The Arts Alive! Community Band - Band Member of the Month for August 2000

Linda Riha

for AUGUST 2000

Hello everyone!!

My name is Linda Riha (: )) and I am our webmaster's sister-in-law. I came up with an idea to add a 'Band Member of the Month' (a.k.a BMOTM) segment to our band website and I was told to 'go for it!!' Every month you can visit our site and get to know us, the members of the Arts Alive! Community Band, even better. (You can consider this a warning or a threat, whichever you prefer.) We have a wide variety of people and personalities, so hopefully you will be entertained as well as enlightened.

I have developed a questionnaire of twelve questions that will be distributed to all band members and every month you can get to know another one of us, up-close and personal, by seeing how these twelve questions were answered. I will try to include at least one picture for your viewing pleasure to accompany the band member's profile.

This month, being my opening segment, I thought I would start with my questionnaire. You are about to get a personal glimpse of the mastermind (yeah, right) behind the BMOTM idea, which will also give my fellow band members an example of the format these segments will follow. Relax and enjoy!

Now ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce our AUGUST Band Member of the Month, Linda Riha!!! (Woo hoo!!!)

First name: -- Linda
In which town do you live? -- Lockport, Illinois
How do you make your living?
I am the working supervisor of the proofreading department at Fine Arts Engraving Company, Burr Ridge, IL. Fine Arts is a company that produces business cards, stationery, announcements, invitations, etc. for companies and firms who wish to have their corporate identity consistent on all of their office materials.

BMOTM Editor Linda Riha
with her bodyguards
How long have you been a member of the Arts Alive! Band?
Since about 1989, 11 years. My boyfriend at the time (my husband now) was in the band and knew that I played an instrument (but wasn't playing at the time) and invited me to come to rehearsal and check it out. I showed up, watched the rehearsal and waited for him, but when other band members found out that I played an instrument, I was talked into bringing my trumpet and joining the group. I have been in it ever since except for one college semester that just got too busy for me.
What instrument(s) do you play?
I play trumpet. I played baritone briefly in another group, but not very confidently. I was also in my high school drum line during my senior year. That was very entertaining, especially when we performed on the steps of the Capitol Building and at Jefferson's Memorial in Washington, DC. (One of our songs was the theme from the 'Green Acres' TV show.) I never knew you could get so bruised playing the cymbals!! OUCH!!
How long have you been playing it/them?
I have been playing trumpet for about 23 years. (Is that possible!!?) I only played baritone for about a year in another group. My drum line career only lasted one year, though I do still own the pair of yellow drum sticks that I bought because I thought I was cool. About once a year, I dig them up from wherever they happened to be stashed and attempt to play some drum rudiments that they taught us.
Are you involved in any other musical groups, either inside or outside the Arts Alive system? If so, which ones?
I am in the Arts Alive! Jazz Band and also in Calvary's Brass at my church in Orland Park. Calvary's Brass is a group consisting of three trumpets, two French horns, two trombones and a tuba. We play about once a month during the school year and occasionally play at different churches and/or functions. Obviously, it is mostly inspirational music, but our director chooses various styles for us to play, which makes it more fun.
I also have the occasional opportunity to play at various other places and functions when friends ask me to play. I filled in for Dan Pluister at a Arts Alive! Brass group Christmas function. I've played in a brass quintet at Dan Pluister's church and I also played in a different brass quintet for Jeanette Kreuzs' brother's wedding. (Steve Kreuz and I joke that we should be called the 'Wing it Brass' because we have one rehearsal and then perform.) Just recently, I played a duet in church with one of my friends from Calvary's Brass. It's always very touching to be asked to play and I'm glad to have the talent to be able to do so. I enjoy it very much.

Linda, your BMOTM Editor, on a very special day.
What do you like most about this group?
I like the fact that I have met a lot of my current closest friends in this band. The common bond of music and this band keeps me confident that I will be friends with these people for a very long time. The lives of the people in this band are so varied (from what I know) and it is, pardon the vernacular, totally awesome(!) that we can come together in a group like this and do what we do for fun.
Describe your best/favorite band moment:
I have a couple of favorite band moments. The first one is the time we performed 'Phantom of the Opera' in the Tinley Park High School Audion for a concert. During rehearsals before the concert, a bunch of people stated that they needed someone (me, of course) to scream during an emotional point in the music to emulate the musical production of 'Phantom…'. Let me tell you that this was not a sissy scream either. It was reminiscent of a scream queen in a bloody horror film. Not having seen the musical, I didn't quite understand WHY, but I agreed nonetheless because Steve (our fearless director) also said that it was a good idea to include the scream in our performance. WELL, at the concert, during our performance, I scream, just like I had at rehearsals and let me tell you, EVERYONE in the audience had a horrifying look in their face. They looked like they wanted to come running to me and make sure I was okay. I kept on playing so they instantly knew the scream was part of the performance, but, thinking back, it is really bizarre and hysterically funny to me.

Linda having some of her favorite moments in Germany.

My second favorite band moment was during both the 1994 and 2000 Germany tours at every concert we played. The German people are so appreciative and tolerant of American band music and so willing to talk to you about it. In 1994, there was a band concert that included at least three different groups and to me, it lasted three days. The weather was unbearably HOT and it didn't take long to wish I had shorts on instead of my tuxedo uniform. Since we were the last group to perform, it was a very long evening, just for the fact that we wanted to get our performance over with so we could start socializing with the German Fire Brigade band and celebrating our cultural differences. (This usually includes a lot of drinking, laughing and singing. By the way, I was totally amazed that the Germans knew more than the first verse of 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' by John Denver. Who would've thought…) ANYWAY, while we played 'Stars and Stripes Forever'--our signature piece and a true American classic- and after, the mostly German audience was on their feet hooting and hollering. It is very refreshing to get that kind of reaction in an audience. God bless all of our German friends!!

What are your hobbies?
Reading (mysteries are my favorite), laughing, surfing the internet, sleeping, cooking (but not after a day at work), collecting any sort of penguin items (much to my husband's consternation) and going to the movies.
What is your favorite Jell-O flavor?
Lime Jell-O with crushed pineapple as a side dish. Peach Jell-O with peach schnapps as a shot.

Linda likes penquins.
Is there anything else you want your band friends to know about you?
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or comments about the 'Band Member of the Month' segment. Email me at penglin1927@aol.com.

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