KC group doesn’t let pandemic stop it from grabbing holiday spirit by the horns

Those who came for the sights of the Festival of Lights at Powell Gardens found themselves pausing to enjoy the sounds as well.

Matching the majesty of a multicolored night sky was the musical versatility of a dozen or so French horns.

Visitors found themselves listening and humming along with familiar Christmas carols performed by members of the Kansas City Horn Club in two November concerts.

Such audience participation is what Stacy Lendt of Lenexa had in mind when she co-founded the Kansas City Horn Club in 2013.

“We wanted to provide an opportunity for horn players of all ages to share their love of the horn with their community,” Lendt said.

Before the pandemic, the club had played the national anthem at Kansas City Royals and T-Bones games, held quarterly festivals and concerts and sponsored master classes with horn professionals.

Like musical groups everywhere this spring, the horn club faced the challenge of how best to continue performing during the pandemic.

Not playing wasn’t an option. So, they wear masks with holes for their mouthpieces, cover their bells and space themselves 6 feet apart.

“It’s quite an adjustment,” said Lisa Rush of Overland Park. “It takes longer to get ready to play with two layers of cloth in the way and our glasses fog up and we can’t see the music.”

She and her husband, Kirk Rush, have been with the club for three years.

Rehearsing and performing outdoors has its own challenges.

To prepare for their Powell Gardens shows, the club rehearsed on an overcast, windy Saturday in November in the parking lot of Leawood United Methodist Church. Cold gusts toppled music stands and scattered pages of sheet music . . . and the band played on.

By all accounts, the inconveniences are worth it so club members can continue to meet and play their horns.

“Camaraderie, love of music and love of making music” are why Linda Finch of Leavenworth says she belongs to the club.

She’s been playing for 61 years — since fourth grade when Finch’s band director father needed a French horn for beginning band.

Equally important to the founding of the club is a mission to encourage and help school-age aspiring players.

“The horn is awesome but difficult to play,” Lendt said. “We want to help kids learn to play.”

At 16, Liam Courson, of Olathe is one of the club’s young players.

A sophomore at Olathe East High School, Liam started playing the French horn in seventh grade and has been with the club for three years.

“I hear what good playing sounds like and I base my sound on theirs,” Liam said. “I’ve grown a lot in my skills with the French horn.”

The French horn is unique and the most difficult technique to acquire in the orchestra, said Paul Jolley, 68, of Osawatomie. Jolley has played with the club for six years.

While some instruments play the high notes and others, the low notes, the French horn does it all: high, low and mid-range.

“It can play bass, tenor, alto and soprano,” Lendt said.

Members will tell you the correct name for the French horn “in our world is simply the horn,” Lendt said.

All members of the Kansas City Horn Club play the French horn.

The only exception is club percussionist Mark Paquette, band director at Ottawa Middle School.

Paquette said one of the reasons he wanted to perform with the club was “the challenge of being able to play with a group of single instrumentalists” rather than a band of many different instruments.

The drums “add a little more sparkle” to the performance, said Gavin Lendt, horn player and conductor for the club. Gavin, Stacy’s husband, is also a composer and arranger.

Despite the pandemic, the club’s annual holiday show will go on this year. Gavin Lendt is making that happen through Zoom.

The club is premiering a piece he wrote: “Sing We Now Upon a Rose.”

“It’s an arrangement of ‘Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming’ and ‘Sing We Now of Christmas,’” Lendt explained.

On Dec. 19, viewers can click on a link and hear the seven-minute original composition.

On the computer screen, it will look like the horn players are in their windows playing together, Lendt said.

In reality, players recorded themselves individually and sent files to Lendt who worked his magic to turn audio and video files into a joyous holiday show.

To hear the Kansas City Horn Club’s Holiday Performance, “Sing We Now Upon a Rose,” at 5 p.m. on Dec. 19, click on www.youtube.com/user/KCHornClub or kchornclub.org

This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "KC group doesn’t let pandemic stop it from grabbing holiday spirit by the horns."