Fifteen years ago in 2011, I sounded “Taps” for my first time on Veterans Day, 11 November, at the annual 11:00 a.m. ceremony, hosted by VFW Post 1040, at Veterans Park in downtown Lynnwood. And several years ago, we started sounding “Echo Taps” instead. Originally, I used some of my own private trumpet students to sound the “Echo” part. Then I recruited a few trumpeters from Inglemoor High School—I used to work for the band director there, Charlie Fix, when we were both at Skyview Middle School in Bothell. Recently, I’ve used trumpeters from Lynnwood High School, and this year, that’s where I found Liam O’Dell, a referral by his band director, Phil Onishi.
The weather was perfect, the crowd was large, and as usual, I sounded the bugle call, “Assembly,” to start the ceremony. Liam and I sounded “Echo Taps” at the close. He used his trumpet, and I used my Getzen bugle. That afternoon, I drove to Mountlake Terrace to perform my patriotic, one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” at Mountlake Terrace Plaza, a retirement community.
My mother-in-law lived at Fairwinds Brighton Court (FBC) in Lynnwood for a couple of years, and that permanently endeared me to this vibrant retirement community. So, I was delighted to return there on 10 November 2025 for another performance, my seventh. FBC is the current leader for my total appearances among the 36 communities where I’ve presented at least one of my six one-hour trumpet shows. This time it was “I Stand for the Flag” because the next day was Veterans Day.
“I Stand for the Flag” calls for five horns—trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, and bugle. I play 24 patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls, and I invite the audience to sing along (or hum). Who doesn’t know “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Over There,” “God Bless America” and many more such?
FBC’s staff, led by Colleen Loveridge, Program Supervisor, are always expert in setting up the room and equipment that help make the shows successful. The audience is always sizeable, engaged, and responsive. They know and like each other. In short, it’s fun for them and fun for me. “See ya next time.”
Photos are courtesy of Fairwinds, Brighton Court. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
Vineyard Park at North Creek (VPNC) in Bothell just opened last January, and it’s now the 36th retirement community where I have performed one of my six one-hour trumpet shows. It was my first appearance there (on 8 November), and the show was “Where were you, Back Then?” This new place is lovely. As I played before the fireplace in the large dining room, the crowd grew, as it often does when people begin to hear tunes they remember well and like.
In this show, we recall songs from selected years from 1947-2008. I invite the residents to sing along (or hum), and they do! Here’s the format: I name a year and cite a few significant events that happened that year; then I ask them to remember where they were and what they were doing; I might tell them something about my own life at that time; and finally, I play a hit song from that year. I use four horns: trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, and pocket trumpet, four mouthpieces, and three mutes.
For example, in 1968, the Apollo 8 crew of three American men became the first humans to orbit the moon (10 times), the first humans to see the dark side of the moon, and the first to see the whole earth. And for that year, I played “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” written during the Great Depression in 1931 but made popular for the residents’ generation in 1968 when the Mamas and the Papas recorded it with Cass Elliot the lead singer. Did you ever sing that song about your lover? “Say nightie-night and kiss me….” Bet you can hear it as you read this!
Glenn Ledbetter busks again at Veterans Plaza on Saturday’s Market Day, Edmonds
Last Saturday, 23 August, I got out there again, using my horns to raise money for VFW Posts 8870 (Edmonds) and 1040 (Lynnwood). The yellow sign reads, “All Donations go to VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars),” and people gave generously, as usual. I started busking here in 2017, but I missed a few years, starting with Covid-19 in 2020. My last appearance was in June 2022.
I played for more than one and half hours. My busking book contains some 100 songs, and I played about half of them, some more than once, as the large crowd kept changing in and out, mingling, sitting, eating, coming and going. I always play in the Veterans Plaza in downtown Edmonds, adjacent to the Edmonds Museum Summer Market (please see https://historicedmonds.org/summer-market). The warm, clear summer day was perfect.
