| Don Francisco and Bill Clinton at West Point |
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| http://oocities.com/toot4jesus2002/ |
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| Hi, you are looking at the website of Don Francisco. Thank you for visiting my site. |
| (Published in The Washington Post on Sunday, March 17, 2002; Page W08) Don Francisco - Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, Fort Myer First Person Singular Sunday, March 17, 2002; Page W08 I'm a soldier and a musician. I play the flute for the Army, but if things got bad, I'd be called into battle. In Desert Storm, our trucks had already been painted that sand color. We were next up. But the airstrikes were effective, so it was over before we were called in. A few of us were a little disappointed. Once you're mentally prepared, it's hard to shift gears. I went to basic training. I was in an infantry band, learning the drills and digging ditches. I am glad I came up that way. When I hear people complain about doing phone duty or guard, because they're musicians, I'm like, "Man, I was out there sleeping under tents. We're in the Army, you know." In sixth grade, I wanted to play the drums, but my sister said, "Forget it, they're too loud." There were 12 of us, so I had to choose something quiet. The only instrument that came to mind was the flute. I caught a lot of ridicule and the "flutes are for sissies" comments. But it helped me build some character, and in high school at district and state competitions, guess who was sitting between all the pretty girls in the flute section? So the payback wasn't instant, but it just keeps coming. I don't remember our first official ceremony at the White House, but I do remember the feeling -- the "I better not mess this up" feeling. I'll never forget playing for Nelson Mandela. He'd just got out of jail. I was about 27 then, and I couldn't stop thinking that he'd been in jail my entire life. The Emperor of Japan, the president of Ireland, Boris Yeltsin, the King of Spain, the Queen of England, Colin Powell. I've played for three Miss Americas. I was on phone duty when they called and said that this Miss America was in the lunchroom. I was like, "I know her theme song." After I played it, she asked me to play "God Bless America," and she sang. Music's role in the military now is one of morale and discipline. It inspires and encourages. And it's about duty and discipline. The cadences. The bugle call. Graduations. Funerals. Imagine those without any music. No matter how much computerization and synthesizers can do, there's nothing like a military band -- all those people, in unison, working together. -- Interview by Amanda Temple (Published in The Washington Post on Sunday, March 17, 2002; Page W08) |
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| Look here to listen to me playing some of my different flutes (MP3 files): - Amazing Grace on Pan Pipes - Don's Tune - a short tune by me on a concert flute - Irish Washerwoman - on pennywhistle - Loch Lomond - on pennywhistle - Mari's Wedding - on fife - When the Saints - on C flute |
| Photo by Aretha White for The Washington Post |
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