the Roma Band of Boston

I've been a college graduate for a bit more than a month now, and although I'm going straight back to work on a master's degree in two months, things so far have been pretty good (and I was worried about not finding a day job).

About two weeks before graduation, I learned that I couldn't work at the conservatory over the summer, and this put me in a slight state of panic. Everywhere else I went told me they were not hiring, and here I am, forced to find ways to make a living with my musical skills. This is one of the best things that has happened to me. Recently, I've been doing some arranging for two local choral groups, and playing Sousaphone and Euphonium in the Roma Band of Boston.

This band is by far one of my favorite groups to play with. There are these five Italian guys that have been playing in the band forever, and a lot of younger people like myself. Not everyone in the band is an aspiring professional musician, so this means that they play with complete honesty, and a great sense of pure enjoyment.

There are no rehearsals, no written music, and the leader of the band (a trumpet player whose name is Salvi) now plays facing towards the band while sitting in the back of the truck because he can no longer march. You could never guess his disability if you had only heard the band. He has in incredible way of playing the horn that you do not hear every day.

There is a chaotic, on-the-spot element to this band that I really love. Before we begin a tune, Salvi will play the first few notes of melody, and when you hear him whistle, you know you only have a few beats before he takes off. Sometimes the wind makes it hard to hear his warning, which means you have to guess what key to start in.

Everybody plays whatever they feel is needed to accompany the melodic instruments, and there is often a slide in key center from the low brass while we try to figure out what key they are in. We play some pieces multiple times, and they always sound different.

The other day we played a parade in Braintree, MA. I commuted from my Father's house in Bridgewater, and then drove back to Boston with Ben Miller (a trombonist in the band). I love traveling in any form, and going around to gigs like this is no exception. On the way back, we drove up route 93, and I was in awe at the amount of people trying to get in and out of the city, and how big it really is. In my usual routines, I never get the full view of what's really happening out there.

That's one more reason for me to continue with this kind of work - always having a different view of wherever it is that I'm going, what I'm doing, and why. I really love that.


An Artist (6/26/10)

I’m interested in how an artist goes about their day-to-day life (how they literally get from point A to point B on a given day). Do they drive, walk, take a bus or a train? Maybe they fly.
What is their experience, and are they happy with these aspects of it?

Do they rent an apartment, or did they feel compelled to buy a house? Do they commute, work from home, or travel irregularly?

Some live alone, and others have a partner or a family. I think about what artists do when they are not working, or when they are on their way there. Sometimes, there is little separation between work and play, and I like that. I think about all of these things and why an artist is able to live in a way that interests me. The work of an artist can be less than half of what is important. Most of it is the fact that artists themselves are living installations.