Cascade Horizon Band offers musical excitement

The Cascade Horizon Band entertained a sizeable crowd at Sisters High School on Sunday, January 25. It was a good day to be inside listening to peppy music, as snow fell and the temperature plummeted outside.

Musical selections covered a range of genres, from show tunes to Spanish dance music and military marches. A highlight was the performance of Mouthpiece Mania, in which the entire trumpet section came to the front of the stage, took the mouthpieces out of their instruments and used the mouthpieces to accompany the band as they played the theme from "2001, A Space Odyssey," the "Blue Danube Waltz," and the old Allan Sherman song, "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah."

The performance was the sixth annual winter concert. The band does four or five large concerts each year, according to alto saxophonist Dan Sullivan. Several of the concerts have been in Sisters, and many attendees make it a regular event.

Doris Sholes' daughter-in-law plays clarinet in the band, and she makes it to nearly every concert. She was there with Sisters resident Georgia Gallagher, who admitted it was her first time, but probably not the last.

"It's wonderful. I love band music," she said during intermission, enjoying homemade cookies and coffee provided by Sisters Coffee Company.

Several Sisters residents play in the band, including Carmen Hull on clarinet, Tom Worcester on French horn, Don Oliver on baritone, and Bruce Shaull from Camp Sherman on trumpet. The Cascade Horizon Band is part of a national organization called New Horizon Bands.

The band includes a tribute to the military at each of their concerts, ending each performance with the marches from each branch of the military

The Hero Quilters of Sisters tied into that tribute with a display in the foyer, showcasing the quilts they make for wounded troops recovering at Madigan Military Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. The group, together for two years, is part of American Hero Quilts. Their quilting efforts provide a handmade touch of comfort for the men and women who have been severely injured.