Singers Absolutely Unlimited

Versatility and flexibility are the hallmarks of Navy Musicians. The jobs requires the ability to step into the spotlight without notice, always with confidence and sometimes without preparation. Melanie Leketa and Diane Beegle know this from experience.








That's why there's nothing strange about a quick vocal rehearsal taking place in a hotel lobby.

We're still checking in.

It's the second day of the NMA reunion and members are still filing in. Shortly before noon, Ben McHorney checked in. Ben, a long-time member, is a regular reunion attendee.









At the same time, Andrew Francisco was reporting aboard. This is the first reunion for Andrew, a staff member at the School of Music. So he's not a regular attendee--

Yet.

At the risk of seeming repetitious...

Check the schedule.

The key to Navy success was simple: show up in the right place at the right time in the right uniform. All you had to do was check the scedule.

We're visiting the School of Music tomorrow morning; details of the event will be forthcoming. Meanwhile:

Check the schedule.


But one important detail is already known: we're traveling in two busloads that depart at different times. So:

Check the schedule.

Your bus ticket is numbered. The rehearsal board by the registration room will tell you which bus to take.

Check the schedule.

A Wonderful Problem

A few more words about the concert band.

We're a mixture. We are full-time performers. We're part-timers. We are educators. We are former MUs who who have returned to playing horns that sat in the closet for decades.

So, as you might imagine, the first rehearsal of at an NMA reunion is often, shall we say, tentative. We haven't played together in a year; some are joining us for the first time. We're sight reading new material. We're trying to create a cohesive sound. And we're not all here yet; travel plans and scheduling needs often conspire to give us only half a band on Day One.

Yesterday's first rehearsal was, however, atypical. One thing you didn't see in the rehearsal hall today was empty chairs. Attendance is up for this 20th anniversary reunion, so we had a full house.

And what a difference it made. Our sound was big, sometimes too big. Our conductors were in the unusual position of having to quiet the band down on the first day, rather than try to pull a full sound out of the group.

More players showed up after rehearsal yesterday. So, today we'll face a new problem: where to put them all.

A Concert Band First!

It was something nobody expected to ever see, but there it was: President Terry Chesson playing in the concert band.


There were a lot of worried faces and nervous tittering as he took his seat in the woodwind section. When the truth came out, we realized there was very little danger. One of our numbers requires jazz improvisation and Terry agreed to do the job. Because Terry was playing the alto saxophone, everything was in accordance with the prime consideration of NMA concert band safety:

Concert Band: First Rehearsal

Another volunteer working party pitched in over the lunch hour and the 1330 rehearsal started--get this--early. 

Often our first get-together is shaky due to incomplete attendance; in short, everyone hasn't arrived yet. But today, the rehearsal hall was packed even before downbeat, and more players continued to arrive through the afternoon.

This is the NMA's 20th anniversary this year. Our director, Wilbur Smith, has ensured that our program will honor this important event with patriotic favorites as well as new music written for this occasion. And Ray Ascione has again agreed to conduct some of the concert. Ray was the leader of the Naval Academy Band. I heartily endorse this decision; anyone who's good enough to conduct the Naval Academy Band is good enough to lead the NMA concert band.