MUNICIPAL BAND
CONCERTS END SEASON AND MILLENNIUM WITH ‘EXTRAVAGANZA’ CONCERTS WITH FINAL
LABOR DAY CONCERTS
INCLUDING:
St. Joseph High School Marching Band
Color Guard with routines to opening and closing marches of the concert
Trombone solo by Gary Cooper,
Principal Trombonist of the Band
Featuring songs of Sammy Davis Jr.,
with Jeff Cramer, guest vocal soloist
Lakeshore Pom Pon Squad as special
intermission entertainment
Trumpet Solo by Craig Heitger,
Principal Trumpet of the Band
Trumpet Trio “Bugler’s Holiday” by
Leroy Anders performed by Craig Heitger, Jay Crouch, and Donny Wallenfang
Our National March “Stars and Stripes
Forever,” by John Philip Sousa
Dr. Moely, Director
of the St. Joseph Municipal Band indicated that the final concerts of the 2000
season are scheduled for Monday, September 4, Labor Day, at the John E. N.
Howard Band Shell. These last two
concerts represent their 13th set of double concerts performed both
at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., and according to calendar experts these concerts of
performances by the St. Joseph Municipal Band officially will end this
millennium and the year 2000.
The concert will feature the songs of Sammy Davis Jr., performed by Jeff Cramer, the trombone artistry of Gary Cooper, Principal trombonist of the band, the trumpet artistry of Craig Heitger, principal trumpet of the band, a star trumpet trio of the band. Other special guests of the final concerts are the St. Joseph High School Marching Band Color Guard, and the Lakeshore High school Pom Pon squad’s senior kick line.
Dr. Moely, said,
“It’s an especially festive way to end the season that features lot of variety,
something for everyone.”
JEFF CRAMER is from Osceola,Indiana, where
he is a senior at Bethel College majoring in vocal performance and music
education. He is President of the
Bethel concert and is involved in several other groups at Bethel. Jeff has been touring this summer with his
group called "Affinity" to churches around the Midwest. He has been involved in musical theatre,
holding the roles of Freddy in "My Fair Lady", and also Tony in
"West Side Story" at Bethel.
Jeff was a 1996 graduate Penn High School, and he is actively preparing
for his senior voice recital on Sept 16 at Bethel College.
GARY A, COOPER attended Lake Michigan
College, Indiana University of South Bend and the American Conservatory of
Music in Chicago. Cooper has played
with the Michigan Opera Orchestra as well as the South Bend, Kalamazoo and
Chicago Civic Symphonies and sang in the Chicago Symphony Chorus. He has performed as a soloist with
Southwestern Michigan Symphony, Elkhart Symphonies as well as the St Joseph
Municipal Band and sings in a chamber vocal group called Opus Nine. Cooper is Artist in Residence in the St.
Joseph and Lakeshore Pubic Schools. He
also teaches at the CARE Arts Center for the Salvation Army and teaches private
lessons. Cooper is an active clinician
and soloist in the Midwest region.
CRAIG HEITGER, soloist for today’s
concerts, received his Bachelor’s and Masters degrees in Trumpet Performance at
Indiana University, Bloomington and South Bend. His primary trumpet instructors were: William Adam, Bloomington,
Indiana; William Scarlett, of the Chicago Symphony. Mr. Heitger is principal trumpet of the Elkhart Symphony
Orchestra. He plays in area orchestras,
bands, churches, and has lead the Symphony Brass Quintet for nearly 30 years. Craig teaches private trumpet lessons for
Bethel College, Indiana University South Bend, St. Mary’s College and in
several public schools in the Michiana area.
He has enjoyed playing in this band for nearly 30 years and performed
with the band at the previous band shell site, before 1970.
THE TRUMPET TRIO consists of Craig Heitger, of South Bend, who is 1st
trumpet in the Elkhart Symphony and teaches privately in many schools in the
Michiana area. Jay Crouch is Director of Bands at Brandywine High School and has
performed and conducted throughout the Michigan area. Donny Wallenfang, formerly of St. Joseph, is finishing his music
degree at Western Michigan University.
THE LAKESHORE HIGH SCHOOL POM PON SQUAD,
coached by RUTH HINES, attended their summer camp program at Central
Michigan University. There were 15
teams competing. This squad received 3
firsts, two seconds a 1st place in their skills routine. The senior kick line received 2nd
place overall in competition. For the
past several years, the LHS Squad has been a part of our Labor Day
Program. We are pleased they can share
with us some of their exciting routines and the community can also look forward
to their award winning routines during the upcoming football, basketball and
soccer seasons.
THE ST. JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL COLOR GUARD
play an active role in the pageantry of the St. Joseph Marching Band, and will
appear for the first time at the John E. N. Howard Band Shell by preparing
special routines to two of Sousa most famous marches. The St. Joseph Color Guard instructor is Ryan Miller, and the
Director of Bands at St. Joseph High School is Steve Gruver.
