Catholic education Part III: We're with the band.

With the future closing of Queen of Peace (QoP), St. Laurence High School (StL) will most likely be making some changes in its extracurricular activities. Activities that weren't offered at the all-male high school will see birth. I'll look at it from an activities director point of view, even a department head. I'm just offering my immediate thoughts of what could be developed.

Concert Band (class)

Recently StL's band director, PJ Henning, retired in the summer of 2015. With that swan song brought in a young band director - one who has done zero in developing both the program and membership enrollment of a once proud organization known on the Southwest Side of Chicago and 'burbs. Top musicians auditioned for All-District*, with a few earning All-State Honors. The past two years? Only a number participated at a local university festival band that I never heard of.

I see this story similar to the now very sad state of Chicagoland All-Catholic Band. All-Catholic Band, before I participated in it, was a festival that was well-run and very classy. You were proud to be part of it. Your parents were proud. College admissions probably knew about it as well. It was practically a mini All-District. The product was quite good once you factor in that only students from Catholic high schools were playing, unlike All-District where it pools from every school, be it public or private, large or small. Then the family that ran it decided to end a great story and handed it over to Vandercook College of Music. As with most changes in leadership the festival changed. When I participated you were practically guaranteed placement as long as you breathed in your audition tape. There were no live auditions this time around. Back in the mid 2000s All-Catholic musicians had to wear black and white. Now, you're just asked to dress your Sunday's best and given a bright blue shirt saying "All-Catholic" which was to be worn during the concert. Tacky. The concert is now held in a grey, depressing rehearsal room - a stark difference from the beautiful non-denominational chapel years before that housed the concert on the DePaul University campus. There's no pride in it. There's very little thought put into it.

Note: All-District has a quota where at least one (two?) student is chosen from each high school that auditioned -- the real talent lies in the middle and upper 2nd chairs and 1st chairs. Sorry back-end 2nd and 3rd chairs. If you play an instrument that doesn't have a hierarchy in sheet music (ex. tuba, bass clarinet), and make All-State, or are second or third in line at All-District, that's how your talent is judged in comparison. This means you're most likely a back-up to the musician who makes All-State. If he can't make the All-State festival for whatever reason expect a call to head down to Peoria. Congrats, you're an All-State musician.

Back to the band. With the "growth" of the school the current band director has some options for development. He can keep and refine the concert bands, keep it concert and symphonic, or add on a third competing ensemble - wind ensemble which would be the top concert band. Adding music theory class is a luxury and isn't necessary, though private lessons should be highly encouraged if not mandatory for every level of ensemble. Find a way to afford the weekly lesson, kids.

Get each ensemble to compete in State of the Art  and Midwest Music Festival. Forget solo & duo/trio contests - those are a waste of time. The real butter is getting the kids ready for clinical practice on their instrument. Life right after competitive marching was mainly focusing on those two festivals - excellence never took a rest until the end of April.

Season of clinical practice is Jan-April. Prepare once marching band season is over.

Competitive Marching Band (not a class but an activity)

Please bring back marching band. Please. If it ever comes back to life it'll be in the rebuilding stage. Have it compete down a class until it finds its legs.

Season is through early August to mid-November.

Jazz Band (not a class, but an activity)

I'm not sure if this is still offered, but if it isn't, offer it in conjunction with Brother Rice and Mother McAuley.  It was never competitive in nature and that's fine with me. Make it into an outlet for those interested in jazz music or those wanting to learn a second instrument.

I don't believe QoP had an orchestra, so unless there's a enough demand I'd say scrap it. Having an orchestra is a luxury; the band is not. Plus most high school orchestras sound like crap, even the top ensembles in each school.

Season is through Nov.-April.

Possible Additions

Winter Guard (activity)

This would be a fine training ground for the color guard, treating it as the "second" season for them. It just depends if a personnel or two can lead and develop it. Personnel should also help out with competitive marching band.

Season is through Jan-April.

Choral (activity)

I know QoP has a choral ensemble. Bring it to StL. Expand and develop it. Beginners Choir to Intermediate. If there are advance singers make it into an audition based ensemble like wind ensemble for concert setting. A more interesting thing is dividing the male and female singers into glee clubs, that is Men's Glee Club and Women's Glee Club.

Musicals and Plays

Have at least a winter musical and a spring, if not fall, play. Encourage those in band to play in the pit.

Regarding the possible additions

Staff are  needed to maintain this expansion. The sole band director at StL cannot do it alone (and I'm pretty sure he isn't even capable given his sorry ass efforts in the past two years). Either fire the bastard or put heavy pressure on him to change his ways. Hire the choral director of QoP. Hire an additional music director to help out the StL band director; make the current band director an associate.

You don't need a massive music/fine arts department to get a great, solid music education at the high school level. Just look at Marian Catholic. StL/QoP music "seasons" mirrored theirs. They focused on being the best at marching band in the fall then transitioned to competitive concert setting come winter/spring time. Two seasons. No winter percussion. No winter guard. No music theory class. They're the best. Oak Lawn? Argo? Reavis? Evergreen Park? Richards? What about them? Marian Catholic owns their music programs combined. StL once did as well. It was the band "that could." Now it's the band that can't.

Concerning parades - don't become a "parade band" like Marist, where all they do is march in parades. They weren't even good at it. There are two parades that are crucial and unique to the StL/QoP band: the first being Chicago's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the second being the infamous South Side Irish Day Parade held in the Beverly neighborhood. These are annual parades (SS Parade was reinstated in 2012 after a couple of years of hiatus) where StL/QoP was a staple.

Everything here are suggestions ...