美国国家公共电台 NPR--Memphis, Tenn., is home to the oldest high school band in the country

Memphis, Tenn., is home to the oldest high school band in the country

Transcript¹

The Christian² Brothers High School Band in Memphis turns 150 years old on Friday. It's the country's oldest continuously operating high school marching band.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Every year in Memphis, Tenn., a Saint Patrick's Day parade brings thousands of people to what's known as the birthplace of the blues³ - but not only the blues. Another musical legacy⁴ was born on Beale Street 150 years ago today, when a group of students played what would become a historic first gig. Here's Christopher Blank of WKNO.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CHRISTOPHER BLANK, BYLINE⁵: Every band kid in the world knows this sound - the rehearsal⁶ room. This one's at Christian Brothers High School in Memphis.

PATRICK BOLTON: We call it the Silver Cornet Band.

BLANK: Patrick Bolton runs the program.

BOLTON: And as you can notice, their instruments are period. We have cornets, we have alto horns.

BLANK: The period has a specific start date - March 17, 1873.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BLANK: On that day, a small group of students took their new instruments down to Beale Street and played this tune⁷, an old Irish song called "The Wearing Of The Green." And maybe it bestowed⁸ a dash of Irish luck, because 150 years later, the group is still around - the oldest high school band in the country.

BOLTON: Sometimes I'm up there and like, I can't believe we're doing this. This is amazing, you know?

BLANK: Bolton is the 10th consecutive⁹ band director across 15 decades and a Christian Brothers alum.

BOLTON: And the legacy is extremely helpful for my job because I'm like, you're part of this now.

BLANK: That legacy happens to intersect with another groundbreaking moment in American music - the birth of the blues.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BLANK: In 1912, a local bandleader, W.C. Handy, composed a tune based on music he heard while traveling through the Mississippi Delta¹⁰. The Memphis Blues changed band music forever. Last Saturday at Handy's shotgun house, now a museum on Beale Street, tour guide Oscar Robinson held court in front of young musicians from Christian Brothers, all wearing their dark-blue wool, 19th century band uniforms, which are nearly identical to one a young W.C. Handy wears in a nearby photo.

OSCAR ROBINSON: Anybody hear of a song called (singing) "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've" - you ever heard that song before? That was composed by W.C. Handy.

BLANK: There are more than a few blank stares in the room. Even the country's oldest high school band has a youthful memory. Though the group still keeps Handy's music in the repertoire¹¹ - time out of mind. Just outside the house, past and present collide in a sonic blur¹². Memphis' Saint Patrick's parade, a week early, has started. Modern drum lines flow into Elvis tributes.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T BE CRUEL")

ELVIS PRESLEY: (Singing) Don't be cruel...

BLANK: Lots of Elvis.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T BE CRUEL")

PRESLEY: (Singing) ...To a heart that's true.

BLANK: In the middle of all this, the Christian Brothers band members, like cornet player Justin Bowers¹³, embrace their antique look and sound.

JUSTIN BOWERS: You know, we just add to the experience, you know? Like, it's really entertaining, you know? We're just kind of adding to the whole experience. Like, over there, they're playing their hearts out. We got people over here singing their hearts out. And, you know, we're just adding on to that. You know, that's how it feels. We're just contributing to a good thing going on in Memphis.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

BLANK: And with that, they march once again into history. One hundred fifty years of high school band music is in the books, the luck of the Irish still at their backs.

For NPR News, I'm Christopher Blank in Memphis.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

4 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 rehearsal   

n.排练，排演；练习

参考例句：

• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
• You can sharpen your skills with rehearsal.排练可以让技巧更加纯熟。

7 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

8 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

9 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

10 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

11 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

12 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

13 bowers   

n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人

参考例句：

• If Mr Bowers is right, low government-bond yields could lose their appeal and equities could rebound. 如果鲍尔斯先生的预计是对的，那么低收益的国债将会失去吸引力同时股价将会反弹。 来自互联网