The first Franklin Park Band Concert of the year was last night and I went by myself, but my Muse kept me company until it started. Then I turned off my phone.
The music was superb. It always is. A lot of our volunteers are music teachers and the rest are just great musicians. There was a trumpet duet that left tears in my eyes. I don't know if it was their amazing dexterity, or the 1899 piece of music itself. Probably a combination of both.
There was a huge crowd last night but one older couple really stood out. The man was very tall and slim and very dapper in a yellow fedora that matched his shirt and a bow tie. She was demurely dressed in a nice blouse and slacks with beautiful gold jewelry sparkling around her neck. During one of the livelier pieces they got up and began to do a sort of polka on the concrete by the planter! No one dances in the park, but these two were both amazing and sweet. As the evening wore on they strutted and twirled and swirled like professional dancers. No one dances in the park during a band concert, but they did last night. Did I mention they were probably in their nineties?
We heard our typical Sousa march even though the woman who requested them every year died last winter just before her 102 birthday. We heard a very dramatic piece commissioned just for this band and it was only the second time the world has ever heard it. There was music from Star Trek and even Oliver!
And of course it always starts with The Star Spangled Banner and ends with Amazing Grace. With just the right amount of variety in between, there was something for everyone.
I love these nights so much!
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