Rice Majors took over as artistic director of the Mile High Freedom Band in September — a mere two months before the LGBT organization's big fall concert.

That may sound like a lot of time to some, but rehearsing and leading a 23-year-old, 50-member charitable orchestra — especially a volunteer one that only meets once a week — is tougher than it sounds.

"The biggest challenge for me is coming into a group like this and not knowing everybody's levels of musicianship and what kind of feedback to give to different people," said Majors, 38. "Some folks have been with this band for over 20 years, so they have a very strong sense of ownership. I'm brand new to them."

We talked to Majors in advance of the Freedom Band's "This American Music" silent auction and concert, which features the songs of Leonard Bernstein, John Williams and others, at the Broomfield Auditorium tonight.

Q:Do you feel like you're jumping into a hectic situation since the concert is so soon, or do you feel like you have a good handle on it?

A: A little bit of both. Part of the application process was to develop a concert idea for the fall, and I found it a little challenging to develop a program for a group whose strengths and weaknesses I didn't know yet. But by and large we're going with the program I proposed, with a few little tweaks. I feel really good about how far we've come.

Q:You moved here earlier this year from California and have conducted bands and singing groups there and in Oregon, New York and London. How does the Freedom Band stack up?

A: One thing this band has going for it is that it's a relatively balanced ensemble. A band has lots of different kinds of instruments, and this band is obviously targeting a certain demographic within the overall community. We have a couple straight people who play with the band, but overall it's sort of a subset of a subset — we're not just looking for a bassoon player but an LGBT bassoon player. Really, we're open to anyone joining, but having balance relies on serendipity. I think the group is really positioned well to grow as an ensemble and take on new challenges in terms of concert format and repertoire.

Q:When did you get into music?

A: My mom started me on piano lessons before I was in kindergarten, so I don't remember not having music in in my life. Most people don't remember learning how to read; I don't remember learning how to read music.

Q:Do you have a favorite song?

A: I don't know if I have an overall favorite, but the band is doing one of my favorite songs at this concert, and that's "All the Things You Are" by Jerome Kern. It's a really well-written piece of music and we have a really lush arrangement for the band that shows off all the different sections well.

Q:What's next for the band?

A: In reaching out to different parts of the community, we want to have a Halloween concert next year that's aimed at LGBT families, which is an underserved part of the community. A lot of (LGBT culture) is about the nightlife and various volunteer organizations, but we really want to create an event concert that's a matinee with a lot of singing and dancing and audience participation, one where LGBT parents can feel comfortable bringing the whole family.

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The Broomfield Auditorium will be filled with some familiar sounds on Saturday.

The Mile High Freedom Band will present "Celebrations and Meditations," a concert featuring swing band and concert band arrangements on diverse themes reflecting on American life, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert also will feature works from composers Aaron Copland, Francis McBeth, Alfred Reed and Howard Hanson and Frank Ticheli`s "American Elegy," in honor of the victims of the events at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.

"People will definitely recognize the songs, even if they don`t know them by name. They`ll have heard them in movies or other things associated with the time period," said Rice Majors, artistic director and conductor for the band.

The first half of the concert will be a performance from the full Mile High Freedom Band, and the second half will be an unveiling of the new 15-piece swing band, Freedom Swing, which will feature works by American jazz composers.

The Mile High Freedom Band, an all-volunteer organization, hosts two formal concerts per year, one in the fall and one in the spring. In addition, the band performs outdoor concerts during the year, including last month for the St. Patrick`s Day parade in Denver, where the group is located.

The band is looking forward to its return to Broomfield.

"We had a great audience the last time we played the Broomfield Auditorium in the fall. We weren`t sure what kind of turnout we`d get, but we drew a great audience," Majors said.

The band is a nonprofit organization serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Since it was started in 1984 by Bob Brown, the concert band has grown to 55 members. The band collaborates with other musical organizations throughout the Denver metropolitan area and is a member of an international organization the Lesbian and Gay Bands Association. According to its Web site, mhfb.org, the band "provides educational, cultural and social enrichment for members and its audience and makes a positive contribution to the community."

Members come from many backgrounds and musical abilities.

