Ageless Music

 This summer I started playing with a local community band. I say local, but it's really about an hour away. Every Thursday TC and I go up to band practice, and after every 2nd summer rehearsal we had a concert. The band is made up of mostly folks over 50, many of them retired music professors. The summer concert sets are all based around different themes (Gershwin, Song and Dance, Cartoon Kaleidoscope). I have really enjoyed being a part of the band, and the 4 hrs it makes me take off every week for rehearsal and drivetime. Sadly, tomorrow is our last summer concert. The theme is "All that Jazz" and is based off of all the old Big Band and Jazz Classics. Pieces from Louis Armstrong, Glen Miller, and a bunch of dixieland stuff mixed in for good measure. One of my favorite parts of this concert is the little dixieland solo group pictured to the right in the picture above (my apologies on the poor pic quality, I had to take it on my iphone).  These guys are all well over 60 years old.  The trumpet player sits next to me in the regular set-up and just celebrated his 84th birthday! The trombone player has arthritis, and loss of strength in his right arm, so he has a rig that sits on his chest to hold his horn up for him. That is real dedication. They don't always sound the best in the world, but man, they love every second of it! These guys have been playing since high school, and haven't given it up. For Bill, that means he's been playing trumpet for at least 70 years! I can't even fathom that. It's so great to be able to play alongside these guys and to pick up on their passion and zeal for life as well as for music. It's really a testament about how important it is to stick with something you love. Music is something that just reaches beyond age, race, and gender and connects us all. As I wrote in an earlier post, I'm just simply amazed at how we can find common ground in music, even though we may have different preferences. I just love music, and am grateful that my director spent the time to teach me to play trumpet, because otherwise I might resort to singing, and that would not be pleasant for anyone. I hope when I'm 84, I can still play like these guys, and more importantly, I hope I have as much joy and happiness as they do.