From left, Carrie Segelhorst, MU1 Matthew Shea and Carl Baumbach participate in the Naval Academy’s Side-by-Side program. USNA photo by MC3 Chris Lussier.

The Naval Academy Band works closely with Anne Arundel County music educators to coordinate several community outreach events throughout the year like the Side-by-Side program. High school students, grades 9 through 12, are encouraged to apply for a seat in the program by sending in their music resumes.

‘‘We are looking to see how well [students] do in all-county band, whether or not they participate in all-state band, how they perform in solo and ensemble competitions throughout the state, and where they place in their high school band,” said Chief Musician Karl F. Schultz, Naval Academy Band. ‘‘Mostly, we are looking to see if this person is going to continue on in music...are they going to pursue music as a career.”

Schultz, who has 15 years of service, reported to the Naval Academy Band in 1996 and is in his second year as the chief-in-charge of the Side-by-Side program.

Students who are selected for the program rehearse twice with the Academy Band and then participate in one performance, open to the public. Schultz said it gives the students a unique opportunity to consider careers in music.

‘‘In a normal high school setting, [students] typically spend three months working on one concert. [Students participating in the Side-by-Side] are going to sit down with professional musicians for four hours and then go to a concert,” said Schultz. ‘‘It gives them a good idea of what the professional goal is that they should be working towards.

‘‘It also gives them a chance to sit by a military musician and find out what our job is all about,” Schultz added.

One of the students selected to participate is Robert Harle, a 12th grade bassoon player from Southern High School.

‘‘The reputation of the [Naval Academy] Band precedes itself...and when I found out that there was a Side-by-Side for it, I jumped on it,” said Harle. ‘‘It is an opportunity to play with the best of the best.”

Harle first sat in with the Naval Academy Band two years ago and said that he had so much fun he decided to come back a third time.

‘‘It is nice to see some of the students come back year after year and get a better understanding of the music they are playing,” said Schultz. ‘‘It’s also the knowledge that you are positively influencing the musical career of these students even if you only see them once or twice.”

One member of the Naval Academy Band who knows the power of the Side-by-Side program firsthand is Senior Chief Musician Robert G. Werntz. Werntz, a 23-year veteran of the Naval Academy Band, performed in the first-ever Side-by-Side program in 1977 as a student at Severna Park High School.

‘‘That experience was one of two or three turning points in my life that steered me towards pursuing music in college and as a career,” said Werntz. ‘‘As a student it was a really exciting experience but it was also an honor to stand next to some of my mentors.”

Werntz said that he enjoys helping young people discover music and achieve goals so much that he is planning on making public education his next career.

This year’s Side-by-Side includes William Schuman’s ‘‘New England Triptych,” a three movement work based on Revolutionary War Hymn tunes. Other works to be performed are Giuseppe Verdi’s Overture to ‘‘Nabucco” and Alberto Ginastera’s Danza Final from ‘‘Estancia.”