It is not every day that a renowned music group comes to perform at a small college such as Bethel. But yesterday as I was walking through the Fine Arts Center on campus I heard the most amazing sounds of brass instruments warming up in the wings of Krehbiel Auditorium. So I stopped what I was doing and sat down in one of the cushy theater seats towards the back of the room. As it turns out, the musicians I heard warming up were none other than the Boston Brass, here for a day at the beginning of a spring tour of the midwest. Their concert was last night, and I missed it, but their presence at Bethel on a Thursday morning made an impression on me. Not only did these five men play a couple of selections for a very small audience of college and high school students (they opened with the Saber Dance which can be heard at the link I have posted), but they took the rest of the time to hear two Bethel brass ensembles and offer input on how these two groups might show improvement. We in the audience were able not only to witness the very professional instruction they had to offer, but also to see and hear immediate difference in the quality of sound produced by the students. It was a remarkable thing. Just another average day at Bethel! 😀