In 1966 in my early 20's I was asked by B.P. Causey to join the Centenary Summer Band which held outdoor concerts in the college amphi-theatre on campus, a group comprised of professional and amateur musicians and a few students. I had been in the band as a college student in the early 60's but lived out of town and had been staying in Hardin Hall, so when summer arrived I went home. By 1966 I was married with two children and had never even owned my own horn, (my 2 sisters and my brother had played Horn as well in jr. high and high school and I can't imagine my parents springing for FOUR Horns - it was bad enough that my parents were forced to listen to all four of practicing in different rooms at the same time sounding like bull elephants charging down the hallway, so they said, but for them to have knowingly contributed to this madness would have seemed self destructive. In reality we couldn't afford to buy one horn, much less four.
Someone, I can't remember who, had a Lorenzo Sansone for sale, maybe at the old Williams Music Store downtown. (What's that? You say you never heard of it or the horn?). I bought it for a couple hundred dollars and started to get in shape for a month of concerts (4) and the early morning flag raising ceremony July 4th on the front lawn of the new City Hall on old Texas St. when that area was still a booming neighborhood full of stores, and automobile lots, branch banks and record stores. All concerts were partially sponsored by MPTF, Music Performance Trust Fund in NY, a tradition which remained until recent years when sponsors were needed.
The summer of 2010 was my last summer band year. Sadly, I will no longer be a part of this historic period in Shreveport history.
For my farewell I am including a couple of photos from my early years with the band taken by B.P. Causey's son Bill, Jr. - horn trios from our section.
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