Rehearsals were held Monday and Tuesday nights for brass players, woodwind players and percussionists who will be marching in the HONK! parade Sunday October 12. Charlie Keil led the rehearsals, teaching march beats and chants to the group. A collection of beats taken from samba, juju, and funga were rehearsed with chants like “We’re playing for peace and love,” “Peace and justice is the way we want to go,” “Peace is the way,” and “You HONK!” Dr. Keil got the instrumentalists ready for the two mile march outdoors, encouraging them to ad lib their own variations on the beats with lots of trilling and vibrato. He emphasized that the parade on Sunday is just a preparation for the long march, with the hope that a Somerville band will form with members who are committed year round to a musical collaboration.
