Changing seasons, changing hats

Originally published May 25, 2011

As spring begins its slow crawl into summer (I'm not certain that today's temperature rose much above 50 degrees), most school bands and orchestras have presented their end-of-year concerts.  Music is being filed, uniforms collected, and equipment finding its way into storage to await the eager young musicians of the fall.  The Quad City Wind Ensemble completed its successful 25th anniversary season on May 1 and this conductor has had a brief hiatus from the podium...until last night.

In that quintessential Iowa film, Field of Dreams, Ray Cansella first hears the voice in the cornfield whispering, "If you build it, he will come."  Nothing could be more true than the meteoric rise of the Tri-State Wind Symphony, Dubuque's summer community band.  Now entering its seventeenth season, the ensemble already promises to be big, bold and maybe even sometimes beautiful.

A record number of players--at least 65--attended the first rehearsal last night, coming from all walks of life:  high school and college students, semi-professionals, skilled amateurs, and just a lot of people who love bands and band music.  As a local band director once told me, "You know that summer has arrived when the Tri-State Wind Symphony starts rehearsals.

As recently as three years ago, the ensemble was treading on pretty thin ice, as my departure from Loras College had serious ramifications for the group.  Gone was our rehearsal space, access to percussion equipment, and any semblance of a music library.  But thanks to the efforts of a very dedicated Board of Directors and particularly the inexhaustible Jean Cheever (the greatest grant writer of them all), the TSWS is today an autonomous and self-sufficient organization, with a new home (Westminster Church) its very own percussion instruments, and the vital support of local schools and musicians helping to supply us with music to play.

The band is now a member of the Association of Concert Bands, an organization of like-minded community-based wind groups across the country.  While we have yet to take full advantage of all of the benefits of membership, the biggest perk is our access to the organization's blanket performance licenses from ASCAP and BMI.  Obtaining these on our own (and these organizations of composers and publishers are quite insistent) would probably bankrupt the Wind Symphony, so the dues are well worth it.

I always anticipate each new season (and that first rehearsal) with a bit of trepidation.  What happens if no one shows up?  What happens if there are no drummers?  As of late, all of my fears have been put to rest and then some.  I guess we have a following in the community and beyond and it was a joy to see some of my own "children" there:  two of the players in the ensemble were members of my first Loras College bands some eighteen years ago.  Now as long as their children don't start to play, I'll be fine; not yet ready for "grandchildren" yet (although I am certainly old enough).

Concerts begin on Thursday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Eagle Point Park with an exciting program "Of Stage and Screen."  For more information, follow the band at www.tsws.org.  There is even a weekly conductor's blog there as well (I wonder who writes that?)

Aah!  Get rid of that gray beard!  Oh....I did.