Comments on: Ypsilanti Band and Choir Concert

By: Andrea Duval

Andrea Duval — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:17:22 +0000

Lorne was a great clarinetist and friend. I really enjoyed playing with him. Over the past 5 years I participated in 3 different bands with him (Ypsilanti Community Band, Ann Arbor Concert Band and Dexter Community Band) as well as in a small ensemble that plays occasionally.

I will miss Lorne, but I know he is playing perfect music in God’s band.

By: Jerry Robbins

Jerry Robbins — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:58:30 +0000

Lorne Kennedy represented perfection as a musician from a conductor’s point of view. He never missed a rehearsal or a concert and he was always punctual as well. Every piece was prepared ahead of time to perfection, whether that was on clarinet, saxophone, or flute. A very quiet man, he typically spoke in rehearsal only when he needed to ask a question about some aspect of interpretation. Yet he was friendly, highly cooperative, and concerned about the well-being of others. These highly desirable personal traits reflected themselves not only in his substantial music-making but in every other aspect of his life as well. We in the Ypsilanti Community Band–and the numerous other groups he played with–will miss his strong personal and musical influence on all of us.

By: Joe Burke

Joe Burke — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:04:32 +0000

It was my great luck to participate in two of the ten bands that Lorne played in- the Ypsilanti Community Band and Jon Reves’ Riverside Big Band. Lorne is the finest musician I’ve ever worked with. Put a piece of music in front of him and he would play it, by the third time, flawlessly. Never heard him complain. Only words he spoke were pleasant. As good a musician as he was, he was even a better person