ReevesRd
Senior Member
It would be interesting to know how many LTG members have played in a band or orchestra.
Please share what instrument(s) you play(ed), when you started playing, and the types of groups you performed with.
Do you still play?
As a child, I attended many marching contests and parades where my siblings' band performed, and my mom was always there as a chaperone. The question was not whether I would join the band, but rather which instrument I would play. My brother played the trombone and my sister was in the color guard and played the flute. Since we already had one, I decided to play the trombone, and it worked out well since my director was also a trombonist. We began playing in the 7th grade. When in high school I played a baritone bugle whenever the band marched.
I have played in a variety of musical groups, including concert band, marching band (both parade and field), stage band (which is similar to a jazz band but also covers popular songs), jazz band, pep band, and brass quartets and quintets.
Although I don't play as much as I used to, I still perform with a local group from time to time.
Please share what instrument(s) you play(ed), when you started playing, and the types of groups you performed with.
Do you still play?
As a child, I attended many marching contests and parades where my siblings' band performed, and my mom was always there as a chaperone. The question was not whether I would join the band, but rather which instrument I would play. My brother played the trombone and my sister was in the color guard and played the flute. Since we already had one, I decided to play the trombone, and it worked out well since my director was also a trombonist. We began playing in the 7th grade. When in high school I played a baritone bugle whenever the band marched.
I have played in a variety of musical groups, including concert band, marching band (both parade and field), stage band (which is similar to a jazz band but also covers popular songs), jazz band, pep band, and brass quartets and quintets.
Although I don't play as much as I used to, I still perform with a local group from time to time.
) I played in elementary school and Jr High string ensembles (since they didn't have proper combined full orchestras at that age.) In Jr High I was also playing in the Prince Gerorge's County Youth Orchestra which had practices 2 evenings a week and I carpooled w/ a few other players from my hometown. Then in High School, my father wasn't a fan of the violin instructor as he was more concerned about how student players made him look rather than properly teaching the instrument. Instead of teaching theory and what notes you were actually playing, he only stressed "if the little black dot is on this line of the ledger, you put your third finger on this string" lazy cheat method....so my father insisted I drop school orchestra and focus just on the county Senior Youth Orchestra. By then it was all tryout based. You'd have to go onstage in front of a panel of county music instructors, play a predetermined solo piece, then sight read a piece, then return later for an ensemble piece where chair positioning would be finalized. My Sr year had a big final concert at the Kennedy Center...my Dad's dream (not mine). All in all, I probably played in 50+ string ensemble/orchestra concerts in big auditoriums packed w/ fellow student's families, plus biannual recitals w/ both solo pieces and duets w/ my brother that were put on by my private instructor featuring all of his students. My mom still has several vinyl albums that were pressed from a few select concerts, and she also recorded several others on cassette.
