Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Playin', playin' in the band

Click to enlarge
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A Dixieland band that is.
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One of the more tongue in cheek traditions of this annual musical retreat is the Brass Band Ensemble. What is so tongue in cheek about a brass band class you might ask? (After you got over asking yourself why they have a brass band class at a folk music weekend in the first place, and the answer to that is I don't have the faintest idea. It's more than a bit odd.)
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What makes this particular brass class unique is its musicians. To attend, you must NOT actually know how to play any brass instrument. Only those who've never touched an instrument (or at least not since last year's class) can participate. Personally I sit it out but my son Itai, the eight year old trumpet virtuoso you see in the photo above, loves it. He positively flew back from lunch so as not to miss even a minute of instruction. The guy who runs it has a large assortment of old beat up brass instruments which he passes out to whoever wants to publicly humiliate themselves perform with the band in that evening's concert. They spend about an hour learning, sort of, how to actually play a note, or in a good year two, and then a few hours later they make their big debut. Shockingly, the sounds they made this year were actually (almost) recognizable as a song. I wouldn't go so far as to say music, but it did bear faint resemblance to a song.
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The whole thing is a scream, though I think seeing them all come out in costume is the high point of the performance...
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Visit Sepia Scenes for more of that old time music religion photography.
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30 comments:

Unknown said...

that costume is brilliant! i wish i could pull off hats...

Annie Jeffries said...

This is so inspirational for children. Who knows? Among all those little noise makers, there is a brass man just straining to get out. This kind of fun stuff is where it all starts.

Great picture of your boy, Robin. Cool name. What is its origin? Oh, and I should talk; I named my boy Quanah, not exactly inside the box either.

Mojo said...

That takes stones I'm tellin' ya. My son tried to teach me to play trumpet when he was in high school, and I understood what he was telling me, but I could not make my lips do what they were supposed to. (apparently they were just made for something different and totally unrelated).

Luckily for everyone, I'd be ineligible for this "class" so you can be spared my "Croaking Trumpet Sonata".

I love the shot, but somehow I think it's best that it's a still photo and not a video.

maryt/theteach said...

A great nice of entertainment and a great sepia photo, Robin! :)

Robin said...

Actually Annie Itai is a pretty normal name here in Israel. Turns out it's from the Bible (apparently Itai was a friend of King David's) though we didn't know that when we picked it - we just liked the name.

Now Quanah is a really unusual (and very cool) name. What's the story behind it?

Anonymous said...

This is a lovely pictur eof your son. The sepia effect agrees with it perfectly.

EG CameraGirl said...

I LOVE that sort of thing! What a fabulous experience for your son! And what a fun photo to pull out in twenty or thirty years. ;-)

kayerj said...

fun post, fun picture, fun idea

Anonymous said...

cool shot, he looks adorable.

Anonymous said...

That is a great idea! I wonder if it's something we could do out here for street fairs, etc. :) Be a big hit, that I know.

Ralph said...

Music performances are best for the performer if they are fun. They had a blast, no doubt. Like our college kids are in the pep band. Sure they can play the instruments, but like your son, the reward for playing anything is the all the fun!

RA said...

What a cool experience! It is a moment that definitely will be remembered. The sepia is a nice touch to this already precious photo. Your son's performance looks great :)

dot said...

What an interesting an unusual event! He looks like he's enjoying himself.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure your son made some lovely music with that trumpet, given my son with a trumpet. The state police will come knocking at my door within 2 minutes!! :P
Lovely in sepia :)

Flea said...

That sounds like so much FUN!

Toto said...

Which festival is this??? I would love to know about it for next year, sounds like a blast! Do they have a website or link to info? Please share........

Robin said...

It's a small retreat/festival for the folk music community. Contact me offline (my e-mail is in my profile) for more information.

If this intrigues you though you'd love Jacob's Ladder if you don't already go. It's coming up in the beginning of May.

Karen ~Georgia Angel said...

Cute! The music retreat sounds like so much fun. Thanks for sharing.

GalleryJuana said...

What fun this must be for those who join! Great exposure to music too!

Daryl said...

I am thinking 'thank god he's not into drums' ...

kayerj said...

I love sitting around your island so much I gave you an award. thanks for making a great site

david mcmahon said...

Ah yes, the musical genes run deep in my family as well - but they bypassed me completely!

sunnymama said...

Great picture! I love the costume, and the concept of the event.

Dianne - Bunny Trails said...

Love the picture and that sounds like such a blast. How fun!! :D

anymommy said...

What an awesomely fun idea - I love that he's so into it.

RivkA with a capital A said...

love this!! want a fun idea!!

so, what I wanna know is whether any grownups get up there and join the band! (I would!!)

Robin said...

The band is ALL grownups RivkA - Itai was the only kid! I could totally see you doing this with them :).

Kahshe Cottager said...

What a fun idea for the band! Your son sure looks to be having great fun and who knows, maybe this is the start of a great musical future for him!

Jientje said...

Thios is FUN!!! He looks great in his costume, I like the hat, it looks very French!

Mozi Esme said...

That sounds like such fun! I would LOVE to participate!