I have started to write this several times, but each time I came up short. Against the backdrop of the words of Vince Clayton and Jerry Gatch and others who were close to Cope, I am left with personal notes that I wasnt sure how to express. I was never a good trumpet player, and I majored in voice, but my heart and soul were in the band program. There is a reason for that. When I got to Carolina in the Fall of 1991, I was a homesick 18 year old, and I needed a place to fit in. The old band hall there at Carolina and the Carolina Band became home away from home pretty quickly. My life revolved around the place. Looking back, I see how much I needed someone to believe in me at that point in life, and in January of my freshman year, Mr. Copenhaver made me one of the drum majors of the Carolina Band. It gave me access to a lot of time with him and his staff. I learned so much. Being drum major wasnt anything like the fantastic musical accomplishments of my peers, but it mattered to me. Even in our most difficult moment, the old man taught me that being a petulant child didnt have to be a career ending moment and that I still had a chance. It will seem silly to those who have done so much with their lives, but becoming the drum major of his band put wind in my sails. The confidence that I gained and the lessons I learned from being around him vaulted me into a life I could not have imagined. I really do believe that I succeeded in law school and beyond because of those days in his band there at Carolina. I was always somewhat ashamed though that I didnt continue in my music career, and I wondered what he thought. One day years ago I went down to the Carolina Band as I always do after games, and someone told me that Mr. Copenhaver was on the field and wanted to see me. I walked down to where he was, and we shook hands and he said, Matthew, Im proud of you. I dont know why he said that, but it caught me off guard, and I looked down at the field there in Williams Brice and said the only words that I could think of. Thank you, sir. ...and I think those words seem to fit best. For the standard you set, for the expectation that I could be more than I believed, for beautiful music, for wonderful memories, for great friends, for the old Carolina Band hall where I spent so many days, for letting me conduct the Carolina Band, for second chances, for teaching me and my friends so much, for that wonderful legacy we all got to be a part of...thank you sir. Merry Christmas.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 14:09:06 +0000
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