Dr. "O" - An Unsung Hero
Today I received a very rich blessing! I was invited to come out to Broad River Correctional Center and hear the BRCC Band Concert under the direction of Dr. Dave Osterlund. Dr. "O" as he is called by the inmates, has done an amazing thing that not many people even know about. 17 months ago Dr. Osterlund started the first and only prison band in SC, and as far as we know, the only prison band in the nation. All of the band members were required to learn to read music and play in a recorder choir for 15 weeks. After that, they could choose an instrument to play. Enough instruments were donated to comprise a 16-piece band covering brass, woodwinds and percussion. Lexington Baptist gave a trombone, a baritone and a clarinet. Yes, they may have sounded a bit like the Mayberry Band, but most of these men have only been playing their instrument for 3,4, or 5 months! And several of them were actually quite good. I was just so amazed by what I was witnessing that I had