TubeNet

What a touching story. My father played the French Horn until he died at the age of 83. On his last day on earth he lay in a hospital bed. He was no longer aware of his surroundings or of any of us around his bed. However, he hummed orchestral excerpt after orchestral excerpt from all the pieces he had loved and played throughout his life --right up until the moment he died. How fitting that a man who loved music would use his last breath of life to hum a beloved melody. The power of music is truly staggering.

Was your friend the guy with the damaged foot still standing on the bandstand once you were photographed with this instrument?:

I had heard that Carl Fontana, another phenomenal trombone player, was in a similar state before he passed away. His malady being Alzheimers. Evidently he could still play and perform beautifully, but he had to taken everywhere and have his affairs handled by someone else. The brain is such a beautiful thing yet so complex there is so much we just do not know about how it works.

Glad to hear your friend can still enjoy performing. Sorry to hear that he can't remember it. i would think it would be better to have this happen than have a sharp mind and lose body control and function. That could be maddening I would think.

ken k

I really enjoy stories about how music has 'kept folks going'. I founded The Old Dam Community Band http://www.olddamband.com just short of ten years ago. We have a long list of personal stories about how much The Band means to it's members. Here's just one of them: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/j ... ew-rhythm/

This Saturday, I have the sad task of playing in a traditional Dixieland tribute and send off at the funeral of one of the longest-tenured trombone players in our local Shrine band. In his last years, he succumbed to Alzheimer's. A friend of mine would pick him and his trombone up for rehearsals and performances. At rehearsal, he couldn't carry on a conversation. He got to where he didn't know the names of the people sitting beside him, even though he played beside them, in some cases, for literally decades. He would rattle on, oblivious to who or what he was talking to. When we went to performances, to and from we would have to remind him to eat and take care of business. But get a piece of music in front of him, point him up to the conductor giving the downbeat, and the most magnificient trombone playing this side of Dorsey filled the room. Even though he didn't even recognize his wife towards the end, he never missed a beat until one day it got so bad he finally didn't even recognize his own trombone, and then passed on shortly thereafter.

I am certain that music kept him going for at least a decade longer than if he had not been a musician, and I am privileged to have performed with him.

iiipopes wrote: I am certain that music kept him going for at least a decade longer than if he had not been a musician, and I am privileged to have performed with him.

What a powerful statement that is! Powerful!