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Archive for the ‘Shows at Retirement Homes’ Category
“I Stand for the Flag” at Merrill Gardens, Renton Centre on 23 May for Early Memorial Day Celebration
Posted by glennled on May 25, 2023
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Austin Custom Brass (ACB), bugle calls, cornet, Getzen, horns, Jupiter, marches, Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre, pocket trumpet, retirement community, songs, Super Olds, trumpet | Comments Off on “I Stand for the Flag” at Merrill Gardens, Renton Centre on 23 May for Early Memorial Day Celebration
“I’m Back in the Saddle Again”
Posted by glennled on April 24, 2023
My last post here was in last July, about 9-1/2 months ago. Why so long ago? For a whole variety of reasons, but let me name the Big Four:
- Too busy/lazy in most of July 2022
- Traveling from August to mid-October
- Fracture in lower back, plus sciatica, on 1 December
- Recovery/rehab from December to present
Last December, I was forced to cancel four trumpet shows at retirement communities in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, and La Conner, and neither could I sound “Echo Taps” at the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony at Veterans Cemetery at Evergreen-Washelli in Seattle, as I have done since 2011. For three months, I had to cancel all by trumpet lessons with my students.
And now, finally, after a total of almost five months, thank God, “I’m Back in the Saddle Again,” as Gene Autrey crooned in my youth. Proof? A bone-density test showed that I don’t have osteoporosis. Recent X-rays revealed that the fracture has healed. I don’t have to wear a back brace anymore. I still use the walker or cane often, for safety, but not always, as I had to for the first three months. I’m getting out-and-about more and more!
And the best proof of all is that on 21 April, I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “In Retrospect,” at Aljoya, Mercer Island, driving myself on the freeways, both to and fro. It consists of about two dozen hit songs from the residents’ era, and they get to sing (and hum) along! I used four of my five horns—trumpet, cornet, pocket trumpet, and flugelhorn, but not my bugle. It was my third appearance at Aljoya, M.I. They have now seen/heard two of my six shows. This was the first time I’ve been able to play my new flugelhorn in public. It was a Christmas gift from my wife. I used it for “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning,” “Alfie,” and “St. James Infirmary Blues.”
Meanwhile, just for the record, here are the 17 articles that I could have written and posted during the past 9-1/2 months, if this or that had or had not happened:
- 2 July – “I Stand for the Flag” performed at The Bellettini in Bellevue
- 17 June 2022 – “Where Were You, Back Then?” at Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre
- 4 July – “I Stand for the Flag” at Aljoya, Thornton Place in North Seattle
- 5 August – Attended 71st Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Edinburgh, Scotland (our fifth attendance)
- 30 September – Performed “Taps” for my high school classmate, Eddie Ray Hendrikson, USAF Veteran, at Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Texas
- 1 October – Performed abbreviated show for my classmates at our high school reunion in Texas
- 2 November – Performed “Echo Taps” with Laurence Stusser, trumpeter, as the “echo” at the dedication ceremony for the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument in Lynnwood
- 9 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at The Bellettini
- 10 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at University House, Wallingford in Seattle
- 11 November – Entire ceremony at Veterans Park cancelled by the City of Lynnwood; no “Echo Taps”
- 12 November – One of my trumpet students played “I Ain’t Worried” at Lessons In Your Home’s Fall Recital in Phinney Ridge in Seattle
- 14 November – “I Stand for the Flag” at Fairwinds, Brighton Court in Lynnwood
- 2, 5, 16, 17, & 22 December – the five cancellations mentioned above
So far this year, I’ve been very cautious about committing to my usual busy schedule of performances. Right now, I’m booked for only 8 more performances. But now that “I’m Back in the Saddle Again,” I’m ready for more!
