But, just because you can play doesn't mean you should. This solid reasoning has kept NMA President Terry Chesson out of the concert band since our organization's founding. This, it bears repeating, is due to constant vigilance and observance of the Prime Directive of the Concert Band:
Many members are concerned about the possible repercussions of Terry's performance with the concert band this year. In rehearsal and in concert, Terry played in an exciting, contemporary arrangement of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" that required improvisation on the alto saxophone.
Their worries are based on the typical "slippery slope" argument, which goes like this: Let someone play a little sax jazz solo with the concert band and the next thing you know, he'll be flitting into rehearsal in a sequined jumpsuit carrying a B-flat clarinet, demanding to be featured in an arrangement of "Stranger on the Shore" with glitter shooting out of the bell of his Selmer.
Friends, you need not worry. Concert band conductor Wilbur Smith assures us that Terry's performance was a needs-based exception. He was granted a one-timem non-renewable "Provisional Concert Band Membership" that expired Friday night immediately upon the conclusion of "Armed Forces Salute."
I trust Wilbur and won't lose any sleep over this. If you're the worrisome sort, there's nothing I can do about that.
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