GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - What do a cup, a typewriter, and spoons have in common?  The resounding answer from the Sutter Buttes Family Orchestra is, “They make music!”  The orchestra used its latest concert to demonstrate that music is all around us and can be created with things as different as a washboard, a blade of grass, and a jug.

The concert began as trumpet player Jonathan Quine played the conch shell, with David Townsend following up on the gong.  Carol Brown, orchestra conductor, explained that the conch shell was used by the Aztecs, and the gong goes back to the Bronze age.

The Johnson Grass Band played their energetic bluegrass music with Mark Johnson and John Paul Bowers on the banjo, Jenny Johnson on the fiddle, and Brad Nelson on the guitar.  They sang “Wagon Wheel (Rock Me Mama)” a song co-written by Bob Dylan.

Marysa Taylor, a music major at Chico State, sang “When I’m Gone,” the cup song made famous by the movie “Pitch Perfect.”  Dave Townsend accompanied her with the intricate cup rhythm.  Townsend also played the typewriter in the “Typewriter Concerto,” as the orchestra accompanied him.

Orchestra members took turns explaining the uniqueness of their instruments, from the whistle in the percussion section to the bassoon in the woodwind section.  Daniel Crispino, another music major at Chico State, demonstrated jazz and ukulele music.  

This is a concert Brown planned for the spring of 2020, and she patiently delayed it for two and half years.  She was eager to teach the audience that music can be made everywhere, with almost anything, and that music is beneficial to all of us.  

The orchestra used the concert to raise money for K-12 music programs in the Gridley school district.  They held a drawing for the opportunity to conduct the orchestra.  Scarlett Walton and Austin and Abby Patane won the chance to conduct the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean, and Dave Scott conducted the Star Wars theme.  The orchestra thanked the audience members, who were very generous in their donations.  The funds will be used by the GUSD music teachers for new marching drums.

The orchestra’s finale was “What’s Up at the Symphony,” a medley of songs used in the Bugs Bunny cartoons.  The orchestra invites all to participate–even beginners.  Musicians on string instruments are especially needed.  Please contact the orchestra at [email protected].

The annual Sutter Buttes Family Orchestra Christmas concert will be Friday, December 16 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Spruce Street.  The concert will be free and fun for all ages!