By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer
The Mayborn Museum was filled with the harmonious sounds of native flutes for over an hour on Wednesday as a Waco local put on a concert in honor of Native American Heritage Month.
Sandi Horton was invited by representatives from Baylor to perform a flute concert as part of the fifth annual Native American Heritage Month celebration at Mayborn Museum. She was joined by her friend Debbie Brock, who is also a Waco local and musician. The concert lasted just over an hour as members of the Waco community of all ages attended the performance.
“We just go and share music, and I’m constantly writing new songs. Every day. Every day when I go outside and do my outdoor time, I hear songs,” Horton said. “I just get all these ideas, and they percolate in my head and then I write them down. … I’ve got about 200 songs right now that I’ve performed that people like. They’ve gone in the notebook and more are being written.”
Horton said she has gotten to perform those 200 songs globally and has been able to experiment with new flutes and ideas by experiencing different surroundings. Horton and Brock have also performed in national competitions, even placing second in one of them.
“We just love to play. We love just creating music and being here, and we’re sharing our heart songs,” Horton said.
Horton said she and Brock have been friends for some time and have bonded over playing Native American flutes, even though neither of their musical backgrounds tied into playing the instrument.
“We were band directors when we first got out of music school, and we both played symphonies and directed and taught music,” Horton said. “Then she came to hear me play. She never played a native flute; she was a percussion player. She bought a flute and she started playing, so now she plays flute, too. Then we just started playing together.“
Petra Ashleman, a friend of Horton’s, said she remembers Horton’s transition as a musician to playing Native American flutes.
“I still remember when she would play her regular flute, and she’s now transitioned into the Native American flutes, and they’re beautiful,” Ashleman said. “I was really surprised what the difference was in the different tones of the different flutes. I’ve heard her play before, but I’ve never heard her play all the different ones before, and the differences in the sound — it was beautiful.”
Horton said the first time she had ever seen a native flute was when she was on her way to a church retreat and she stopped at a music store. She remembers spotting a flute and how it captivated her at first glance.
“I picked [the flute] up and went, ‘Oh, that’s a pretty sound,’ and I started moving my finger. It came with a CD and an instruction book for what to do. So I bought it … and it said to not play with the beat, just play what you see,” Horton said. “So it’s all just by feel and thought processing — and I just really like the instruments.”
