Recorder Ensemble Club Makes Unique Music

Mason Hall and D.A. Marcyes

D.A. Marcyes, Protographer

When asked about Recorder Ensemble Club, most people go “Woah, they have one of those?” Not only is there a Recorder Ensemble club, it has a team of dedicated recorder enthusiasts who practice non-stop to hone their craft because it is what they love to do.

“I started in third grade, got addicted to it, been playing ever since,” recorder ensemble member Korbin Derr said.

Ask a member what it is about and see a sort of passion take hold of their face, and after talking to them for a while it is hard not to be passionate as well. The Recorder Ensemble teacher, Mr. Stevens, has been teaching for over 20 years. One day the old choir teacher Mrs. Garmin was preparing for Lover’s Feast and decided a recorder would sound like an authentic renaissance instrument.

“If you were in the court of King Henry the 8th, you might hear something like this,” Stevens said.

He quickly threw together a band of recorder players and created what is known today as Recorder Ensemble Club. While most people think of recorder ensemble as a silly club where students mess around and have fun it also takes a certain discipline to learn to read the sheet music and play the many varieties of recorder.

From the “Tiny ones, the sopraninos, to the mega basses. We’re just over there, playing music, having fun, getting to know the different instruments.”