An Old Love...

For those of you who don't know, I am actually also a musician. Photography is obviously where my heart is, but I've spent almost 17 years now playing the trombone. In fact, I actually got my degree in Music Business and spent some time working in the music industry. It didn't take long for me to move into the realm of photography - in fact it was while working for Columbia Records and Sony/BMG that I fell into photography - but I spent most of my life believing music is where I'd make my living. I'm very glad to be wrong. ;-)

I love music, but the pursuit of it as a money-maker took much of the enjoyment out of it for me. Now, because it's simply for fun or the pure enjoyment factor, I get to play trombone only when I want to. I have had the opportunity to do this again semi-regularly thanks to Doc Opfer at the Master's College in Santa Clarita. I have had the extreme pleasure of playing with the Master's College Winds and we just finished the Spring Concert.

By the way, if you're still wondering which one is the trombone, here's a shot of my friend John's:



And here's a shot of conductor, Doc Opfer (he's always smiling!):



Doc is incredibly enthusiastic about what he does - his love for both his job and the students he works with is contagious - and it really came out in the song selection for this particular concert. He chose several tunes depicting life across America (Silverado from the movie of the same name, American Hymnsong Suite, Midway March by John Williams - from "Midway", Eric Whitacre's Ghost Train, etc...) and installed a giant screen behind the orchestra. He used it to show film clips and photos of American life timed to the music we were playing. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the screen, but it was behind me and I was supposed to be playing....

If you've every wondered what it looks like from the Band/Orchestra side during a concert, here's what we see...







The trumpets warming up for the Silverado solos....



And of course, one of the best parts about this is that I get to play with my husband! I had to sneak a photo of him since he was in the row in front of me....



It was a true pleasure to play with Master's College and I hope to do so again in the future! Thanks for the great concert!

~Brienne