Musician Spotlight – Mary Jo Neher

How did your relationship with the horn begin?

I grew up in Anchorage Alaska and sang at a young age…band started in 5^th grade then and I was so excited to do more than just sing.  While every other kid wanted to play the saxophone I was dying to play the trumpet.  The day came where we had to choose and my band director (Mr. Donaldson) was smart and brought in a bunch of trumpet mouthpieces for us all to play on and try…I was so excited…until he asked me to stay after…he had me buzz on his horn mouthpiece, and sing, and match pitches on the piano…and then he said, “I don’t think you should play trumpet.”

I. Was. Devastated.  

“I think you should play horn.”

What? 

And that is how it began.  Mr. Donaldson was himself a horn player.  He said I ‘set up’ like a horn player when I tried the trumpet mouthpiece, he explained that to play the horn you had to have good relative pitch, and practice hard…the selling point to my single parent mom was that I could get a school horn for free…DONE.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Was there ever something other than music that you could have seen yourself pursuing as a career?

I think anyone who knows (or follows me online) would not be surprised to learn that I often think about a career in event planning. I love being creative. I write a blog about not only music but crafting, DIY’s and sewing. I love learning new things, creating content, and finding solutions to problems, all things needed to plan the perfect event, though I prefer to refer to them as “experiences”. We do not have parties at our house, we have whole experiences, we have transformed our basement into the “land of the dead” from Disney’s Coco to an ‘outer space experience’ recently to escape from being inside during quarantine! I love a good theme, so planning concerts and themed receptions is also a favorite pastime! I am looking forward to planning a “Rona Concert Experience as soon as we can have indoor concerts again.

How have you supported music?

When the pandemic first started, I felt helpless. The call for PPE for first responders was overwhelming. I have a strict “I don’t sew for people outside of my immediate family” rule, but with the need so great I set out to use as much of my fabric stash to make cloth face masks. I made and donated close to 200 masks to various front liner workers, nurses, police, etc. By June the need wasn’t as large and I was, quite frankly, burnt out. When late summer rolled around musicians were starting to toy with the idea of how we were going to be able to play in large groups and the terms, puppy pads, playable masks and bell covers started to be tested and thrown about. I was fortunate enough to be contracted to play in a few orchestras that were going to try and play with these new safety measures in place. We were given bell covers that were expertly made but clearly not designed by a horn player…since I have a passion for crafting I put my mind to work and came up with what I felt to be a more user and music friendly bell cover for horn. I made covers for the rest of the horn section, word got out and suddenly I was fielding more and more requests for WONDERcovers. Next was figuring out a playable mask…it took just over 7 prototypes to come up with the BRASShole (as in, ‘don’t be one…cover it’). My full line of musician PPE sort of took off and I have found myself once again breaking my rule of not sewing for people outside of my family! My masks, bell covers, and spit pads have been used across the United States and overseas! The New York Philharmonic, Grand Rapids Symphony & the Illinois Philharmonic are just some of the orchestras that have ordered my special musician PPE and numerous schools and colleges have been getting back to business thanks to them as well, including Northwestern University’s horn studio and Western Illinois University School of Music. When the New York Phil’s principal brass quintet was the first LIVE MUSIC performance back on NBC’s Today Show in December they wore BRASSholes and used my WONDERcovers. I cried watching knowing that I had a small part in bringing back LIVE music to so many people. I had many friends say I should put a big label on my products so anyone watching would know it was mine, but I love that what I am doing is “invisible”. I don’t want the public to notice the masks or bell covers or even the spit pads they are emptying onto, everything I make is black so it doesn’t stand out. I want the music to be what you “see” and I want the musician wearing my mask or using my cover to put it on and not think about it again. I am so proud that something I designed allows musicians to feel safe and allows them to get back to doing what they do best. The best compliment I get is that people forget they are even wearing a mask or playing with a cover on.

What would it be like if suddenly you couldn’t play anymore?

I think after last March we all pretty much know what it would be like if we could not play anymore. When the work went away, and then the ability to safely make music together in person went away…it felt like we “couldn’t” play anymore…and it quite simply did not feel right. I am a better person when I play my horn every day, and even better when I get to make music with colleagues and friends. I am a better mother, spouse and feel like I can contribute more fully to society when I get that time to make music. So…not playing for me just really isn’t an option.