“The St. Joseph High School Marching band’s
Color Guard will help make the final Municipal Band Concerts festive with
special drill routines they will perform during final season concerts
Monday. Their group was named
"Best Color Guard" at the Jenison, Rockford and Otsego marching band
competitions. Pictured above are:
Front row: (L to R)
Lia Dean
Jessica Nelson
(Captain)
Sarah Kroening
(ass't Captain)
Megan Hartwig
Middle row
Amanda Lechenet
Brittany Walker
Nicole McCandless
Kelly Karsten
Back Row
Alicia Shafer
Twila Sims
Anna Brayak
Angela Lewandoski
Becky Nespital
Mellisa Groenke
Another highlight of
the final concerts each year is the appearance of the Lakeshore Pom Pon Squad
under the leadership of Ruth Hines.
This year the squad performs
“I’m Holdin’ On,” featuring the Senior Kick Line including: Linsey
Burritt, Deanne Moss, Amy Sieroslawski, Nikki Tyler, Tori Woolery and
“Absolutely Everybody,” featuring the entire squad including: Jenny Bossley,
Linsey Burritt, Amy Carroll, Abby Greiffendorf, Abby Klug, Samantha McGough,
Deanne Moss, Angela Noffke, Lauren Olson, Juli Sieber, Amy Sieroslawski, Janelle
Totzke, Nikki Tyler, Tori Woolery, Stephanie Zmyslo.
Conductor Dr. Moely
said, “ In some ways this concert could be called a tribute to John Philip
Sousa concert style because: We begin and end the concert with his two most
widely known marches, “The Washington Post,” and “The Stars and Stripes
Forever,.” include a lot of variety, give the people a concert where there is
virtually something everyone will like, feature a singer with the band, feature
a trumpet, a trombone solo (this one was written by Arthur Pryor, one of the
top trombone soloists with the Sousa band) and include a classical
masterwork.
The opening march “The Washington Post,” was
born as a result of tremendous competition between the various newspapers in
the Washington D.C. area in the 1880's.
In a publicity effort the Washington Post organized an Amateur Author’s
Association and sponsored an essay contest for school children. The owners of the newspaper asked Sousa,
then leader of the Marine Band, to compose a march for the award ceremony. The ceremony was held on the Smithsonian
grounds on June 15, 1889. When Sousa
and the Marine Band played the march, it was enthusiastically received and within
days it became exceptionally popular in Washington. The march became identified with the popular dance at the time,
the two-step, and consequently became known throughout Europe and in some
European countries all two-steps were called “Washington posts.” To mark the unique festivity of the last
concerts of the season, Director Moely has invited the Color Guard of the St.
Joseph High School Marching band to perform a drill with the opening march and
the closing march of the concert.
The concert will
feature principal trombonist, Gary Cooper performing one of Arthur Pryor’s’ famous
solos, often featured with the Sousa band, “Thoughts of Love.” The concert then turns to a special
arrangement of the recently featured guest conductor of the band, Leonard
Meretta, former conductor of Bands at Western Michigan University. The band plays Mr. Meretta’s arrangement of
“Salvation is Created,” by Tschesnekof.
THE LAKESHORE HIGH SCHOOL POM PON SQUAD,
coached by RUTH HINES, attended their summer camp program at Central
Michigan University. There were 15
teams competing. This squad received 3
firsts, two seconds a 1st place in their skills routine. The senior kick line received 2nd
place overall in competition. For the
past several years, the LHS Squad has been a part of our Labor Day
Program. We are pleased they can share
with us some of their exciting routines and the community can also look forward
to their award winning routines during the upcoming football, basketball and
soccer seasons..
The concert will
also feature Craig Heitger, principal trumpet of the Municipal Band as he
performs “Cornucopia,” by Jack Hayes.
He will later be joined by Jay Crouch, Director of Bands at Brandywine
High School, and Donny Wallenfang, formerly of Benton Harbor, now living in
Kalamazoo, who is a trumpet major at Western Michigan University, will join
Craig Heitger in that most favorite of all trumpet trios, Leroy Anderson’s
“Buglers Holiday.”
The band will also
perform “Pines of the Appian Way.” Dr.
Moely indicates “it shows the band’s excellent musicianship and power featuring
all the sections of the band in a fantastic musical climax of the season”.
The concert then
concludes in regular traditions with Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever,”
with a special routine by the St. Joseph High School Marching Band’s Color
Guard.
Director Dr. Moely,
who with the concert concludes his 13th season as Director
indicated, “I don’t know how the seasons seem to be going faster and faster
from year to year. Perhaps it indicates
we’re all having fun--both the band and the wonderfully sensitive and
appreciate full audiences that we’re blessed with each year. We are excited to perform these last
concerts but are also sad that the season must come to a close. We certainly look forward to another
year.” Some of these sentiments are
shared as Dr. Moely speaks over the bands finale encore for the season playing
strains of Auld Lange Syne”
The Final Concerts of the season are all performed at the
John E. N. Howard Band Shell on the shores of Lake Michigan in downtown St.
Joseph.