For Wilshire Baptist Church
I have a cassette tape labeled “Wilshire Winds – Acclimation.” The label is incorrect because the piece of music on the tape is actually titled “Acclamation,” but I’ll go with “Acclimation” because that’s what the recording represents to me.
The cassette is from the first time I played with the Wilshire Winds. It was Sunday, April 27, 2003. I had last played with an instrumental group in 1978 and hadn’t thought about ever playing again until one Sunday morning in the Narthex at Wilshire. The Winds were playing the prelude, and a fellow usher asked if I’d ever played an instrument.
“Yes, I played the baritone sax in high school and one semester in college,” I said.
“Why don’t you play with the Wilshire Winds?”
“I don’t have a baritone sax, and that’s not an instrument that anyone needs in a small group. And besides, I haven’t played in 25 years. It’s been too long.”
That usher tattled on me, because the next Sunday I heard the impossible: The Winds not only wanted someone to play the baritone sax, but the church had a baritone sax. So the decision was mine: keep listening from the Narthex, or accept the challenge and join the band.
I don’t recall how many weeks I dismissed the idea, but eventually I took the sax home, bought some reeds and got acclimated – how to hold it, how to blow it, how to finger the keys to play the right notes, even how to read music again. As it turned out, it all came back to me pretty quickly, and on a Monday night I joined the Winds for rehearsal. And then on that Sunday morning in April we played “Acclamation,” which is a fairly vigorous take on “All Glory, Laud and Honor” by James Curnow. I was so pumped up afterwards that I made sure I got that tape of our performance.
I’ve been playing with the Wilshire Winds for 14 years, which is six years longer than I played in school. I can’t imagine ever not playing again because I didn’t realize how much I missed playing until I started playing again. And what did I miss? Being “inside” the music and hearing and feeling how my part contributes to the whole; the energy and sometimes fear of playing in front of an audience; and the unique camaraderie shared by musicians as they learn and rehearse together. This group is a family that not only creates music together but shares the joys and sorrows of life.
Playing with the Wilshire Winds is different from any school experience. There’s not the pressure of playing for grades or rankings or school prestige and pride. We’re playing for the fun and joy of it, for the love of Wilshire, and to the glory, laud and honor of God.
Am I a better player than I was in school? Definitely not. My fingers aren’t as fast, my breathing isn’t as strong, my mind isn’t as quick, but my heart for playing has never been greater.
If you’ve missed musical acclamation and are afraid of the acclimation it may take to play again, take my word for it: you can do it. What’s more, you are wanted and needed. The Wilshire Winds has parts that need playing, chairs that need filling and music that needs sharing. Don’t have an instrument anymore? I bet we can work something out.