(Above: Sheri Pyron plays Taps at noon in a Sunday ceremony at the Eugene Masonic Cemetery; photo by Paul Carter)
By Randi Bjornstad
French horn player Sheri Pyron stepped into the breach during Saturday’s and Sunday’s Memorial Day weekend commemorations at the Eugene Masonic Cemetery when a scheduled trumpeter was unable to appear.
Taps took on a more mellow sound than the usual rendition played on a trumpet, as Pyron played the poignanat tune on her flugelhorn, which she describes as “to a trumpet as a viola is to a violin.”
She said she got the “gig” because she is a recent addition to board of directors of the Eugene Masonic Cemetery Association, and when the trumpeter’s conflict arose, “I just thought, why not?” Pyron said.
She plays the Oregon Brass Society and the Eugene Symphonic Band.
Taps at noon on Memorial Day, May 28, continues in the cemetery’s Public Square — with the trumpeter — and include a guided tour of the cemetery’s burial plots of many of the city of Eugene’s most celebrated historical figures and their families.
The restored Egyptian Revival Hope Abbey Mausoleum will be open, featuring displays and refreshments of cake and coffee.
Access to the Eugene Masonic Cemetery is on University Street at either East 25th or East 26th avenues, with parking on nearby residential streets.