The crowd responses are always great fun. For example, parents give their little kids a few dollars to toss in the trumpet case. They approach carefully, one eye on the open case and one eye on me, quickly drop the money onto the pile, and run back to their parents! Other kids will dance to the music, and both kids and adults will talk to me. Remember being taught to donate to charities? Remember teaching your kids the same? Often, people just say, “Thank you for your service,” and I reply, “You’re welcome.” (I’m a Navy vet who served on three ships in the Pacific and taught NROTC at the University of Washington.)
After I played “Summertime,” a woman came up and told me that’s her favorite song. After “Wand’rin’ Star,” one man shouted “Lee Marvin!” [the actor (and a Marine) who sang it in the movie, “Paint Your Wagon.”] We waved to each other. An elderly lady in a motorized wheelchair came up and asked me if I have seen the movie, “The Legend of 1900.” I have not. She said there’s a great trumpeter in that movie. “That’s when I fell in love with the trumpet and that trumpet player,” she said.
I brought only two of my five horns this time–my cornet and flugelhorn. One song got stuck in my mind, and so I played “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” three times. It was written in 1917, shortly before WWI ended. I always loved the tune but never paid attention to the words. So, I looked up the lyrics. It’s about a depressed person who always dreams about success and happiness but is just a natural-born loser who always fails. But I remember it from the MGM musical, “Ziegfeld Girls,” in 1941, early during WWII. Judy Garland sings the song, but eventually her character does become the top showgirl in the Ziegfeld Follies.
As is my custom as VFW Post 1040 Bugler, I split the donations in two and gave half to each VFW Post (please see https://vfw1040.org and https://vfw8870.org).
(L to R): Yesterday’s Trumpeters Stephanie, Roy, Dave, and Stan (and Glenn, cameraman)
Yesterday, for the first time in 9 years, I played trumpet as a member of the University of Washington’s Husky Alumni Band. We performed a few lively tunes at the closing ceremony of the 10th annual conference of Peer Pathways, held at the Lynnwood Event Center on 13-14 August. The conference brings together peer supporters, advocates, and community leaders.
Peer Pathways is engaged in peer support, wellness, and empowerment (https://www.peerpathways.net). The event was funded by the Washington State Health Care Authority and hosted by The Rainbow Makers and Jones Community Solutions. For the band’s performance, they made a “very generous donation” to the scholarship fund of the Husky Marching Band Alumni Association. HMBAA’s scholarships are for current students. Please see https://hmbaa.org.
The band is available for hire for numerous kinds of events, including parades, weddings, birthday parties, engagement parties, retirement parties, business/office openings and parties, celebrations of life, and more. All proceeds go towards supporting the UW Husky Marching Band through scholarships and financial support.
The band’s next performance will be at the UW’s annual Varsity Alumni Game (the first game of the football season) when the Huskies host the Colorado State Rams on Saturday, 30 August.
The last time I had performed with the band was on 30 September 2016 when the Huskies stomped the #7-ranked Stanford Cardinals, 44-6 before 72,000 roaring fans. On 9 November 2016, I posted an article here on my blog, where you can re-live that terrific game by viewing about 80 stellar photos. Use either the Archives in the left column or search the keyword “Stanford” in the search box in the right column.
Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
My Husky PurpleBand Director Issues InstructionsEntrance from Parking LotWhere conference attendees sat and where we performed for them
This was a very fun event! The audience was responsive to my songs and jokes, and judging by the banter among them, they all seemed to know and like each other. The more I played, the bigger the crowd! I’m talking about my performance of “Where Were You, Back Then?” at Vineyard Park at Mountlake Terrace on 17 July 2025.
“Where Were You, Back Then?” is comprised of 15 hit songs that appeared in musicals, movies, and recordings during 1947-2008. I name the year and ask the audience members to remember their own lives during that year. Then I read some major events in the world that happened that year. Sometimes, I tell what was going on in my life. Then I play the song I’ve selected for that year. For example, 1956—Actress Grace Kelly marries Rainier III, Prince of Monaco—“I Whistle a Happy Tune” from the musical, The King and I. I used my trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn, sometimes with mutes. Meaningful fun!
