ASHLAND —
The first couple of band members showed up at 6 p.m. Thursday, an hour before rehearsal was to start.
They took their places on the empty stage and scanned the sheets of music in their seats.
More musicians trickled in over the next half hour, picking their way down the steep steps past seats they hope will be filled Saturday night. Flashes of brass and silver lit the auditorium as they unpacked their horns.
The buzz of conversation and the trill of scales took the place of the earlier echoing silence.
At 7 p.m., director John Johnson mounted his podium. Within minutes the sweet notes of “My Old Kentucky Home” oozed out like a musical mint julep, intoxicating enough for any staunch resident of the commonwealth.
All in all it was pretty good for a first rehearsal. “Loosely organized” is an understatement when applied to the Boyd County Municipal Band, and that is fine with Johnson.
There are about 75 musicians planning to play in the band’s second concert, which will be at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the J.B. Sowards Theatre at Ashland Community and Technical College. Some of them played in the band’s inaugural concert last Christmas and some came for the first time Thursday.
Johnson won’t know for sure how many will take the stage Saturday until curtain time, and he hasn’t yet decided which of the 10 rehearsal selections will be on the final program.
“It’s kind of loose. It’s all about having a good time and being able to continue playing instruments,” he said.
The group is a little different each time because there are no weekly or monthly rehearsals. Busy schedules make it hard to get that many people together at one time.
They will rehearse again tonight and then it’s showtime Saturday.
Most of the members are or were in their high school bands. “It’s the only thing I miss about high school,” said Kaye Walker, who plays trumpet and was in the Boyd County High band from 1967 until she graduated in 1970.
Sitting behind her is Bradley Groves, who is a junior at Boyd County and plays the euphonium. “This is a chance to play with some good musicians,” he said.
Some members are just getting off work and some are students on break. Some show up with ties still knotted and collars still buttoned down; others wear shorts and T-shirts.
Some haven’t played steadily in years and others are regular musicians. Shelly Molinary, for instance, is a school band director in Virginia; she is visiting her brother Guy, who is Johnson’s assistant director.
Wrangling teenage musicians is her job and it is refreshing for her to be the one with the horn instead of a baton. “Once you get to be my age (she is 29), it’s fun to play anywhere you can,” she said.
Playing with a large band is a great leveler, according to trombonist Kevin Callihan, a student at Northwestern University and a former member of both the Raceland and Russell high school bands. “Everyone gets the opportunity to play. There’s not one instrument that’s more important than another.”
It also is a chance to earn some audience approbation. “We get satisfaction from playing well together, but we also like to see that we are putting smiles on people’s faces,” he said.
Johnson has high hopes for Saturday’s concert based on the Christmas engagement, which drew about 65 musicians and was well received.
The Saturday concert will feature a guest performance by Morehead State University Professor Bill Mann.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.
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