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Member Information
AHCB Hall of Fame
Judy Lord
- Flute
- Member 1986- 2020
- Hall of Fame Class of 2024
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Judy Lord was also a founding member of the band, in the flute section, created our music library and served as Band Librarian for over 30 years. Judy was part of the Spring 1986 Parkway band class, with her husband, Bob. (Rumor was that Judy started by wanting to sign the two of them up for a dance class, and Bob talked her into band instead.) The two of them hosted several meetings at their house to discuss the forming of an independent community band
Judy’s largest contribution to the band was in her 30+ years as the Band Librarian. A librarian by training, Judy understood that if the band were to own music spread out across 60+ band members, it had to have a system to track each piece. In keeping with the egalitarian / no auditions ground rules of the band, the founders didn’t want assigned “chairs”, so each member of a section would have the opportunity to be able to play a variety of part levels for each concert season (for instance, a mix of 1st/2nd/3rd parts). And that meant that each individual needed a unique set of music. So, not only did the library tracking system have to track scores, but it also had to track individual parts within each score as it was assigned to an individual player. Judy created the library tracking system that the band still uses to this day. Flutes, of course, were section #1, so Judy assigned herself Folio 1A.
Being the band librarian was a never-ending job, but Judy made it seem easy. In addition to producing a tracking system, and storing the scores not in current use, the Band Librarian touches every piece of every score we play. The job entails taking the list of music for the next season, typically 15 to 20 pieces, asking the "Section Moms" to assign individual parts to section members, then writing individual part assignments (in PENCIL of course!), in the corner of each part. The parts for each person were then collated, into a stack with a big paperclip on the corner. Judy would hand you a new stack of music as soon as you turned in your old music. Then she’d collect the turned-in music, sort each piece into score order, and store it in the file cabinets in the Lord’s basement. By that time, the next season would be upon us, and she’d start over again. Now 20 pieces * 3 seasons * 60+ musicians * 30 years? That means she, as a volunteer, handled over 108,000 individual parts.
Most of the work of the librarian was behind the scenes, which suited Judy just fine. But she had a public persona as well. She was passionate about the music library of the band. When she found parts missing from last season’s scores, she’d ask to check your music folder to see if it had gotten stuck behind another piece. Those checks were humorously called the “dreaded folio checks”, and Ron Pettus, in his Wolfgang von Crescendo persona, started referring to Judy as “Judith the Unjust”. Judy just laughed and kept going.
Judy was a quiet anchor of the flute section, usually sitting on the aisle to the conductor’s right (except for during our more formal Spring Concerts, when she liked to be more in the middle of the section). She was an active participant in the Ensemble Concerts as well, as a member of the Flute ensemble.
As one of our founding members, and for creating and performing the role of librarian for over 30 years, Judy was selected to join our Hall of Fame. As she reflected on her selection, she noted a sense of pride and accomplishment in her role in helping the Band come into being and thrive. Judy called out the many life-long friendships that were made in the band. She and Bob both marvel at what came of that decision to dust off flute and drumsticks and go to an Adult Ed class together.