By Angel Johnson of Aljoya, Mercer Island:
By Greg Asimakopoulos:
Courtesy of Aljoya, Mercer Island:
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Aljoya Mercer Island, Aljoya Thornton Place, bugle, cornet, Echol Taps, Fairwinds Brighton Court, flugelhorn, I'm Back in the Saddle Again, La Conner Retirement Inn, lessons, Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre, pocket trumpet, retirement community, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, students, The Bellettini, trumpet, trumpet show, University House Wallingford | 6 Comments »
Flurry of Memorial Day of Performances in Lynnwood (twice), Seattle, Bellevue, and Redmond
Posted by glennled on July 5, 2022
Every year when public demand peaks for a bugler/trumpeter, I’m happy to hop-skip-and-jump all over the Greater Seattle area to perform. This year, as usual, there were lots of opportunities surrounding Memorial Day. I sounded bugle calls at two venues and presented my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag” at three different retirement communities in four different cities:
- 26 May – Edmonds Community College (ECC) in Lynnwood – my sixth appearance
- 27 May – Skyline Towers in Seattle – second appearance
- 28 May – The Bellettini in Bellevue – first appearance
- 30 May – Veterans Park, Lynnwood – tenth appearance
- 30 May – Fairwinds Redmond – second appearance
At the ceremony at ECC, dressed in my VFW uniform, I sounded two bugle calls: “To the Color” inside the Black Box Theatre and “Taps” outside near the Boots to Books and Beyond monument. Native American Peter Ali improvised solos on two of his flutes twice during the ceremony.
At Skyline Towers retirement community in downtown Seattle, I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” again in uniform. It is a collection of about two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. I did the same show at The Bellettini in downtown Bellevue and at Fairwinds Redmond.
But before performing in the afternoon in Redmond on Memorial Day, I also sounded three bugle calls in the morning at Veterans Park in Lynnwood: “Assembly,” “Echo Taps,” and “To the Color.” Lukas Breen sounded the echo part in “Echo Taps.” He is an Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class on active duty in the U.S. Coast Guard, stationed in Everett. We both play Getzen bugles. Other musicians were a piper and drummer from the Northwest Junior Pipe Band, playing “Scotland the Brave,” “The Rowan Tree,” “Battle’s O’er,” “Amazing Grace,” and “Going Home.”
For more information about these venues, please go to these websites:
- https://www.edmonds.edu/veterans/
- https://www.skylineseattle.org/
- https://www.mbkseniorliving.com/senior-living/wa/bellevue/the-bellettini/
- https://www.lynnwoodwa.gov/Community/Play-Lynnwood/Parks-Trails-and-Open-Space/Veterans-Park
- https://www.leisurecare.com/our-communities/fairwinds-redmond/assisted-living/
Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
ECC by Arutyun Sargsyan
ECC by Me
Skyline Towers (two)
The Bellettini
Fairwinds Redmond
Posted in Ceremonies & Celebrations, Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Assembly, bugle, echo taps, Fairwinds Redmond, flutes, marches, NW Junior Pipe Band, retirement community, Skyline Towers, solos, songs, The Bellettini, To the Color, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Armed Forces Day Draws Me to Merrill Gardens at the University in Seattle
Posted by glennled on June 1, 2022
Until this year, I’d never been asked to perform my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” on Armed Forces Day. But that changed when Mindy Milton, Active Living Program Director, booked me to return for the second time to Merrill Gardens at the University in Seattle on Saturday, 21 May 2022. (Please see my blog article of 15 August 2021.)
I played 24 patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls on four instruments: my Getzen trumpet, Super Olds cornet, Getzen field trumpet (bugle), and Jupiter pocket trumpet. The repertoire includes “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” “Tattoo” (a bugle call), the official songs of all five branches, “The Liberty Bell” (a march by John Philip Sousa), “Over There,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” The audience sang along and laughed at a few jokes.
How does Armed Forces Day differ from other military holidays and observance days? It celebrates all five branches of the military on the third Saturday of May, annually. The five branches are the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The first four are within the Department of Defense (DOD), created in 1947. The Coast Guard is within the Department of Homeland Security, created in 2002. The Space Development Agency is one of many agencies within the DOD.
Armed Forces Day was created on 31 August 1949 when Harry S. Truman was President. It was first celebrated on 20 May 1950—five years after WWII ended and one month before the beginning of the Korean War.
