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Editorial: Music keeps growing, going
Op-Ed · April 07, 2016
So much has been said about music, but we need to say something specific about it here, in West Branch: Don’t let it end.
Transition, yes, but not end.
West Branch’s weekend Swing Show might feel like a final bow, but it is simply a lull until the next person picks up the baton.
The school is quite rich in music, from jazz band to concert band to chorus. Some of this music is so immersive it invites the listener to close their eyes and let it sweep them away.
Yet then there is marching band and three different show choirs, each of which demands eyes wide open for the full effect of expression.
The community carries its own music, with the West Branch Community Chorus marking its 10th anniversary this weekend, just for starters. Then this summer’s Music on the Green is doubling its performances by adding a second month of shows, and every week will feature a different band, including folks from right here in town.
Brick Arch Winery has developed a reputation for bringing in bands on a regular basis and we have not yet begun to mention Hoover’s Hometown Days and Christmas Past, both filled with the kind of life that only music can bring.
As you can see, we’re specifically talking about live music, here. It may be written by someone else, but it takes people buying or renting instruments, finding a teacher, putting in hours upon hours of practice, finding a stage and getting up the nerve to climb those steps and start performing.
Good heavens, we’ve got to have music and song. Even our saddest moments of life demand it. Funerals and memorial services would not be the same.
From children playing recorders to retirees still blowing on brass and reeds, West Branch has a massive — can we call it an “infrastructure”? — of musicians and singers to feed our community’s appetite. Jane Cadwallader-Howe, Lou Pine, Chris Reed, Lisa Schrock, Tanya English, Tyler Haub, Dale Thomas, Mary Gates, Hannah Kerchner, Maryann Crew, Brianna DeJong … the list of people who’s names invoke thoughts of music or singing is long, indeed.
There’s plenty of recorded music that’s very, very good. But there’s nothing like live music. We’re more likely to turn toward the street corner musician than a loud car radio.
We may never know who played the first note of music in this city, and no doubt there’s been plenty of music badly played. We may not like it all, but we never, ever want to see it end.
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