FALL NEWSLETTER 2019 ALTOGETHER EXTRAORDINARY Dear Alumni and Friends, Writing this letter to you provides me the opportunity to reflect on the past four years as director of bands and take stock in the current state of the Illinois Bands. In so many ways, the time has gone very quickly. Beth and I have met so many new and dear friends, and we are both very grateful to be serving the University, College of Fine and Applied Arts, and School of Music as directors for the Illinois Bands. The Bands program is strong and healthy, serving hundreds of students from across the campus every day. We are extremely proud of a robust program that truly offers something for everyone. Illinois Bands continues to serve as a model for other university programs and remains an innovative leader in the areas of athletic bands, concert bands, music education, and graduate conducting pedagogy. None of this would be possible without the financial support of our alumni and friends. BANDS OFFICE You will read later in this newsletter about how your donations help us to thrive and provide extraordinary opportunities for our students. On behalf of all of our current and future PHONE 217-333-3025 students, THANK YOU! EMAIL For those concert band enthusiasts, I am very proud to announce that we have just completed [email protected] a major project I had delineated for the Sesquicentennial: an online searchable database that provides information about every available concert since the Bands program started 151 years STAY CONNECTED ago! As you might imagine, this was a monumental task that included the help of many people. Special thanks go to Joe Busuito, DMA ’18, and especially to Joe Clark, MM ’19, for seeing WEBSITE this project through to completion. The database can be accessed through the Illinois Bands www.bands.illinois.edu website, and we trust it will be a valuable tool for researchers and enthusiasts for years to come. FACEBOOK We are just now crossing the final “T”s and dotting the final “I”s on a new funding agreement University of Illinois Bands for the Illinois Athletic Bands. This document has been four years in the making, and provides a thorough and responsible look at the athletic bands’ finances. All stakeholders, including TWITTER @illinoisbands the Chancellor’s office, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, the School of Music, and our @marchingillini alumni, will continue to play important and increasing roles in the fiscal well-being of the Athletic Bands as we move into the future. My sincere thanks go to all who were involved in INSTAGRAM this thoughtful process. illinois_bands marchingillini We are very excited about the upcoming year. It will include many more concerts and terrific performances by all of our bands, including another “away game” trip for the Marching Illini. I heartily encourage you to return to campus for a game or concert and reconnect with your band program. As the video board proclaims before each MI performance in Memorial Stadium, what our students do is “Altogether Extraordinary.” Please read through this newsletter for much more information about your Illinois Bands. Sincerely, STEVE PETERSON Director of Bands ILLINOIS BANDS FACULTY & STAFF DR. STEPHEN G. PETERSON DIRECTOR OF BANDS As director of bands, Steve conducts the Wind Symphony, leads the graduate wind conducting program, teaches courses in wind literature and conducting, and guides all aspects of the bands program at the University of Illinois. DR. LINDA MOORHOUSE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, SCHOOL OF MUSIC SENIOR ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF BANDS In addition to her leadership role in the School of Music, Linda also serves as a valued member of the bands faculty where she teaches courses in instrumental conducting. DR. ELIZABETH B. PETERSON ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF BANDS Beth conducts the University of Illinois Wind Orchestra. She teaches courses in instrumental conducting and serves as the student teaching placement coordinator for the School of Music. PROFESSOR BARRY L. HOUSER ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF BANDS DIRECTOR OF THE MARCHING ILLINI Barry directs all aspects of the Athletic Bands program. In addition, he coordinates and co-conducts the Campus and University Bands and teaches courses in instrumental conducting and marching band techniques. DR. ANTHONY MESSINA ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC BANDS Anthony joined the bands faculty last fall with his primary responsibility being to assist with all aspects of the Athletic Bands program. In addition, he conducts the Hindsley Symphonic Band, manages social media, and teaches courses in instrumental conducting. AARON KAVELMAN PERCUSSION INSTRUCTOR PROPERTIES MANAGER Aaron joined the Illinois Bands as a full-time instructor and staff member in January. Aaron serves as instructor of the Marching Illini Drum Line, assists with “all things percussion” for all bands, manages the properties room and inventory, and supervises the properties staff. JOY MCCLAUGHERTY BUSINESS ADMIN ASSOCIATE Joy handles logistics for