Commencements: Exciting stuff!!

Performing music is an activity full of romance, emotion and excitement.  But sometimes, playing music can serve a more utilitarian purpose.  For example, anyone who has played in amateur bands and orchestras have undoubtedly provided music for commencement ceremonies.

Some musicians view this function as an obligation thick with drudgery: slogging through endless repetitions of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” and listening to the endless reciting of hundreds of names of graduates.

But to me – and I’ve played hundreds of commencements – I view the entire affair to be dramatic, unpredictable and often very moving.

Here are my credentials:  For the past few years, as a French horn player with the Lansing Concert Band, I have played selected Michigan State University and Lansing Community College ceremonies.  Before that I played commencements at Indiana University and while playing in the Fort Belvoir, VA post band while in the US Army, I played graduations EVERY TWO WEEKS.

Some of the most gratifying commencements I’ve played have been for LCC.  The graduates are of all ages, nationalities and social-economic levels.  For many, the diploma receivers are the first in their families to earn a degree of any kind.  And when their names are called from the podium, the families will often burst forth with unabashed screams and yells of delight, embarrassing the graduate with glee. This is a significant moment for the entire family.

For many newly minted doctors and nurses, parents who are in the same profession will often come up on stage and appear with their children, displaying great pride.

Although all participants are clothed in formal and ancient robes, people manage to display their individuality – wearing wild and colorful shoes or draping their mortarboards with messages (“I made it!”) and festive decorations.

Commencement speeches are a mixed bag.  Some dull and others memorable. Recently a class president described her inspirational journey to get to this day: born in Somalia, immigrating to the US, mother of four children, and surviving on little sleep to achieve her goal.

One strapping graduate lumbered across the stage to receive his diploma when a small voice yelled out from the audience “that’s my dad!”  He responded, “Hi, buddy.”

Heartfelt moments include when the graduates are asked to turn around and thank their families who supported them financially and emotionally during their many years of education. For many, it was a difficult struggle and the feeling when they finally receive the resulting diploma is euphoric.

Other tender moments are when the new graduates spontaneously hug and sway during the playing of the MSU Alma Mater, “Shadows”.

Back in my soldier days at Ft. Belvoir, the grad ceremonies were much less emotional.

We played for the US Army Combat Engineering school, which included soldiers from many nations throughout the world.  The commanding officer of the base used the same corny and boring speech for every graduation.  The band had it memorized including the three recurring jokes. (“Even a kick in the pants is a boost in the right direction”). 

For me, commencements are also patriotic events. It gives credence to the fact that anyone in America can succeed no matter where they are from or what wealth their family has acquired. Also, American educational institutions are respected throughout the world, and people will pay a big price to come to the States to partake of what we have to offer. 

As you drive around campus this week, you will see youngins in their cap and gown posing in front of MSU signs with their diplomas and wide smiles.  It’s a great time of celebration and heightened expectation and even the most cynical among us revel in the moment.