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Brassed Off
by Lani Matsen
 One of the things that brought me to Renegades, was the promise of marching and playing with a quality horn line. This promise was never more evident to me than it was this past weekend. From the outset of the rehearsal, all the sections dialed in to the instruction of Ed Teleky and Clint Matsen as they worked through part four of the show. The new parts were exiting and driving. For the horn line, it was the first time we all got to work through the new ending for the show together. For my part, practice became almost all consuming at that point. Breaks…no longer mattered. While refreshing when offered, the opportunity to work on such wonderfully written music with the talented staff guiding the Renegades was not to be missed. Many others seemed to feel similarly. Once the requisite number of cigarettes had been quickly smoked, players found their way back into the rehearsal room. It did not take long for most to start looking over their parts again, working through particularly difficult passages before the rehearsal proper resumed. Working well into the lunch hour, everyone showed a dedication and drive that defined their professionalism.
Following lunch, marching began. Though not a terribly long marching block, it was incredibly intense. Although only working basics, the marching staff did push the horn line to perform at their best. While still in need of some cleaning, it was rather exciting to see so many horns moving up and down in unison, sunlight flashing off the bells. Threat of rain had moved on, and the sun was even beginning to show a bit as the marching staff continued to work with the time they had been allotted. Before the end, as we marched around the circle the only sounds outside those of the woodblock and the staff making correction and calling out instruction, was the focused breathing of members as they concentrated on the exercise. How I wish I could have seen what those simple exercises looked like from the outside. From the inside…they felt great.
Later that night, we would be introduced, some of us for the first time, to John Meehan. What an amazing instructor. The horns, already challenged by their staff earlier in the day, found themselves further challenged by a living legend. Throughout the rest of the weekend, the entire book would be worked over, from that difficult little run in Channel One Suite, to the haunting melody of Goodbye Blue Skies. The horn line even took the field for a short time, with everyone playing their parts from memory.
Despite some rough spots where parts were not played as cleanly as they might otherwise have been with more practice, the horn line worked exceptionally hard. Their goal to work through the entire book was realized. There is definitely work to be done on the book, but being able to play through the entire show in mid December is mind-boggling. For the horn line, the sky’s the limit and they are heading there in due haste with expectation of memorizing all music by next camp. I do not know about anyone else, but for me… I have to go practice!
-Lani
lani@renegades.org
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