Submitted by Monica Weber, Pastor, Luther Memorial Lutheran Church
BLACKSBURG — On March 12, 2023 at 4 p.m., Luther Memorial Lutheran Church will host a concert by Mr. Jefferson’s Bones, a professional trombone quintet. The New River Valley community is invited to attend.
For the second time, Mr. Jefferson’s Bones quintet is traveling to Puerto Rico to share their music, with a class for university students planned, and a free public concert on March 20. The quintet first visited Puerto Rico in 2018 as a Hurricane Maria relief effort: eight trombonists from the United States spent a week performing a number of free concerts for the public; they also offered music classes to students, distributed free music books and pBone instruments, and spent money with local businesses to help them recover and know they had not been forgotten by American citizens.
“Luther Memorial Lutheran Church is delighted to host this ‘practice’ concert; this event is made possible by an endowment from the Marilyn Norstedt Memorial Music Fund at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church,” said church pastor the Rev. Monica Weber. A free-will offering will be taken at the Blacksburg concert for anyone wishing to help defray the artists’ lodging and transportation costs.
“We invite everyone in the New River Valley to come enjoy a wonderful free brass concert on March 12 at 4 p.m. and thank this gifted group of musicians for offering their time and talent to help young music students,” said Pastor Weber.
Robert Mott, a member of the quintet, says, “We made some great friends and contacts with music teachers and professors on our 2018 trip and as a result, we have been invited to perform this year for the Puertorrican Brass Fest held annually in Mayaguez on Tuesday, March 21. Trumpet, trombone, horn, and tuba students of all ages from across the island will gather for one day of classes and performances and we will be the closing concert for that one-day festival.”
As they did in 2018, Mr. Jefferson’s Bones is performing in Puerto Rico free of charge and are covering their own travel and lodging expenses for the trip. The group will also purchase musical instruments (e.g., pBones, pTrumpets, etc.) and music method books to donate to the music students of Puerto Rico, and are working with teachers in Puerto Rico to make sure that they are providing the most helpful resources.
“We have made a $1,000 contribution to the quintet to help purchase valuable resources for Puerto Rican students,” said the Rev. Weber.