All Good Things....

Today was the end of the Rochester Civic Theater's run of Les Miserables. I played in the orchestra for nine of the performances. It is one of the greatest musical experiences of my life.

I think I have finally, after 52 years of playing, become a musician.



I have been blessed over the years to have had many opportunities and musical experiences. Going all the way back to high school I first played in a Tijuana Brass-type group and a church-based trumpet group. In college our concert band and the Yale Band played in Carnegie Hall and I wrote a field drill that we used as the closing drill of my senior year's football season.

I have had the excitement of playing at a circus performance at Circus World in Baraboo, WI with the Watertown Community Band and a Gershwin concert with the Minnesota Valley Band. My first band solo in over 20 years was with the Watertown Band on my 40th birthday. I have played trumpet at a workshop with several top-level pros. I have played bluegrass guitar with members of Monroe Crossing at a bluegrass camp.

I have played numerous solos, duets and others in churches. I have welcomed Easter Dawn many years in Moravian Cemeteries with my trumpet.

Over the past 5 years I have had the joy of playing in a Big Band and Brass Quintet in addition to the Community Band.

In the past 12 months I played Bugler's Holiday with the rest of the trumpet section of our Rochester Community Band and the National Anthem with 120+ other trumpet players at Target Field.

Now I have played in the pit for one of the great musicals along with an amazing cast and crew that would give any professional company a run for their money.

When the run came to an end today I was feeling awe-struck by the opportunity and the pleasure I have had. I have found myself immersed in the music and the story. I have discovered more about music than I thought one could ever learn by just sitting in a pit orchestra and confirmed many ideas that I hope to capitalize on in my own musical journey ahead. I will be writing a number of posts about Les Mis as well as the experience.

I hope it isn't the last time I get to play in The Pit, but this would be hard to beat! (Music Man or Chicago come to mind. Fiddler on the Roof or Man of La Mancha would be awesome, too. Oh, Phantom of the Opera and Wicked could be fun.)

Any way. What's next?

No guess on that. Two weeks from today I will play in my first quintet recital. Ever! We've been working at it and are excited about a good mix of pieces from classic brass quintet music to contemporary songs.

It seems like a never-ending stream of experiences.

I continue to be amazed at what can happen even as one gets into those upper ranges of life. But, hey! I'm only 65!

A Thought From the Pit: A New Hero

Move over, Cookie Monster, I have a new hero from Sesame Street. After finishing the first week's run of shows in the orchestra for Les Mis, I am leaving the cookies behind (at least sort of.)

If you know anything about the use of brass in orchestral arrangements, then add to that the fact that I am a 3rd trumpet, you will already know why this Muppet is now a mascot in my life. Let's just say that I have had a lot of time to meditate on the words and music of this incredible musical.

Lots of time to count beats and measures.

Lots of time to hear the horns and the strings enhance the words and ambiance of the scene unfolding on stage.

Lots of time to pick out the themes- musical, theological and philosophical- running through both Victor Hugo's novel and the stage adaptation.

So, Count von Count, my thanks for your presence in the back row of the orchestra, sitting there helping me know my place and when to come in.

To say that it has been fun is an understatement. It is an experience and a half. And I still have six more shows to go.

Opening Night Excitement

Tonight's the night.

The Rochester (MN) Civic Theater's production of the musical Les Misérables opens on the first sold-out weekend. Tonight's the first of thirteen public performances between now and October 6. This is, as is obvious, the result of a great deal of work on the part of a lot of people. As I said earlier this is the first time I have been in a "pit orchestra" since high school. It has been exciting to watch it come together. First the orchestra and cast rehearsed separately. Last week we came together for the first time to work things together. This week was tech and dress rehearsals ending with the preview performance last night.

The excitement has been almost more than we could stand. The energy level of the cast and orchestra has increased even as we become so infused with the music that it comes unbidden into many of our conscious thoughts. My wife laughs every time I start singing or whistling one of the tunes.The cast is remarkable! They all have their day jobs but have created a professional level performance that any theater company would be proud of!

It is also a very compelling story. To look at it quickly it seems to be made up of several well-worn tropes.

• love
• law vs. grace 
• personal transformation
• revolution
• poverty and oppression

Then you realize the story is adapted from a book written in the mid-1800s. The power of the words of Victor Hugo are as relevant today as they were 150+ years ago. Times have changed- issues are real.

I have been absorbing all this over the past weeks. Playing 3rd trumpet I get a lot of time to just sit and count endless measures. So I have followed along the words, letting the music inform the message and highlight the meaning Hugo was attempting to first describe. My plan is to at least bring a few of those thoughts to the blog after the musical is done. Time has been short with all this rehearsing and such.

View from the orchestra

But I'm as ready as I can be for tonight. It is an honor and a joy to be sitting in that orchestra behind the scrim for many of the next 13 performances.

Lots of Les Mis

Rochester Civic Theater is putting on an incredible performance starting in mid-September.

Les Miserables.

I have the great joy of sharing in playing 3rd trumpet for the run. I am excited. This is the first time I have played in the pit for a show since High School. It does mean a great deal of time over the next two weeks, especially. Over the next 14 evenings I will be at the theater 11, with playing all three shows of opening weekend. Since 3rd trumpet has quite a bit of sitting and counting (yes, The Count was my favorite Sesame Street character!) I am ready to be reflecting and making notes over these two weeks.

There is a lot more to the musical than the music, of course. As anyone who has seen last year's movie will attest the underlying philosophical issues are ones that play into our world today. Perhaps that is why the book and musical remain the subject of so much interest. Perhaps after these next two weeks are over and I can catch my breath I will see what thoughts will make their way to these posts.

Until then, I will still be blogging and playing and working. Wish me well.