Another time, another life

Hi everyone,

My friends, Jim and Mary Alice Shannon, posted these pictures yesterday. They were taken of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra in 1957.The conductor was Chester Moffatt. He was also head of the music department for Springfield Public Schools. He was a trombonist and became my teacher when my parents gave me a trombone for my 10th Christmas. I loved the instrument and was soon practicing an hour or more each day. When I was sixteen, I began private lessons of my own. In high school I became the music librarian for the band and orchestra, which meant that I kept all music folders stocked with the correct sheet music depending on the selections Mr. Moffatt chose to work on. I was president of the band and drum major for the marching band. During those years I was playing, beside Jim, in the house band on Saturday nights at a night club called Half a Hill, less than half a mile from where I now live. Here’s a close up. I’m the tall one with the pompadour and horn rimmed glasses in the center of the back row. By the time this picture was taken, I was 20 years old and had spent a summer playing in the house band at a club in Springfield, Illinois. I was principal trombonist in the Symphony for another year after this picture was taken. Jim went on to a life of music, teaching and playing. He still plays. For me it was off to Emory University for graduate work and my days of playing my trombone were over. I still have the horn in a closet as a reminder of another time, another life.