The longest, continuously-running, Armed Forces Day Parade in the USA is held in Bremerton, Washington. This year, Bremerton celebrated its 73rd Armed Forces Day Parade.
Major wars and conflicts in which the U.S. military participated:
- Revolutionary War
- Indian Wars of the 1790s
- War of 1812
- American Civil War
- Spanish-American War of 1898
- World War I
- World War II
- Korean War
- Vietnam War
- Gulf War
- Afghanistan
Numerical facts:
- About 800 military bases outside the U.S.
- About 1.2 million active-duty personnel in the U.S. military
- About 800,000 reserves
- About 18 million living veterans
- More than 81,600 POW/MIA personnel, mostly from WWII
Photos are courtesy of Merrill Gardens at the University. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: bugle, cornet, Getzen, marches, Merrill Gardens at the University, retirement community, songs, Super Olds, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
“In Retrospect” Trumpet Show at Merrill Gardens at Burien
Posted by glennled on March 15, 2022
It’s always nice to be invited back to perform one of my six trumpet shows for the residents of a retirement home. And so it was, on the 4th of March, that I drove to Merrill Gardens retirement community in Burien to present my show, “In Retrospect,” comprised of 25 hit songs from the residents’ era. Last July, I had performed “I Stand for the Flag” (25 patriotic marches, songs and bugle calls) there in my VFW uniform.
Here’s a sample of the popular songs in the “In Retrospect” repertoire:
- I Whistle a Happy Tune
- When I Fall in Love
- You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
- Dream a Little Dream of Me
- I’ve Got the World on a String
- Money, Money, Money
- You Are My Sunshine
- When I’m 64
- What a Wonderful World
- God Bless America
I use three horns: my trumpet, cornet, and pocket trumpet and by inserting my Denis Wick 4 mouthpiece into the cornet, it sounds much like a flugelhorn. People sing along and I tell a few jokes.
Now that Covid restrictions are easing, I expect more bookings this spring and summer. For those still concerned about booking a wind instrumentalist, I can use bell covers to inhibit aerosols that might emanate as I play those great old tunes. Here is a link to the ProTec covers that I use: https://www.amazon.com/Instrument-Trumpet-Clarinet-Saxophone-A321/dp/B08HX9KFHS/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1PQCDZF934VOK&keywords=protec+trumpet+bell+cover&qid=1647288146&sprefix=Protec+trumpet+bell+covers%2Caps%2C117&sr=8-5.
For more information about Merrill Gardens at Burien, please see https://www.merrillgardens.com/senior-living/wa/burien/merrill-gardens-at-burien/ and my previous blog post dated 15 August 2021.
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: bugel calls, cornet, Denis Wick, flugelhorn, horn, marches, Merrill Gardens at Burien, mouthpiece, pocket trumpet, retirement community, songs, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Premier Performance of “Where Were You, Back Then?” Trumpet Show at Cristwood Park Retirement Community in Shoreline, WA
Posted by glennled on December 30, 2021
When I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “Where Were You, Back Then?”, for the first time on 22 August this year, it was at Cristwood Park Retirement Community in Shoreline, WA. But that was not the first time I had performed at Cristwood (see my blog articles of 24 June 2019, 11 July 2018, and 28 June 2014). I offer six different shows, and the Life Enrichment Coordinator, Gabrielle Herndon, wanted something new and different. She chose to host the premier performance of my latest show.
It’s different because its format is chronological, not topical. I choose a year, recall for the audience a few significant events that happened back then, invite everyone to remember where they were and what they were doing at that time, and then play one hit song from that year.
This time, I used three of my horns: trumpet, cornet and pocket trumpet, but when I get my new flugelhorn in March, I’ll start using four.
The show starts with the year 1947 and ends with 2008. That’s a span of 61 years, but I have time to play only 20 songs. So how do I choose those 20 when, each year, there are hundreds of nationally- and globally-significant events? Well, I chose 1947 simply because that’s the year my wife was born–a very significant year, wouldn’t you agree if you were in my shoes?! The song I play is “Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah.”
