[speaker001:] Okay, all set.
[speaker002:] Good morning [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Good morning. Let's see, music, um, well, I play a couple of instruments.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] I try to.
[speaker002:] What do you play?
[speaker001:] Um, clarinet is my primary instrument, and I also play a little bit of saxophone, flute and piano
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] when I get the opportunity, which isn't very often.
[speaker002:] Really, that's too bad [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] How about yourself?
[speaker002:] I play, uh, the violin
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and play trumpet
[speaker001:] Uh.
[speaker002:] and I run a municipal band and I sometimes conduct.
[speaker001:] Oh, wow.
[speaker002:] So, I'm pretty busy too. I play in three different symphony orchestras.
[speaker001:] Wow.
[speaker002:] We have a
[speaker001:] That's great.
[speaker002:] nice big one here in State College, called the Nitny Valley
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Symphony. I play in the Altoona Symphony, was about forty-five miles away
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and I play in a slightly smaller one called the Lockhaven
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Symphony and Community Orchestra.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh. So are you a professional musician?
[speaker002:] No, I'm, uh, just retiring from Penn State University
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] only I, I should, [LAUGHTER] should have been. I spend about half my time playing music or preparing for it somewhere.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] But, uh, I've been working at, uh, Penn State
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and using up all my nighttimes,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] and weekends
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] uh, going to these orchestra rehearsals and, and concerts and so forth.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, I understand, yeah. I'm in one community band here, and that's just, well, we rehearse once a week. We generally have a concert every other week and,
[speaker002:] You have one that often.
[speaker001:] Yeah [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] That's amazing because
[speaker001:] That's a lot.
[speaker002:] I, I, I have it set up here that we have at least six to seven rehearsals per concert.
[speaker001:] No, we sure don't.
[speaker002:] Wow.
[speaker001:] Well, one thing is, we have a summer ser-, summer series, and every single Sunday night we play at the library to have a little
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] out, outdoor stage set up
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] and so we do that every Sunday night
[speaker002:] You are busy.
[speaker001:] during the summer, yeah, and then, I don't know. We just have an awful lot of engagements, and we're just having to turn a lot of people down, um, because, you know, uh, we don't want to do things like have a concert back to back or even two days in a row.
[speaker002:] Where do you get all this music, I mean, you, you must back up and play some of the music twice.
[speaker001:] Oh yes, definitely,
[speaker002:] [Throat clearing].
[speaker001:] we really do. You know, you get your little Sousa book and you just flip [LAUGHTER] through it, and that sort of thing.
[speaker002:] Oh, okay. So your, you don't play pretty well a full concert band music most of the time then.
[speaker001:] It really depends on who shows up.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, and it's always a mystery, because it actually doesn't matter who shows up, it matters what instruments they brought, because so many
[speaker002:] Right.
[speaker001:] people switch instruments so often.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] But, um, yeah, in the winter we do more concert stuff and,
[speaker002:] How many people in your band?
[speaker001:] Um, I think there's about seventy.
[speaker002:] Seventy.
[speaker001:] Yeah, there's a lot.
[speaker002:] Holy mackerel, that's.
[speaker001:] But, on any given night there's not seventy
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] you know, it alternates quite a lot.
[speaker002:] Boy, that is a huge organization, that's great.
[speaker001:] Yeah, it really is.
[speaker002:] Because about the best I can normally hope for is about fifty
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Oh.
[speaker002:] in, in the band I have here.
[speaker001:] Yeah, well.
[speaker002:] But that fills a stage and keeps us busy, but [throat clearing] they were, half have been professionals from, uh, a lot of them are from, uh, faculty at Penn State here.
[speaker001:] Oh, okay.
[speaker002:] And so they want to play things that, uh, push them to do. So that's why we have to work real hard when we get a concert together.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] We have about four concerts per year indoors
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and two or three that we play outside.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And the last one we did was in a large, uh, mall close here, we played Christmas about an hour out in this mall.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh, uh-huh.
[speaker002:] So that worked out very nicely.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's fun.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] Well, let's see. Well, there's another band around here. Someone at work is trying to get me to join that one, because they need clarinet players
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and their concert schedule isn't as heavy, but they have more in the summer, I think they have ten in the summer, you know, one, one week after the other. I think they're like Monday nights
[speaker002:] Wow, that.
[speaker001:] and they don't have rehearsals during that time period.
[speaker002:] Are you just saying you, you sight read every concert?
[speaker001:] Uh, well, it's not really sight reading when you've done it, you know, again and again and again, but
[speaker002:] Okay.
[speaker001:] some people are, yeah
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] some of them are.
[speaker002:] And where, where does this happen, Laurie, is this in Dallas?
[speaker001:] Well, they're in the suburbs of Dallas, in Richardson and Plano.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] We're real close to Dallas.
[speaker002:] Well, I declare.
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] That's amazing.
[speaker001:] Yeah, well, it's more of a, I think it's very much more of a social group than anything else, you know.
[speaker002:] Okay.
[speaker001:] And, and people always bring refreshments for after rehearsal and
[speaker002:] Okay.
[speaker001:] hang around for an hour or so and,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] That's probably why we get so many people.
[speaker002:] Do any of your, you, in your group get paid for any of this?
[speaker001:] Um, well, the conductor gets paid a little bit, you know, we do get some money from the city
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] because we do play at a lot of city events.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, I think he's the only one that gets paid.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh. And you do have to buy your music. Who, who sponsors you basically, the city?
[speaker001:] The city, uh-huh.
[speaker002:] Yeah, uh, my band is sponsored through what they call Parks and Recreation.
[speaker001:] Yeah, it's a similar thing.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I can't remember what they call it, but the same type of thing.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Um, but we do get an awful lot of music, you know, we can borrow music from any of the area colleges
[speaker002:] Yes.
[speaker001:] or, you know, if some, some group just isn't going to play any more, they'll just give us their music, and that type of thing.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And we do an awful lot of, you know, we don't charge for any of our performances, but we get a lot of donations.
[speaker002:] Well, I, I work the same way [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Yeah [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] Well, I'll be darned. It's amazing.