Before I really focused in on organ playing, I was typically busy on Easter Sunday with singing and playing trumpet. And that’s where I want to focus on today. But before we get to Easter, we have to go back to that fateful moment back when I was in 5th grade and could choose an instrument. I wanted to play drums. My parents said no. Why? Too expensive? Too loud? No. The reason was because I couldn’t play it for church. Nevermind that drummers/percussionists are used regularly in worship services. Anyway, no drums. So, I went with…..the trumpet. And it started a journey of loud noises that I’m so thankful for.
When you think of Easter, it just seems right to have trumpets. You see, trumpets are loud. Trumpets signal things. And that’s what I got to do in middle school (not very well) and in high school (I got much better). Of course, the funniest story happened to me my freshman year of high school. As a band, we went every 4 years from Wisconsin to Disney World to march. It was awesome. It happened to be my freshman year that we went. It was over Holy Week, and to make things educational and fun we did other experiences. I guess part of the educational part was spending time at Cocoa Beach so that us Wisconsin kids could understand what a warm spring was. Well, I didn’t get in the water, and applied sunscreen…..but didn’t reapply. So, I burned. Badly. So much so that wearing a shirt HURT. We got back on Good Friday and I had to play for worship on Sunday. In a tremendous amount of pain, I gutted it out, my red skin shining through my white dress shirt. That, of course, was self-inflicted!
I loved the opportunities that I had to play my trumpet for worship. Especially on Easter. Once I got more into playing the organ, it was pretty tough to do much with playing the trumpet, as not only was I quite busy playing, it’s difficult to play trumpet and organ together! My goal for this summer is to get back to playing for worship again, which means getting back into regular practice. That is something I’m looking forward to doing.
While growing up, Easter and music definitely were hand in hand for me. I’ve loved being a part of making music in the church, especially at Easter. Today, I get to sing in our church choir, and the best part for me is that my oldest daughter is singing in the choir as well. That’s the fun of music. It spans generations. And in my life and in my family, it definitely has!