Why end in 2008? Simply because I like playing Abba’s “Money, Money, Money” which was featured in the movie, Mama Mia, and my audience members couldn’t be living in a retirement community as nice as this one unless they had had some financial success in their long lifetimes. And as with all my shows, I invite the audience to sing along, and I tell a few jokes.
So, take 1963, for example. Where were you, back then? On 2 February, Julia Childs presented her show, “The French Chef,” on educational TV for the first time. On 21 April, Dr. Michael E. De Bakey implanted an artificial heart in a human for the first time at a hospital in Houston, TX. On 22 November, Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, TX. Lyndon Johnson immediately succeeded Kennedy as President. On 24 November, Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald. Others who died that year included C.S. Lewis (64); Robert Frost (88); Aldous Huxley (69); Patsy Cline (30); and Edith Piaf (47). And then I play “Days of Wine and Roses” from the movie starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick. That song won the 1963 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.
With that performance, Cristwood became the 24th retirement community in the Greater Seattle area where I have presented at least one of my six trumpet shows. For more information about Cristwood, please see https://cristaseniorliving.org/cristwood.
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: ABBA, Best Original Song, cornet, Cristwood Park, Days of Wine and Roses, flugelhorn, horns, Money Money Money, Record of the Year, retirement community, Song of the Year, songs, trumpet, Zip-A-Dee-Do-Day | Leave a Comment »
“I Stand for the Flag”–Trumpet Shows at Five Different Retirement Communities in Five Straight Days Clustered Around Veterans Day
Posted by glennled on December 26, 2021
Era Living has 8 retirement communities in the Greater Seattle area, and on five consecutive days around Veterans Day (11 November) I performed my trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” at five of them (please see http://www.eraliving.com). I hope to perform at the other three in 2022.
If there were such a thing as a contest among these five for Best Veterans Day Decorations, then First Prize would have to be awarded to The Gardens at Town Square in Bellevue, where is Stephanie Butler is Life Enrichment Director. See photos below.
Interesting people come to talk with me after a show. For example, a lady at Ida Culver House, Ravenna in Seattle said her husband (deceased) was a direct descendant of Gen. Daniel A. Butterfield. With the help of his brigade bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton in July 1862 during the Civil War, Butterfield composed the bugle call, “Taps,” at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia after the Seven Days Battle. Please see my blog article about this, dated 19 November 2012.
After my show at University House, Wallingford (UHW) in Seattle, a man and his wife told me that her ancestry tree includes a relationship with Frances Scott Key. Key, of course, is the author of the poem which became the lyrics of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
I wear my VFW Honor Guard uniform when I perform this show, which consists of patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. And I use four horns: my Getzen Eterna Severinsen trumpet, Super Olds cornet, Getzen field trumpet (bugle), and Jupiter pocket trumpet. Next spring, I’ll be able to add my new Austin Custom Brass Doubler flugelhorn, which is now on order as a Christmas gift from my wife.
My six one-hour trumpet shows include sing-alongs and jokes. They are:
- “I Stand for the Flag” – Patriotic marches, songs and bugle calls
- “Things Remembered” – A mix of Christmas songs and popular songs loved by residents
- “Showtune Favorites” – Hit songs from musicals and movies
- “In Retrospect” – More of residents’ favorite songs
- “St. Patrick’s Day Celebration” – Irish ballads, jigs and reels
- “Where Were You, Back Then?” – Popular songs from selected years during residents’ era
Normally, “I Stand for the Flag” consists of 25 pieces of music. However, this time, the Executive Director of UHW, Deborah Montelaro, asked me to combine the music with a talk about Veterans affairs. That reduced the pieces to 16, and I performed that version of the show at four of the five venues.
I have now performed at least one of these shows at 24 different retirement communities in the Greater Seattle area, and I look forward to many more appearances in 2022, Covid and God willing.
