Brass band wives making music with husbands

Publication Date: 06/13/02

By ANN R. HARNEY
Staff Writer

When The Advocate Brass Band plays this weekend at the Great American Brass Band Festival, two relatively new members of the band will be playing.

Diana Foreman and Patti Powell are married to key members of the band, and though neither had played their band instruments for several years, history, experience, and, to some degree, necessity made them part of the band not long ago.

Diana and George Foreman, the director of the band, have a long history of making music together, back in high school in New Mexico, but Mrs. Foreman had not played her instrument, the clarinet, since they moved from Kansas to Kentucky 18 years ago. She has now played in five bands directed by her husband, if you count the recorder group she took part in at his first
teaching job.

Patti Powell and husband Vince DiMartino are more recent partners. They got married at the 1999 festival in the gazebo at the Boyle County Courthouse just before the Saturday night picnic began. In the band, they both play cornet. Both also play the trumpet. Powell had not played since 1975.

Both women struck bargains with their mates
Along the way, both women struck bargains with their mates to get back into music. Before Powell and DiMartino married, he gave her a trumpet, but she held off playing it. 

"I would start playing trumpet again, and we could
share a hobby," Powell said. "But he was going to
start playing golf. I held up my end of the bargain.
He's yet to play golf." She seemed to think that telling the story to a reporter might help. "I think if we have enough people bring it up, he may start playing."

The Foremans' agreement is of longer standing. It dates back to their college days. She had played in the high school band that her future husband conducted. When they got to college, the deal was struck. "I didn't want to play in the band, but he wanted me to. If I would play in the band, he would take ballroom dancing with me. That was in 1967, and he has yet to take ballroom dancing."

Nevertheless, the two women are active members of the band. Mrs. Foreman said she joined for a couple of reasons. She was always there when the band played -- there but not on the team. 

"I was beginning to feel like the coach's wife," she said. "But before I had that thought, I started to notice how nice the people in the band are. They're loyal to George, no matter how grouchy he gets, and they were incredibly supportive of me when I had cancer.

"I decided I needed to be part of the group." 

The band planned its trip to Trinidad. "When George told me there weren't enough clarinet players who could afford to go to Trinidad, I joined in the fall," she said.

Her husband has given her a new clarinet, although she played one belonging to Andy Alexander on the trip. 

Speaking of herself and Powell, she said, "We were spouses who were going on the trip anyway, so we had to carry our weight."

The two women joined the band in the fall. Powell
played in three concerts before their trip. "We left
Danville the day after Christmas and came back New Year's Day." 

Powell hasn't played at festival

But this will be the first Great American Brass Band Festival in which Powell has played. The band and the festival are special to her in several ways. The festival is on or near their wedding anniversary, and the couple are together, although he is first chair cornet and she sits in the last chair. 

It's also a family affair. DiMartino's son from a
previous marriage, Gabe, plays in the band. Powell's first band director, Bill Gravely, who taught in the Danville schools, is also a member of the band. 

"I've been in The Advocate band and I love it. I'm
using skills I haven't used in 26 years," said Powell.

While not a part of the band for many years, Mrs.
Foreman says attending band concerts helped.
"Listening to the band all these years made me a
better player because I know the music and the
patterns to follow." 

Powell thinks her old bandmates ought to join, too. "From my standpoint, there are a lot of people I went to high school with and they say they couldn't do that, but if I can do it, so can they. You're never too old to go back to what you did before, or you're never too old to learn something new."

There has been music throughout the Foremans' life together beginning in 1952. Some of Mrs. Foreman's family music was played at The Advocate Brass Band's first concert for a political rally. It was music played by her uncle, and early on she and George visited the uncle and aunt to play some of Uncle Roy Butterbaugh's old-time music.