Auntie B's Wax

It’s no secret that I have a crush on Mr. Capecchi, the man who powers all of the music coming out of DeLaSalle High School.  His enthusiasm for music and devotion to the students are inspirational.  Husby and I have been fortunate to be able to attend all of the DeLaSalle fall and spring concerts since 2006 as both of our nephews, Paenney and Fojo, play or have played in Mr. Capecchi’s concert band and pep band.

Husby recently made the decision to donate his high school trumpet to the DeLaSalle music department.  It served him well back in the day and he’s kept good care of it all these years but hasn’t played it in decades.  He took a drive down to the school and met with Mr. Capecchi, showed him the trumpet (case included) and asked if the old instrument could be of use to the music program.  Mr. Capecchi gave the trumpet the once over and said it was in very good shape and would be available to anyone who wanted to join the band but didn’t have an instrument.  Husby was glad his trumpet would be put to use and given a second life.

This past weekend I got to see the DeLaSalle spring musical, Anything Goes.  I can’t even tell you how enjoyable it was.  The kids were all very talented and as adorable as can be.  It was a production fit for Broadway.  Fojo, now a senior at De, played with fourteen other musicians in the band for the play.  He plays a saxophone in the concert band, but for this production he took to the drums, something he taught himself over a period of a few years.  I was pretty impressed with his performance and think it’s cool that Mr. Capecchi lets the students play instruments besides those they play in the concert band.

Mr. Capecchi didn’t direct the musicians for the play, he was actually in the band.  And what instrument was he playing?  Husby’s old trumpet.  It was too bad Husby wasn’t able to attend the play; he was sick and felt like he had ice picks stabbing his ears.  So I went up to the band pit before the play started and asked Mr. Capecchi if I could have a picture of him with Husby’s trumpet.  Of course he was very gracious and even stood by Fojo and his bass-playing buddy Noah for a nice group picture.

“Ice Man” (bass), “Gump” (drums), & “Baby Face” (trumpet)

Fojo will graduate this spring and we’ll miss going to the concerts and plays and I’ll miss watching Mr. Capecchi direct the choir, orchestra, and band. Husby’s trumpet has a whole new life at DeLaSalle and will no doubt be pressed into service by many new students in the years to come and I’m sure Mr. Capecchi will continue to inspire kids with his devotion and passion for music.

Read Full Post »