Connecting a musical past

Generations combine in the pit orchestra for "The Pirates of Penzance."

For the better part of the last half-century, Mel Gilhaus would have been directing the pit orchestra for Cape Central's musicals.

Gilhaus started teaching band and orchestra at Central High School in 1964, restarting an orchestra program that Gilhaus said had nearly "fizzled out."

In fact, without Gilhaus' influence, the Cape Central orchestra might be markedly different today. Gilhaus was the inspiration for a young student named Steve Schaffner, who vowed to one day have the teacher's job.

"When I started teaching, Steve Schaffner was just a skinny little kid with glasses who looked a lot like John Denver," jokes Gilhaus.

Today, it's Schaffner who's directing Gilhaus. The old teacher is part of the pit orchestra, playing violin for Central's production of "The Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert and Sullivan.

And not only does Gilhaus get to play under his former pupil, he also gets the distinction of playing alongside two of his own grandsons -- Steven, a junior bassist, and Kyle, a sophomore violinist.

Bringing in "stringers" is a common practice for musicals, said Schaffner. They help solidify the orchestra and give the students a chance to learn from the old folks.

But rarely are there so many connections to the present and past in the high school's pit orchestra. Gilhaus is joined as a "stringer" by trombonist Dr. Dan Cotner, winner of the Cape Central Orchestra Award in 1940; trumpeter Barry Bernhardt, parent of a Central High student and director of bands at Southeast Missouri State University; Central orchestra alumnus Rhett Hendrickson on viola; and Central High parent Bob Pritchard, also on trumpet.

Even though the Gilhaus family has music coursing through its veins and Mel often plays in the pit orchestra for Central musicals, this performance is the first time Mel and his grandchildren have shared space in the pit.

Kyle Gilhaus will share a stand with his grandfather starting with tonight's performance.

"He helps me out a lot," said Kyle. "I've been playing with him for 10 years, and it influences me to do better when I sit next to him. It makes me comfortable."

Kyle takes lessons from grandpa on violin, so he's used to being evaluated by the old man. One day he hopes to take over grandpa's old job, probably when Shaffner retires.

"I guess you could call it a goal," he joked.

Steven plays bass, a new instrument for him. Playing in the pit for a musical is one of the best performance experiences, he said.

"It's just more exciting than just regular orchestra, because you have the tension of the performance coming up," said Steven.

Schaffner said seeing the older guys together with the students is a sight to behold, especially in the case of Cotner, a walking, talking history book.

"It's like grandpa and grandma digging out the scrapbooks," said Schaffner.

Cotner sits next to sophomore Betty Buhs, and has a historical connection to her family. The elder trombone player was an acquaintance of Buhs' great-grandfather Toby Foster, who played tuba for silent films at the old Broadway Theatre.

Playing in this pit orchestra is great fun for Cotner, who has a certain affinity, and weird coincidental connections, to Gilbert and Sullivan musicals.

Schaffner gets a novelty out of it, said Cotner, who also volunteers to play in the Notre Dame pit for musicals. "And I enjoy being with the kids."

He was in a Central-produced the Gilbert and Sullivan show "Trial by Jury" as an actor in 1940, and on a trip to Cornwall in 2000, his visit to an old English mansion was decorated with the sound of a Gilbert and Sullivan tune.

Buhs said sitting next to Cotner, she gets to hear a lot of history, as anyone who has ever talked to Cotner can understand.

"He has lots of great old stories, and he shares old stuff with me," said Buhs.

Among the old stuff are pictures of Buhs' great-grandfather in his musical heyday. But Buhs also learns from Cotner, picking up a few pointers on improvisation while sitting next to him, and enjoying a laugh now and then.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182