Dear Diego,

Thank you for your letter and the pictures of your family!

I’d like to tell you about my band and our concert. I belong to the Charleston Concert Band. The band has been getting bigger. We now have 60 to 80 musicians. We are all volunteers. We play for the joy of playing good music. There are many different instruments: trumpet, trombone, tuba, French horn, clarinet, saxophone, flute, oboe, bassoon, and percussion.

I play the oboe. I think I’ve told you about it before. It’s about 65 cm long, and you play it by blowing into a reed and pressing keys with your fingers to choose a pitch.

The band played a concert in October. Most of our music was Spanish-themed. We played an Argentine tango, and a group of dancers performed on stage while we played. A professional trumpet player from the city orchestra played with us. He asked us to perform a piece called “La Veu de la trompeta.” He played the solo part and we played the accompaniment. He played beautifully. We also played music from a show called “Man of La Mancha.” The show is about Miguel de Cervantes and his book “Don Quixote.” In the United States, we have a long tradition of these shows called “musicals.” They are dramas with a lot of singing. They’re sort of like operas, but the style of music is very different. “Man of La Mancha” is one of my favorites.

Playing music with a group has a spiritual component. Everyone has to practice and commit to being part of something larger than any one person. In the same way, God calls us to participate in work. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul wrote about how the church is like a body, with each part serving a different function. A band or orchestra works the same way. So does a sports team.

I hope you find opportunities to take part in many things larger than one person!
— Garrett Mitchener