Illinois Bands events including the Illinois SuperState Concert Band Festival and the Illinois Band Conductors Symposium, and oversees concert program and website content and development. bands.illinois.edu | 2 Developing leaders for the future… the rich Illinois Bands tradition lives on! GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS FACULTY PAUL CARTER Lansdale, Pennsylvania & STAFF MM CONDUCTING LINDA MOORHOUSE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN BANDMASTERS ASSOCIATION MICHAEL CHAPA The Colony, Texas We are extremely proud to announce that Associate Director of MM SAXOPHONE PERFORMANCE the School of Music and Senior Associate Director of Bands Linda MI TEACHING ASSISTANT Moorhouse was recently elected, and is currently serving, as president of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. She is the second woman to serve as president which is GREAT for both the ABA and the University of Illinois. Dr. Moorhouse earned this REID LASLEY position due to her experience, leadership, organizational skills, Denver, Colorado musicianship, and national and international reputation as a talented MM BASS TROMBONE PERFORMANCE conductor and teacher. Congrats to Dr. Moorhouse! MI TEACHING ASSISTANT WELCOME AARON KAVELMAN, PERCUSSION INSTRUCTION DAVID LOFY AND PROPERTIES MANAGER Eau Claire, Wisconsin MME Aaron Kavelman is no stranger to Illinois Bands, having served as MI TEACHING ASSISTANT drumline instructor for the past four years. He has now joined us in a permanent full-time position, and we are extremely pleased! Aaron Kavelman is a percussion educator, clinician, performer, and composer. With twenty-two years of experience teaching private TIM LOMAN lessons and twenty years teaching percussion throughout Illinois Quicksburg, Virginia and Indiana band programs, Aaron brings a wealth of experience MM CONDUCTING and passion to all with whom he interacts. Aaron also has numerous compositional, recording, and arranging credits in a variety of musical settings. He has bachelor of music and master of music degrees in percussion performance from Illinois State University. He has finished his coursework on his doctor of musical arts in jazz performance with Professor Joel Spencer, along with a cognate in WILL SUGG North Indian classical music at the University of Illinois. Nashville, Tennessee DMA CONDUCTING With the addition of Dr. Anthony Messina last year and Aaron Kavelman this year to our permanent faculty/staff, the quality of the teaching in the Harding Band Building continues to grow. We are now well-positioned to offer the highest possible musical experiences for our students. Anthony has just completed his first PATRICIA VANEGAS RUIZ year as assistant director of Athletic Bands. His musicianship and Bogotá, Colombia bright personality have proven to be a great addition to our team. If DMA CONDUCTING you have not met Anthony, we hope you will be able to do so this year at Homecoming. Illinois Bands… leading into the future with a rich tradition and legacy. bands.illinois.edu | 3 ILLINOIS BANDS EVENTS ILLINOIS BANDS YEAR–LONG SESQUICENTENNIAL CELEBRATION A HUGE SUCCESS As you know, we have just completed our Sesquicentennial celebration. Illinois is the first state collegiate band program in the world to reach 150 years, and we did so with good style. We began our concert band reunion in June 2018, when over 125 concert band alumni were joined by conductors Tom Caneva, James Keene, Gary Smith, Ken Steinsultz, Beth Peterson, and Steve Peterson. A great time was had by all. October saw over 400 return for Homecoming (let’s keep that up!) where we shook Memorial Stadium with close to 800 musicians on the field! The Illinois Wind Symphony presented a highly acclaimed performance at the national conference of the College Band Directors National Association in Tempe, Arizona, where they had to change venues to accommodate the crowd of over 1,000 who came to hear this storied ensemble. Illinois Bands commissioned and premiered several new works throughout the year as part of our celebration. We ended our year-long celebration with a truly exceptional concert with the Canadian Brass, where we premiered a new work entitled “Quintessence,” written by Dana Wilson expressly for the Canadian Brass and the Illinois Wind Symphony, as the capstone to our year. It was an unprecedented and very busy year. Thanks to all who were able to participate in one or many of these events. Just because the party is over, doesn’t mean the fun is done! We hope you will continue to return home to campus for Illinois Bands events for years to come. bands.illinois.edu | 4 Developing leaders for the future… the rich Illinois Bands tradition lives on! ILLINOIS BANDS EVENTS ILLINOIS MARCHING BAND ILLINOIS SUPERSTATE CONCERT CHAMPIONSHIPS BAND FESTIVAL The Illinois Marching Band Championships provides participating Thirty-eight middle school/junior high and high school band marching bands with feedback from the activity’s finest ensembles joined us from around the state on May 3–4, 2019, adjudicators, relevant and educational evaluation rubrics, and the to participate in the SuperState Concert Band Fest.