Kendall at Her Majesty The Queen's 93rd Birthday Celebration
Vietnam and Malaysia Tour, 2019. 

I applied to join the army in the fourth and final year of my degree, allowing enough time to pass each stage of the process involved. During this time, musicians are invited to the Royal Military School of Music in Twickenham for an audition. Part of the audition involved participating in ensembles and concert band, and provided an opportunity to ask questions of the trainees and staff working at the School of Music. The audition itself comprised of playing a personal choice of contrasting pieces as well as a selection of scales, aural and a theory paper.

Since becoming a professional musician, I have been able to see the world whilst performing. In my relatively short career, I have performed in ensembles touring Vietnam and Malaysia as part of the Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Celebrations. Participating in high profile engagements closer to home such as the Festival of Remembrance and Cenotaph has been particularly moving. Even a regular day such as Changing of the Guard gives me a sense of pride performing on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace alongside likeminded, talented musicians.

The Band of the Scots Guards at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2019.

Having a performance-based degree helped me to develop an overall level of skill and confidence on my primary instrument that prepared me as a soloist and ensemble musician. I am grateful for the influences that have shaped me as a musician, and I look forward to more opportunities to perform later this year.  

Lance Corporal Rachael Kendall is the Principal Saxophonist in the Band of the Scots Guards.