My Musical Life

Other than computers, music ranks very high in my list of "important things in life".

I am an amateur musician -- emphasis on the word amateur!

I play pop organ and a bunch of saxophones: tenor, c-melody and soprano. I'm real excited about the saxophone these days...especially since I got myself a Keilwerth SX90 tenor -- in my opinion an awesome horn.

I play in the Creston Community Band. We do show tunes, swing, marches and just about anything else our director tells us he likes. It sure forces one to keep up with the practice sessions.

I had a lot of fun a few years ago playing my saxophones in the Bonner's Ferry Community Orchestra. Yes, a sax with a bunch of strings -- small town life is certainly interesting (Bonner's Ferry is a small farming community located in northern Idaho). Unfortunately, the drive (in the winter) has become a bit much for me ... so, on to other things.

My wife, Val, and I have been in a few different combos. We had a small dance combo group Stage3 ... but, like most groups that hasn't lasted. Recently we have a sometimes-on, sometimes-off jazz-like combo The Hilltop Pretenders. Mostly, we do jazz and play at some local events. For a small fee you can hire us!

I picked up a old used Excelsior accordion a few years ago. Accordion is the instrument I started to play when I was just a kid (MANY years ago), and I was amazed by how quickly I re-learned it. Great instrument for doing polkas and old-time waltzes! Click on the picture on the left for a nice, full-size picture ... and some interesting information on my "book deal". If anyone can shed some info on its age I'd be grateful. All I know is that on the back it has "Model 312". I think that is was made in the mid 1960s, but that really is just a guess.

Lately, Val and I have been performing at some local coffee houses, festivals, and whatever else will have us. I'm playing accordion and she's singing. My old teacher, Fred, would be proud....

What do I do on my summer vacation? Well, since 1998 I've been making an annual pilgrimage to The International Music Camp. Located right on the Canada/US border due south of Brandon, Manitoba, this camp has been in business for over half-a-century. For the most part, they offer wonderful music, art and drama programs for children. But, at the end of each season they have a four day session for adult community band. Some probably call the whole thing strange; I call it fun. Here are a few more comments and pictures.

Here are some simple (and perhaps not-so-simple) programs I've written to may my musical life more creative, productive and fun. Feel free to download and use them. And if you make some improvements...please let me know! I've tried to be as OS agnostic as possible in writing these programs. They should all work on Windows as well as Linux (but, I only support Linux). ^* LINUX is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds

This page "index.html" was last modified on October 17, 2006