As I collect songs and stories for my book, I’ve loved hearing from those who not only enjoy listening to music, but also creating it. I’m curious about what is was and, in particular, what song ignited a person’s passion to perform music. For Jo Ann Butler, that inspiration came early—very early.
“Mom was pregnant with me,” Jo Ann tells, “and at a choir rehearsal a few weeks before I was born, Mom said I began tapping time as she sang, using my toe or elbow. The choir began another song with a tempo, and though I stopped tapping during the pause, I began again at the correct tempo.”
That’s certainly a strong indication that Jo Ann would make music an important part of her life. She ended up singing in a choir and knew how to play a recorder even before she joined band in the fourth grade, where she took up the clarinet. She switched to bass clarinet in the seventh grade, which she described as sounding like “warm molasses [that] can lay out a commanding tempo.”
Jo Ann soon learned that the bass clarinet “plays a supporting role in elementary band music. I was weary of playing whole notes and oom-pahs and wished for more challenging music.” She got what she wanted from Fulton Junior High Band’s director, Joe Trupia. She notes that Mr. Trupia didn’t stay with the school district long, moving to a job in the New York State School Music Association in 1967. But before he left, he gave young musicians like Jo Ann a solid foundation for performance, helping the Junior High Band win praises for tackling difficult music.
While in seventh grade, which Jo Ann describes as “one of the worst years of my life, with difficult schoolwork and harsh words from schoolmates and harsh words at home, band became my refuge and joy.” During that turbulent time, her band leader gave her one more gift of music.
“Mr. Trupia handed me a solo written for bass clarinet by Leroy Ostransky,” Jo Ann remembers. “‘Marche Comique’ was perfect for me; a relaxed piece which encouraged whimsy.”
Unfamiliar with “Marche Comique,” I took a listen, trying to imagine seventh grader Jo Ann, weary from the challenges of a young teen’s life, diving into this piece of music. To my untrained ear, “Marche Comique” sounds like a frolic in an open field, the bass clarinet running up and down rolling hills. It gives me a feeling of a sunny day, in a time and place far removed from a troubling world.
The experience was a big success for Jo Ann. “[The piece] was hard enough to give me great satisfaction and Mr. Trupia coached me all the way to an A in solo competition.” And, through music’s magic and power, “Marche Comique” provided Jo Ann with one more achievement. “It lifted me from a pit of despair, and gave me hope that better times and musical accomplishments lay ahead for me - and they did!”
What could be better than that? Well, maybe this: the lift Jo Ann received from that piece of music wasn’t fleeting. As she will tell you, “‘Marche Comique’ is forever in my soul.”
Readers, are you having a bad day? Why not take a listen to “Marche Comique” and see if you feel as Jo Ann did all those years ago and still does today. Then, if there’s a musical instrument sitting around your house, waiting to come to life, why not give it a try? Maybe there’ll be a song, tucked away inside you, ready for the world to appreciate. I’d love to hear its story. Share it here.
