Mr. Day, a Band Director Not to be Forgotten (Cont.)
Screen 2 of 3

"It's B^b on the piano--but not necessarily B^b as written on your own music," he said.

When a cadet flute player raised his hand, Mr. Day anticipated his question.

"Since your flute is built in the key of C, the B^b on your flute music would be the same as the B^b concert tone. You knew that, didn't you?" he said with a smiling nod, as the flute player's hand went down. "But the B^b trumpets, baritones, trombones, and basses must sound C on their horns to match the B^b concert pitch." Heads went up and down slowly as he finished.

It all seemed clear now, and after tuning up, we played several marches, one or two simple ones and then some more difficult marches written by John Phillip Sousa. We soon found out that "Stars and Stripes Forever" was not Mr. Day's favorite Sousa march. Instead, he preferred the "Washington Post March," declaring it to be the finest march Sousa ever composed.

We didn't argue, of course. (Cadets just didn't argue with their instructors in that military school.) But I still thought "Stars and Stripes" was great.

The K. M. I. band had its ups and downs during that year. It became evident early in the fall that Mr. Day's attendance at rehearsals and reviews was unpredictable. Sometimes he would call in advance and report he could not be there because of conflicts with other events. Upon other occasions he would just not show up.

When Col. Richmond, President of K. M. I., became aware of the situation, he asked me to conduct rehearsals whenever Mr. Day was not there. I told Col. Richmond I did not feel qualified to do this, but when he reminded me I was older than most of the cadets in the band and that I was on a music scholarship playing first chair in the trumpet section, I agreed to substitute for Mr. Day when necessary.

In addition to the conflicts he had with his other responsibilities, much of Mr. Day's absence seemed to be connected with a drinking problem which became more serious as the year progressed. But none of us criticized him openly for this shortcoming. He was a good musician, a kind man, and--when he was there-a fine band director.

Indeed, he was a man not soon to be forgotten. The snapshot of him shown on the next page helps me to remember how he looked, but with or without the picture, my clear and very pleasant memory of this little man has dimmed but little during the intervening 52 years.

Chester C. Travelstead
April 15, 1981

[SCREEN 3 OF 3]
[CONTENTS OF VOL. 6]
[DAVID'S HOME PAGE]
- 30 -