Playing with heart

By Jackie Majerus
The Bristol Brass and Wind Ensemble played a special memorial concert this evening for Allison Burritt, a woman who was part of their “band family,” said conductor Dave Carpenter.
Allison Burritt of Plainville, who died October 18 at age 54 of cancer, was the mother of four grown daughters, including Melissa Burritt, a flute and piccolo player in the band.
The band, which played everything from “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” to “Bolero” and “What a Wonderful World,” never sounded better, perhaps because of the feeling they put into their music tonight.
“They’re a nice bunch of people,” said Elton “Skip” Burritt, husband of Allison and a volunteer with the band.
Assistant director Niece Zabawa said the performance at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Stafford Avenue was important to the group.
Everyone in the all-volunteer band turned out Saturday evening to play except two members, Zabawa said. One of the two who couldn’t make it was getting married, and the other was in the wedding, Zabawa said.
Both Zabawa and Carpenter said it was especially meaningful for the players to reach out to a fellow band member and her family in this way. During the concert, Melissa Burritt had her usual place in the flute section.
Allison Burritt was a “nice lady,” said Carpenter.
The Burritt family is involved in the local music scene beyond the Bristol Brass and Wind Ensemble. Skip Burritt sings in the Plainville Choral Society and at area churches, including St. John’s, where he is a member.
Allison volunteered with the Plainville Choral Society and was a longtime member of the Fife and Drum Corps.
The Bristol band was planning a benefit concert at the church for the Burritt family, said Carpenter, to help with staggering medical expenses.
Tragically, Allison Burritt died before the concert.
“It became a memorial service,” said Carpenter.
The band opened with “America the Beautiful,” followed by “Shenandoah,” “Amazing Grace,” and ”Over the Rainbow.” They then performed “An American Elegy,” a tribute to the victims of the Columbine massacre, “A Trumpeter's Lullaby” with a solo by Carpenter and ended the first set with “What a Wonderful World.”
A shorter, second set followed, opened with “Balladaire,” followed by “Bolero,” “King's Mountain,” “Palladio,” and ending with “Variants on a Shaped Note.”
The Bristol Brass and Wind Ensemble will play a Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec. 16 at Prospect United Methodist Church on Federal Hill. The time isn’t set yet, but it’ll be mid-afternoon. Come early for a good seat, and bring a donation to help cover the costs of sheet music, rehearsal space and other expenses of this community band with a heart as big as a drum.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com