9 Nov – Aljoya, Mercer Island (Photos courtesy of Aljoya and me)
10 Nov – University House, Issaquah (photos by Tina Kaiser of UHI and me)
11 Nov – Ida Culver House, Ravenna (photos courtesy of ICHR and me)
12 Nov – The Gardens at Town Square, Bellevue (Photos courtesy of TGTS by me)
13 Nov – University House, Wallingford, Seattle (Photos courtesy of UHW and me)
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Aljoya Mercer Island, Austin Custom Brass, bugle, bugle calls, flugelhorn, Getzen Eterna Severinsen, Ida Culver House Ravenna, Jupiter, marches, pocket trumpet, retirement community, songs, The Gardens at Town Square, trumpet, University House Issaquah, University House Wallingford | Leave a Comment »
“Showtune Favorites” at Two Retirement Communities in Mountlake Terrace, WA
Posted by glennled on December 20, 2021
Two retirement communities in Mountlake Terrace got the same treat last summer—my one-hour trumpet show, “Showtune Favorites”! They’re located within a few blocks of each other, and I appeared at the second one 9 days after I had performed at the first one. Vineyard Park at Mountlake Terrace residents saw and heard it first (on 27 July), and Mountlake Terrace Plaza residents followed next on 5 August.
The show is one of six different ones in my repertoire. It consists of 25 favorite hit songs from musicals and movies that appeared during the residents’ era. It takes them back to many pleasant memories, and my jokes bring a few chuckles. I loved it, and so did they. As soon as I played the finale, a resident said aloud, “We want him back!”
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: finale, hit songs, Mountlake Terrace Plaza, movies, musicals, repertoire, retirement community, showtune, trumpet, Vineyard Park at Mountlake Terrace | Leave a Comment »
Five “I Stand for the Flag” Trumpet Shows at Retirement Communities in July!
Posted by glennled on August 15, 2021
In early July, I performed my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” at five different retirement communities in the Greater Seattle area. Naturally, they clustered around Independence Day, the Fourth of July. In order, they were:
- Merrill Gardens at the University, Seattle (1 July)
- Aljoya, Mercer Island (2 July)
- Fairwinds Brighton Court, Lynnwood (4 July)
- Emerald Heights, Redmond (7 July)
- Merrill Gardens at Burien (9 July)
This show consists of 25 patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. I wore my VFW Post 1040 uniform and played three instruments (my Getzen Eterna Severinsen trumpet, Super Olds cornet, and Jupiter pocket trumpet) and used three mouthpieces (Yamaha Vizutti, Bach 8C, and Denis Wick 4).
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: Aljoya Mercer Island, Bach, bugle, cornet, Denis Wick, Emeral Heights Redmonds, Fairwinds Brighton Court, Getzen Eterna Severinsen, marches, Merrill Gardens at Burien, Merrill Gardens at the University, mouthpieces, musicals, retirement community, songs, trumpet, Yamaha | 2 Comments »
Second Trumpet Show at Overlake Terrace Retirement Community, Redmond
Posted by glennled on May 16, 2021
This spring, Overlake Terrace Assisted & Senior Living, a retirement community in Redmond, invited me back for a second trumpet show, 28 months after my first performance there shortly before Christmas in 2018 (please see my blog post of 23 December 2018 in the Archives in left column). Then Covid shut everything down, everywhere in 2020.
That first show was “Things Remembered,” featuring mostly Christmas carols and songs. This one, on 23 April, was “Showtune Favorites,” featuring hit songs from musicals and movies. I have six different shows, each with about two dozen familiar songs from the residents’ era.
For these shows, I use my Getzen trumpet, Super Olds cornet, Jupiter pocket trumpet, and (sometimes) Getzen bugle.
On Memorial Day, 31 May, I’ll be back there again in my VFW uniform, to sound “Taps” at their ceremony. I’ll use my beautiful Getzen bugle.
For more information about Overlake Terrace, please see Overlake Terrace Assisted & Senior Living in Redmond, WA (stellarliving.com).
Posted in Shows at Retirement Homes | Tagged: bugle, carols, cornet, Getzen, musicals, Overlake Terrace, retirement community, songs, Super Olds, Taps, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 