A Musical Saturday Evening

This past Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of leading a group of 12 Warrior Marching Band members in the briefest of performances for the DHS Class of 1963 at their 50th reunion. This is the first graduating class from DHS; they started as freshmen at HPHS, opened DHS as sophomores in 1960, and began many traditions that continue today. They chose our school mascot and colors, and they named the yearbook and school paper.

We entered their party room at the Embassy Suites to drum clicks--we were the special surprise they had been told about. We then played the Fight Song (about 40 seconds), I shared greetings from the current students and staff of DHS (about 15 seconds), and we finished with "Go Big Red" (about 20 seconds). Shortest. Gig. Ever.

We were well received, and some of the women did an impromptu cheer from the early 60s. It was a lot of fun, and I think we were an exciting addition to their festivities.

Then, I headed off to a friend's house for his annual backyard music fest. Sounds quaint, but it was really quite impressive. Here is the line-up:

• a singer-songwriter performing a solo set accompanying himself on guitar and piano (not simultaneously!)
• a vibraphone/violin jazz duo that sounded like it was straight out of the ECM studios in the 1970s
• three tenors singing folk and pop music with guitars and basses
• a world-renowned opera singer who has debuted several important operas over the past several decades
• a country-rock band performing originals and covers
• a band with the three tenors, 5 female backup singers, piano, mandolin, piccolo, guitar, dobro, bass, drums, and a horn line of sax/trumpet/trombone

I was in the last group on alto sax. We played R&B type tunes and some classic Americana. The highlight was a cover of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." We began with two percussionists, one on Afro-Peruvian cajon (a wooden box you sit on and play with your hands), and one on Indian tabla drums (the look a little like bongos but can play different pitches--you may have heard them on Beatles tunes). They are both master drummers, and their rhythmic interplay was incredible. After they traded improvised licks back and forth, the band snuck in and played the song up to its climax before fading out to the cajon and tabla again. When they finished perfectly together on the same beat (without really having planned it out ahead of time), it was one of the most musical moments I've experienced in a long time.

So you see, kids, this is why you need to keep playing your instruments into adulthood! Maybe you'll have a friend who is ambitious enough to stage his own mini-Ravinia. Then you can take part and have that transcendent experience of sharing music with good friends. That's why we do what we do, isn't it?