Page 64 - a-columbia-county-boys-recollections-and-memories-of-columbia-county-florida-(2012)-lenvil-h-dicks

A Columbia County Boy's Recollections and Memories of Columbia County Florida (2012) Lenvil H. Dicks

a medical doctor, was Joseph Dykes, who played tenor sax, and seemed to actually enjoy playing as
much as any student 1 ever had. Before he graduated, however, Joseph got interested in playing football,
and dropped out of band to play football, but I understand he has kept up his saxophone playing right on
afterward.

1 had 2 other brothers besides the Lawrence boys in the band, namely Brant Houston and his younger
brother Donald Ray Houston. Brant was an extremely good trumpet player, together with Mack Lane,
who also played trumpet and with Eddie Davis, Brant Houston, and Preston Pursley all 4 playing al the
same time, 1 had an extremely outstanding trumpet section. Brant Houston’s younger brother, Donald
Ray, was a very outstanding percussionist, and ended up playing the kettle drums in the concert band,
otherwise known as tympani, which are able to be tuned to notes of varying pitches, and Donald Ray
was most outstanding as a tympanist. He had an extremely good ear, and those kettle drums were
always in tune, even though the pitch of the drum had to be constantly changed during the playing of a
longer composition, and Donald Ray Houston for several years played the tympani in Alphonso Levy’s
performances of the Messiah at the Junior College. I have stated otherwise in this book those
performances were high professional quality. He is now a Pharmacist, who owns the DeSoto Pharmacy
in Lake City, where I get all my prescriptions.

1 am sure that I have left out a name or two that should have been included in this list of outstanding
High School Musicians at Columbia High, and I’m sure that after I have finished this book another
name or two will come to me, which should have been included. To those persons I apologize, since at
almost 84 my memory is probably not what it used to be.

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