For July meet Dick Wheeler, clarinetist in the Naperville Municipal Band
Instrument and current role in the NMB: I began playing clarinet in the Municipal Band in 1976 and am currently celebrating my fiftieth year with the band. I played during high school and college and never expected to play again after graduating from college. I joined the band after reading an article in the Sun newspaper asking for clarinet players.
Past and/or Current Occupation(s): I am an electrical engineer and worked for Lucent Technology and its predecessor companies for 39 years as an engineer and also engineering manager. I retired from Lucent in 2005. After retirement, I also worked as the part time building manager for Knox Presbyterian Church.
Hobbies or Interests outside of music: Gardening has been a long-time hobby, shared with my wife, Phyllis. After retiring, I constructed an extensive model railroad in the basement. Additionally, there is a significant interest in genealogy, having spent over 30 years developing the family tree.
How many years have you played your clarinet and what drew you to your instrument? I started playing the clarinet when I was 10 years old. I chose the clarinet because my uncle had played the clarinet, and my grandparents had his old metal clarinet. I continued to play through college and except for not playing for 10 years after college, I have now played for approximately 62 years.
Why have you kept playing all of these years? The joy of music and the tremendously supportive members of our audience..
What makes the Naperville Municipal Band so special? The members all have varied backgrounds but come together because of the joy of music. The members are always very supportive of each other. A number of years ago, a woman who had played French horn for 22 years with the Marine Band in Washington, D.C., joined our band. After a few years they decided to move back to Washington. However, she told me that what she was going to miss the most was playing in our band. I took that as quite a compliment from somebody who had played in what is one of the best bands in the world.
What is a favorite memory or funny story from playing in the Naperville Municipal Band? A number of years ago, the band had a “stump the band night” where people from the audience would ask for different school songs and the band would try to play them – with most of the requests being college songs or the local high school songs. However, one person asked for one of the local elementary school songs. Bob Hoffman, a retired band teacher and trumpet player, said he knew the song and proceeded to play it. Then he said: “I wrote it”.
