The February, 1998 issue of the good life features an article by Dyanne Fry Cortez, entitled "For the Love of Music." It details many of the community music groups in Austin, and ASB and its musicians are well represented. Included are photos of President-Elect Marilyn Good; photos of three generations of one family in the band (Johnny Brunner, Beverly, Tom, and Clint Foreman), as well as interviews with Good and ASB Musical Director Richard Floyd. Other local bands, orchestras, and choral groups are also represented in the article, which concludes with a listing of groups in town and web URLs. Our thanks to Ms. Cortez and the good life's staff for writing about our passion for music!

Thanks also to Ms. Cortez for her permission to reprint the article, which follows.

FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC By Dyanne Fry Cortez Marilyn Good has some thoughts about the word "amateur." "People think it means 'not very good,'" said the 55-year-old journalist. She notes, however, that the term springs from the Latin root amare, "to love." In Good's opinion, a true amateur is someone who pursues a discipline for love rather than money. Good herself is one example. She plays French horn in the Austin Symphonic Band. Last December, she and 84 other volunteers left their jobs and families at the height of the holiday rush to present a concert of new music at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. "Four of the composers were in attendance," said conductor Richard Floyd, who has led the band since 1985. "One of them came running down the aisle afterward and said, 'That's the best I've ever heard my piece played!'" Consider the 120 singers of the Austin Civic Chorus, who will perform Beethoven's Ninth with the Austin Symphony Orchestra in May. One soprano, Janice Singleton, has been singing with the group since it began in 1965. Or consider Gus Gutman, who plays in the more loosely organized Austin Community Philharmonic. He took up the violin at age 40, because he loved the sound of a symphony orchestra. Twenty-two years later, he's still learning to play better. In this Live Music Capital of the World, songwriters and performers of all stripes strive (with varying degrees of success) to make a living in the industry. Less famous, but just as passionate, are the hundreds of Austin-area residents who have pursued other careers and kept music as a hobby. These dedicated amateurs make up two bands, two orchestras, two choirs, and countless smaller groups. Esther Porter played horn in high school and college. She recalls now, with some embarrassment, how she auditioned for the Austin Symphony in 1956 at the overconfident age of nineteen. "The man was so kind," she laughs. "He said, 'Why don't you take a few lessons and come back and audition again?'" Porter had bought a horn on the installment plan. But her weekly paycheck of $42.50 had to cover a car payment and living expenses. When money got scarce, the horn went back to the music store. "There wasn't any place to play it anyway," she said. Her husband Dale started piano lessons at age nine. At one time, he had the same teacher as the legendary Van Cliburn. He continued his studies through college, playing drums in a professional dance band on the side. But he became a plumber after graduation, and "just sort of lost interest," he said. Twenty-five years later, when their daughter joined the school band, the Porters discovered the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble (ACWE). She bought a used horn. He picked up the old drumsticks. They joined up in 1980, and they've been playing ever since. ACWE might not have been around if it hadn't been for Marilyn Good. Thirty-odd years ago, she taught music in the public schools of Wisconsin and Kansas. She played in community bands and orchestras from the time she was twelve. She had never thought about living in a town that didn't offer such activities. But that's what she found when she moved to Austin in 1969. "There was no place to play," said Good. Her husband told her to quit whining and start her own band, or sell her horn and shut up. Good found a few other folks who needed a musical outlet, and a young man named Bill Whitworth who had always wanted to conduct. Austin High School band director Corky Robinson invited the group to meet in his rehearsal room. And so ACWE was born. David Parker was a fellow horn player with a degree in composition and theory from the University of Texas. He played in the Austin Symphony during his college years, but later went into the real estate business. He joined ACWE about 1977. He and Good worked together to write by-laws for the growing organization and get it certified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. In subsequent years, they helped write articles of incorporation for the Austin Civic Orchestra and Symphonic Band as well. They also assisted those groups in securing their first grants from the City of Austin, which uses a portion of the hotel and motel "bed tax" income to fund arts organizations. Good eventually went on to serve nine years on the city Arts Commission. Throughout her term, she was a staunch advocate of funding for community-based groups, as well as professional organizations. "My personal philosophy is that artistic expression is essential for human development and society," she said. Parker, now 58, serves on the commission's music advisory panel. He still plays in the Civic Orchestra, and also in the Austin Horn Ensemble. People join music groups for all kinds of reasons. Some enjoy the opportunity to work with people of all ages and backgrounds. "We have engineers, housewives, retired people and college kids and everything in between," said Judy DeWitt, cellist and current president of the Civic Orchestra. Richard Floyd notes there are three generations of one family in the Symphonic Band: a father on euphonium, a daughter and son-in-law on flute and clarinet, and a grandson who also plays flute. Some do it for public service. For more than twenty years now, ACWE has performed for the Zilker Park Christmas tree lighting. The Community Philharmonic plays concerts at nursing homes and retirement centers. The Civic Orchestra sponsors a student concerto competition and plays for the city-wide finals of the Music Memory contest hosted by the Austin Independent School District. It also does a benefit concert every holiday season. For most players, however, love of music is the real driving factor. "I really should quit," said Esther Porter. "I had open heart surgery in 1993, and my breath control isn't what it used to be. But I just don't want to give it up. I guess they'll have to take me out feet first." Good actually did quit at one point, to devote time to a new family business. In the late 1980s, that business failed. Her marriage came apart. "I lost my business, my husband, and my home, all about the time my kids graduated from high school. I had to ask myself, 'What am I?'" Soul-searching gave her the answer. "I'm a horn player," says Good, remarried now and still active in the Austin arts community. "I went back to the band, and I've been there ever since." Writer-musician Dyanne Fry Cortez is a former member of the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble, Austin Civic Orchestra, Community Philharmonic, Austin Civic Chorus, and the Glen Alyn earnest tub Band. Copyright © 1998 Dyanne Fry Cortez. Reprinted by permission.