The Jackson Area Community Band Spotlight member for December is Lori Nelson.
Lori has loved music her whole life. Her musical studies began when
she was in 4th grade, when her grandmother began teaching her to play the
piano. When she entered the 5th grade, she was eligible to start band and chose
to be a percussionist. She continued piano lessons until the end of her 7th
grade year, when she moved to another state, away from her grandmother. She
never again took formal lessons on piano, but continued to play because she
loved the instrument. The few years of piano lessons she took when she was
young laid the groundwork for all of her musical talent. When her grandmother
passed away in 2001, Lori received her grandmother's piano.
She continued to play percussion in band, even after moving to a new school, but
quickly tired of always being stuck on the bells because she was the only
percussionist in her new school who could read music and not simply rhythm. She
had *dabbled* in the French Horn when she was in 7th grade and enjoyed the
instrument. When she was a sophomore in high school, she was given the
opportunity to play the French Horn again. Lori has continued to play the
French Horn and feels that it's the most beautiful, warm sound within a musical
group.
Lori joined the 144th Illinois Army National Guard band, playing the French
Horn, the summer before her senior year in high school. She continued playing
with the 144th for nearly 4 years, all the while finishing high school and
starting college. While in college at Eastern Illinois University, Lori played
in the concert band and marching band for her entire college career. She earned
her Bachelor of Science in Psychology degree in December of 1999.
In September of 2003, Lori joined the 572nd Tennessee Air National Guard Band of
the Smoky Mountains. She continues to play French Horn in the Concert band of
the 572nd, plays Trumpet in the Jazz band of the 572nd, and is a vocalist in the
572nd's Rock 'n Country band, The Wild Blue Yonder. Lori played with the
Dyersburg Community Orchestra from January 2003 to June 2005. She is currently
playing with the Jackson Area Community Concert Band and the Lambuth Brass
Ensemble, and has been sitting in with the Jackson Youth Orchestra since August.
She is currently working at The STAR Center as a software sales and
documentation specialist. She is engaged to Gary Reeves, fellow Jackson Area
Community Concert Band member and Middle School Band Director at Milan Middle
School.