"We welcome anyone into the band, regardless of musical ability, as long as they are supportive of our mission statement, which is to raise GLBT awareness," said Brandon Lujan, president and six-year-member of the Mile High Freedom Band, who plays the clarinet, tenor saxophone and French horn.

This will be the band`s second performance with Majors as artistic director. Majors previously participated in three other organizations of the Lesbian and Gay Band Association, conducting the Rose City Gay Freedom Band in Portland, Ore., the San Francisco Gay/Lesbian Freedom Band and the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, both in San Francisco.

Roy Vestal, Andy Hemr, Juan Hernandez and Brandon Lujan wait for the Inaugural Parade to start

Four Denver-area musicians marched into history on January 20 in Washington, D.C., when they joined GLBT marching band members from around the country to participate in the Inaugural Day Parade. Brandon Lujan (mellophone), Andy Hemr (trombone), Juan Hernandez (flute) and Roy Vestal (trombone) of Denver's Mile High Freedom Band were lucky enough to secure parade slots when, for the first time in history, an openly GLBT marching-band contingent was invited to participate in the parade.

The Lesbian and Gay Band Association (LGBA), a national organization made up of GLBT marching bands from around the country, sent out an e-mail call for participants and asked people to apply on the LGBA Web site on a first-come-first-served basis. The immediate and overwhelming response crashed the server. The next day, the site was back up, asking people to apply by section, according to the type of instrument they played. Every section was full within minutes.

All band members had to make their own arrangements, and hotel costs were astronomical - if a room was available at all. Luckily, Hernandez had friends and relatives in the area who offered accommodations. The four men flew into Philadelphia on Saturday night and went to D.C. on Sunday for rehearsal. They had the music in advance and were able to practice the songs, but then they had to learn to work and play with all the other members who were there - 177 total participants from 26 states, ranging in age from early 20s to 70s. There were two rehearsals - one Sunday and one Monday - and then it was time for the big day.

Inaugural Day was icy cold in D.C., with below freezing temperatures and even colder wind chills - cold enough to make the slides on the trombones freeze up. The four men got up at 4 a.m. to catch the train into Virginia, where they had a big breakfast with other band members then boarded a bus to D.C., where they sat and waited on the bus for three hours, looking at the Pentagon. When they were allowed to leave the bus, they met with several detours through Secret Service checks, and they were instructed not to put their hands in their pockets or make any suspicious movements during the parade. After the checks, it was back on the bus for more waiting.

Finally, it was time to disembark, and the parade was underway. The cold kept some spectators away, and even the media had advised people to choose - the morning ceremony or the afternoon parade. But those in attendance were thrilled by the entire spectacle - and only one protestor with a bullhorn shouted out any anti-gay remarks.

The band played five songs - Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," "Brand New Day" from the musical The Wiz, Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'" and two John Philip Sousa marches, "Manhattan Beach" and "Washington Post," the latter of which was played as they passed the reviewing stand that contained President Obama, Vice President Biden and their wives. Did they see Obama? "We had to play," says Lujan. "And obviously you can't look at the same time because the Secret Service might think that's a threat, but out of the sides of our eyes, we were able to see them, and we did see both him and Michelle waving."

The whole experience was special, but each man had something that made it memorable for him.

"It's just exciting to be the first gay and lesbian contingent ever to march in the parade," says Lujan, "to do that for all your fellow brothers and sisters out there who don't get a chance to have their voices heard."

"Going off that, just that whole experience with being with everyone from all over the country," says Hernandez. "To participate in the same band with those who are in the same situation and just hearing their various stories as well, how they felt about being able to come out, what they sacrificed."

"I think the most memorable," says Vestal, "was the second day of rehearsal. They had a photographer there who took the picture of Bill Clinton doing the thumbs up to the band when they were playing on the sidelines during his first inaugural, and he was relating that, and he basically broke down in tears explaining what this meant to him, coming full circle and seeing it come to fruition."

"Playing in the parade for the first black president, which was a big thing in history, too, and for us to be able to be there is a big thing to me," says Hemr. "Being in that piece of history with the band, my friends and family, if you will - doing it together was a lot of fun."

originally published in OutFront Colorado, 2009