The Flatbranch Four

Meet the Flatbranch Four

By Lora England of the Tribune's staff

Dressed in black, the four musicians lifted their instruments to their lips in preparation for the first note.

The quartet onstage New Year's Eve at Cherry Street Artisan looked like an ordinary chamber group, but for one thing: The instruments they wielded were all clarinets.

For an hour and a half - the duration of the downtown hangout's live-music lunch - the three men and one woman played for a full and attentive audience, some dining, others just listening.

The clarinets harmonized in a variety of musical genres, from classical to ragtime. The last quarter-hour alone led listeners through a melancholy "Over the Rainbow," then into a Dixieland version of the gospel tune "Just a Closer Walk With Thee" and finally Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer."

The players go by the name Flatbranch Four. Each is a member of the Columbia Community Band, which performs at community events throughout the year.

The Flatbranch Four had its origins early last year, when the simple desire to play more led the clarinet comrades to pursue playing together outside the community band.

"We like music," Darrell Hendon said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"We just wanted to play together," John Patterson added. "It's different than hearing yourself play with the whole band. Here, we hear every note we play."

There are about a dozen clarinetists in the community band, they said, and performing in a smaller ensemble helps musicians become more in tune with their own playing.

"It's very obvious where your part fits in the group," Eric Cooper said.

The Flatbranch Four gathers every week to rehearse but has played only a handful of gigs, the members said, including a celebration at the Columbia Public Library and a teachers association gathering. The latter is fitting: Patterson and Hendon are retired music educators, and the group's fourth member, Lecia Cecconi-Roberts has taught for Columbia Public Schools and at MU.

The four have known each other for some time, some longer than others. Hendon is the newest to the community band, with two years under his belt, while Cecconi-Roberts said she has played off and on for nine years.

But Patterson and Hendon's acquaintance goes back to their days as students at the University of Missouri-Columbia. And when Cooper was a student at Hickman High School in the 1980's, Patterson was his band director.

All four also play saxophone, and all took up music at a young age. They each play a B-flat soprano clarinet in their quartet performances, and Cecconi-Roberts also plays a bass clarinet.

Cecconi-Roberts is the relative newcomer to Columbia, having lived here since 1994. The Michigan native is moving away next week, however; her husband's job is taking her family to Southern California.

So who will take Cecconi-Roberts' place in the quartet? Will the Flatbranch Four become the Flatbranch Three?

That's a good question," she said, then called out to the others, "Who's replacing me after next week?"

The Men shrugged.

"The proper answer is, no one can replace Lecia," Cooper answered, laughing.