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Rachel LeBeane
Breeze-Courier Writer
PANA — There are some people in life who are never afraid to tackle challenges head on. They are the type of person who will never accept the idea that something is impossible. And one such person in Pana High School junior Liberty Law, daughter of Nicholas and Megan Law. Despite being told that her dream was hard to attain, she chose to chase it down instead of giving up. Law has been accepted into the Illinois Army National Guard 144th Army Band.
“Yeah. I’m still very excited about it,” Law admitted, still a little in disbelief about what she had actually accomplished. So how did a junior in Pana decide to join the National Guard and pursue a music career that way?
Law has always had an interest in music and even in the military, but it wasn’t until recently that the two interests finally combined.
“I got in touch with the recruiter at school, Luke Hunt. He was perfect to, like, to talk to us. I told him I would like to do music as, like, a career. I always knew that, I just wasn’t sure what route I wanted to take because just, like, personally right now, I’m not too interested in teaching, but I might get to that eventually.” Law explained, “So I asked Mr. Hunt, is there any possible way that I can do music in the military? Because I always just thought the military wasn’t just an option for that. Well, he was like, yeah, but it’s super hard.”
When most people hear something is super hard, they give up or look for an easier path. But not Law.
“I was like, well, I really wanna try,” she declared, adding, “I had to go take this test called an AMPA. It stands for something long and fancy, like I can’t even tell you. So it’s an acronym for something. Army music something something. It’s long.”
A quick Google search shares that the test Law took is called the Army Musician’s Proficiency Assessment. It is a test in three separate parts where the person who is auditioning for the Army Band must show adequate talent in each area. The first test is on ceremonial music the band might play frequently, like the National Anthem. The second part of the test includes playing excepts from three contrasting styles of music, like a march, a classical piece, and a latin style. These three pieces of musical excerpts most be well-prepared and performed at a high level of excellence. And the final part of the AMPA is pretty much a sight reading of music. The musician is given six to eight different pieces of music no more than 24 hours before their addiction and must show the ability to play them at an acceptable standard.
It was the last part of the test that stood out the most to Law.
“They tell you to you have to have three pieces ready to perform for them. And the the night before you go to your audition they send five snippets or so of music that they might want you to play. It’s not supposed to be perfect. It’s like, seeing how well you can prepare it in one day,” she explained. “I got that music Saturday morning. I worked on it, like, all day. No joke. And then I went there on Sunday. I went down to audition, in Peoria. Oh my gosh. I was so scared. Oh my gosh. I was terrified just of, like, doing bad because at this point, it was all I wanted to do. Like, I was like, I’m gonna do this, and I’m gonna pass it.”
Despite having the will and determination to push through, Law still knew she had to actually perform at her best so succeed. The AMPA is a cumulative score based test, with each of the parts given a certain numerical score. The results are all added together and anyone wanting to join the band must receive a certain total score.
And Law passed.
Not only did she passed, but she did so at an impressively young age. Law had been told by her recruiter and others at the audition that she was probably one of the youngest people in the band.
“Even, like, older people, like, the recruiters, they’re like, man, you’re the first person I’ve ever known to pass this audition. I also believe I am, like, the youngest person in in the band right now,” she said. “I’ve been to, like, the recruiter’s office with my recruiter, and they’re like, because you’re the first person I’ve ever know to have this audition. I’m sure there’s other seventeen year olds there now. But right now, mostly everyone in the 144th band right now are college students. But I am at least one of the youngest.”
Law doesn’t let her age stop her, though. She’s already thinking about her future.
“So my future now, I’m in the National Guard. So that means I still get to be around my family, and I still get to go to college locally because, the National Guard, they will pay for your school once you’re in for a time. Though since I am a junior in high school, by the time I’m done with my my senior year, I will already be in for a year, so all my college will get paid for. I’m not sure what college I wanna go to yet. I have looked into, like, EIU and all of those places.”
Law knows she wants to pursue Music Education at whatever college she decides to attend. But that isn’t the only dream she is chasing.
“I truly also really do want to be in the military for, like, as literally as long as I can do it.” Law’s enthusiasm for the military is strong in her words, “I know that I’m for sure gonna stay in for as as long as they let me. I’m doing full career. But for right now, I leave June 2 for Basic. I won’t be with the band until after I’m already, like, a soldier, after basic.
So right now, I have my uniform, all that good stuff. I do believe after this training, I will switch over to drilling in Peoria instead, like, where the band is located.”
Where did Law’s determination and drive come from? She attributes it to her parents, Nicholas and Megan Law, her band director Tony Hicks and her Muni Band director Keith Chase.
“My parents, I just wanna make sure I definitely thank them for telling me that, like, nothing is impossible as long as you work hard for it,” she said. “And my directors, Mr. Hicks and Mr. Chase. They’ve always told me I can do whatever I put my mind to as long as I work hard for it.”
But the rest of it is purely from Law herself. “I knew a lot about the military already. And I was always unsure about it. I was kind of like, man, I’m really not sure if I really can do that… But once I put my mind to it, I just knew that I could do it, like, the support of everyone.”
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