Members of the Lakeside Pride Music Ensembles joined their colleagues from 25 other states, the District of Columbia and five other countries to march as the Lesbian and Gay Band Association (LGBA) during Obama’s inauguration parade. The only LGBT group ever invited to perform at the ceremony, LGBA was chosen from among 2,800 bands, and had a massive presence of 215 people, second in number only to the Navy band.
The nine area musicians attending the event were: Erin Campbell, mellophone; Andrew Favreau, clarinet; Denise Montiel, percussion; Jessie Reuteler, mellophone; Dale Spaulding, euphonium; Brandon Strawn, trombone; Melissa Terrell, trumpet and assistant brass captain; Kent Watkins, flute; and Mark Wienand, euphonium and brass captain.
The four-song selection was an eclectic blend of the classic and contemporary, including the Broadway belter “Tonight” from gay composer Leonard Bernstein; pop hits “Give Me Everything (Tonight)” and “The Edge of Glory;” and a composition intertwining “Battle Hymn of the Republic” with the Shaker song “Simple Gifts.”
“Tonight” was timed to be the song LGBA played as it marched past the president and Vice President Biden, but by the time the group’s division of the parade had reached the viewing stand, “Tonight” had concluded, and the next song in the set was Lady Gaga’s “The Edge of Glory.”
Brandon Strawn laughed as he recounted, “[T]hat actually ended up being so much better because we were playing this super gay song and there was Barack, fist pumping in the air, and Biden had this smile from ear to ear. Both were clapping along, and it was this surreal moment I will never ever forget.”
By that point, the D.C. sun had set, and the band was marching into a flood of television production lights. Strawn described the scene as “ethereal. Moments like that just get ingrained in your memory forever, and I can’t wait to tell my kids that; that one of their daddies was in that inaugural parade for the first president who really stood up for us when he was in office.”
“It’s still so surreal, honestly,” said Melissa Terrell, who was on the side of the band that was closest to Obama. “As we’re marching past, I stopped playing for, like, 10 seconds and just looked over and realized that I am literally passing within 20 feet of our president, and that’s probably the closest I’ll ever get. We could see him clearly and he was clapping along to the music, which was amazing. And just knowing that I had the privilege to play for him, one of our most amazing presidents in my lifetime so far, it blows me away.”
Earlier in the day, Obama included two LGBT references in his inaugural address. “We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths—that all of us are created equal—is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall,” the president stated, referring to the locations that gave birth to the civil rights movements for women in 1848, African Americans in 1965, and LGBT peoples in 1969, respectively.
Obama would not speak in allusion the second time, clearly saying, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law—for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”
At the time of the speech, the LGBA band members were on their buses back from the Pentagon, where they, like all 28 civilian marching bands and other parade participants, had to undergo security procedures and be issued clearance badges.
“[W]hen he mentioned Stonewall the whole bus erupted,” Terrell remembered. Her bus was playing the speech over the speakers, while others were listening to it on NPR. When Obama mentioned LGBT equality, she said, “Our bus just went crazy. It was really an amazing experience just to hear that with a whole group of people who were looking for equal rights.”
Back home in Chicago, Lakeside Pride has begun rehearsals for its spring season, and Strawn is grateful to “have a place to continue my love of music and at the same time really feel part of a community, and [at the inauguration], being part of a national movement that is really just picking up steam like no other.”
“It’s a helluva time to be alive,” he told WCT. “Especially to be in Illinois.”
Some recommended video links:
LGBA band at the 2013 Inaugural Parade: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNXvkubqtjI.
LGBA at the 57th Inaugural Parade: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSC_F_7vseE.