Once more with feeling
Retired and current Coast Guard Band musicians join together for Sunday concert
No telling how many comedic or dramatic films or television shows have been made — or will be made — based around the concept of a “reunion.” School reunions. Family reunions. Sports team reunions. Holiday gatherings. Weddings and funerals.
Well, why not? The pull of the past is irresistible and more than a little frightening — and the opportunity to see old friends and share stories and retighten bonds is a powerful thing.
You know what’s indelible in almost all these productions? The wistful, nostalgic and yet celebratory soundtracks.
It’s damned convenient, then, that, on Sunday afternoon at the latest reunion of the United States Coast Guard Band, they’ll provide their own soundtrack when a multi-generational cast of retirees will join with the current ensemble in a richly envisioned program. Taking place in Leamy Hall on the New London campus of the United States Coast Guard Academy, the reunion performance is a quasi-regular event governed more by who and when a musician retires rather than any regular spot on the calendar.
“Yeah, these concerts usually coincide with someone leaving the band,” says Master Chief Musician/clarinetist Jonathan Towne. He laughs. “In this case, it’s me.”
Indeed, the 61-year-old Towne is retiring after 30 years. Though he’ll play on the band’s impending short tour and at his own retirement ceremony in June, Sunday’s performance will be his finale in Leamy Hall, the band’s “home court.”
“The decision to leave was made for me,” Towne says, referring to government-mandated retirement after 30 years’ service, “but I’m ready. It’s been a wonderful experience — the travel, the people I’ve worked with, the music ... And for my last Leamy show to be a reunion date, with some of my old colleagues as well as the younger musicians, is pretty special.”
Among the many old and new players onstage Sunday will be Towne’s wife, bassoonist Rebecca Noreen, whom Towne will be joining in retirement. It’s also true that one of the pieces on the program is Carl Maria von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in F minor — featuring a solo by Towne.
“To get to do a big solo is very important to me,” Towne says. “I’m a musician. This is what I do and what the band does. Our vehicle is music, and it’s what we use to represent the U.S. Coast Guard Band in ceremonies and concerts all over the world. I’m pretty lucky.”
Towne plans to stay musically active in a variety of projects. He’ll continue to play with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. Noreen continues to perform in many musical projects, and the couple might pursue a trio recital series.
Sunday’s program, which offers
material from iconic band tours of Russia and England, also includes Archibald Joyce's “Autumn Dream”; Ralph Vaughan Williams' Toccata Marziale; John Williams' overture from “The Cowboys” (as conducted by retired band director Kenneth Megan); the “Glitter and be Gay” coloratura from Berntein's “Candide” (sung by retired band vocalist Lisa Williamson; and arias from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro (performed by current band vocalist and Musician 1st Class Megan Weikleenget).
Retired percussionist Constance Coughlan, who joined the band in 1974 and was the unit's first female member, is looking forward to the event.
“I'm sure this will be a fun weekend of music and memories,” says Coughlan, also retired from a 30-year teaching gig at Central Connecticut State University but still a member of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. “Sunday's program looks great, and I'm honored to share the stage with Jonathan on the occasion of his upcoming retirement.”
Kirk Edwards, a clarinetist who left the ensemble in 2011, will also be on hand. Though he stays very active musically — chamber music with Prevailing Winds, the Coalition Jazz Quintet, worship gigs at Madry Temple in New London — he looks forward to playing with old colleagues and the current members.
“It can be a little scary,” Edwards laughs. “The talent level of the band just keeps getting better, and these young musicians are so good. But it's fun because you can kind of measure where you are.”
“I'm looking forward to this weekend and seeing some old friends,” says Megan.
He spent nearly 40 years with the Coast Guard Band as an arranger/ composer; clarinetist, bass clarinetist and saxophonist; was the band' beloved radio host and longtime concert emcee — and also served as assistant director and director of the band.
“It's funny. You work so closely for 30 years and then, one day, we retire, and we don't see each other again. So when we do get back together every five years or so, it's a lot of fun to catch up, see how everyone's doing and make some nice music at the same time,” he says.
Retired tuba player Gary Buttery, who spent three decades in the band and relished the travel, music and friendships, has a pleasantly casual philosophical outlook on the reunion and his place in the big picture.
“Time doesn't have an effect on music or music making ... music is timeless,” says Buttery, who is director of bands at Connecticut College, teaches at the University of Rhode Island, and performs in a tuba-euphonium quartet. He's also not worried that there's only one rehearsal before Sunday.
“Do we need more?” he laughs. “Ornette Coleman always said he never played the same thing once. Sometimes too much rehearsal, especially with ‘chestnuts' we've all played, gets in the way of focus and spontaneity.”
What's not official about the reunion weekend but will probably happen anyway will be a post-performance trip to nearby Mr. G's for a few well-earned pizzas and beers.
“Hitting Mr. G's was always a favorite tradition,” Towne says. “It used to be something we always did. Maybe not so much anymore; things change. But on Sunday, it'd be nice to do it one more time.”