Following in the footsteps of my twin, Don, (I've done that a lot in my life), I am trying on a blog for size. In my retirement, I've wanted to put down some thoughts on what I have learned in life, and as a life-long musician, and maybe this is a good way to start.
I will start with my earliest memory of music, that of a Christmas Eve, in Decatur, Ga, probably about the age of 6 or 7, the family gathered around the fireplace and the Christmas Tree, and while we opened presents, Dad would put on the innumerable 78's of Handel's "Messiah" to listen to, and he would always burst into tears at "Wonderful, Councellor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace". Was it all a dream?. I find myself sometimes unable to control the tears, as I play with the brass at Easter at Old South Union Church in S. Weymouth, my church of 40 years or so, and playing the "Hallesujah!" chorus with the choir, and Steven Young playing the organ so fantastically, and the choir doing their best to match, with the sopranos almost able to do so. (What a great "trombone" 16 foot on the organ!)
If memory serves, it was the Huddersfield Choral Society, with Malcolm Sargent, and Isobel Bailey, etc. performing the Handel.