Glenn Ledbetter with four horns for “In Retrospect” trumpet show at 2:30 p.m., 10 July 2025. Photo by David G. Ledbetter
This was a very special day, 10 July 2025, because I got to return to Mountlake Terrace Plaza and perform another one of my six trumpet shows for the residents. In August 2021, I performed “Showtune Favorites,” and this time, I presented “In Retrospect,” where we look back, through great songs from the residents’ era, at common experiences that we all share in living life.
It was extra special, also, because my son and his family were visiting from New Zealand, and this is the first time they ever attended one of my shows. My two grandchildren helped me by distributing a handout to the residents. It contained 25 jokes, so that they could have some fun and laughs with their friends and relatives. And afterwards, the whole family helped me load my gear into the car.
Moreover, energetic, friendly Anne Paine, Director of Wellness Programming, also made it special. She printed and displayed a brief bio of me (see photo). That was a first, too—that’s never happened at any other of the 35 retirement communities in the Greater Seattle area where I have performed since 2017. In other ways, too, her support was exceptional. Mountlake Terrace Plaza offers assisted living and is a member of MBK Senior Living Company.
“In Retrospect” is comprised of two dozen hit songs during the 84-period, 1892-1976. The oldest is “Bicycle Built for Two,” and the most recent is “Money, Money, Money,” by ABBA. All these songs stir deep memories, and people sing along or hum. Each song has a unique message, so I choose the horn with the most appropriate sound—trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, or pocket trumpet.
L to R: Bugle, Pocket Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Trumpet, and Cornet
On this Independence Day, I finally got to perform one of my six trumpet shows at La Conner Retirement Inn. In 2022, I was scheduled to perform “I Stand for the Flag,” on Flag Day in June, but Covid struck in March, and we cancelled that show. Then the Activities Director, Allie Kester, booked me for a Christmas show, and we had to cancel that one, too. This year, we hit paydirt. On 4 July, I performed “I Stand for the Flag” for the residents during their Friday afternoon Happy Hour.
The Inn offers both Independent and Assisted Living accommodations and services. Allie proudly told me that they have three residents who are 100 or more years. The oldest one to attend my show is 98, and I dedicated “You’re a Grand Old Flag” to her. She and others liked to sing along to some of my patriotic songs and marches. The audience voluntarily stood while they sang “God Bless America,” and stayed standing while we said the “Pledge of Allegiance” and closed with “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It was an extra-special performance for me because my youngest son from Las Vegas happened to be visiting in nearby Oak Harbor and came to hear me play for the first time. He helped with the handouts and reloading my car. We shared dinner afterwards.
I used all five instruments and used my flugelhorn mute once. The bugle and trumpet are Getzens, the pocket trumpet is a Jupiter, the flugelhorn is by ACB (Austin Custom Brass), and the cornet is a Super Olds, given to me by my parents when I became a freshman in high school in 1954. This show features about two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls.
After sounding bugle calls in the morning at the Memorial Day ceremony, 26 May 2025, at Veterans Park in Lynnwood, I drove to (formerly) Edmonds Landing Retirement Community in Edmonds in the afternoon to perform my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag.” It consists of about two dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. The residents sing along with me.
I have six one-hour trumpet shows. During this one, I use all five of my horns: Getzen trumpet and bugle, Jupiter pocket trumpet, ACB (Austin Custom Brass) flugelhorn, and Olds Super cornet (71 years old, given to me by my parents when I became a freshman in high school).
Photos courtesy of Edmonds Landing by Cogir. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
On Saturday, 24 May 2025, I traveled to Renton to perform my one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” for the first time at Solstice Senior Living (please see https://solsticeseniorlivingrenton.com/). It is a Provincial Senior Living Community, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. They operate about 70 retirement communities across the country. Others in Washington state include Bellingham, Normandy Park, Point Defiance (Tacoma), and Kennewick. At Renton, Independent Living is offered, with the support of health care professionals, when needed.
I entertained the residents with about a dozen patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls. They sang along with me and laughed at my jokes. I used all five of my horns: trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet, bugle, and flugelhorn.
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 