10
community
may21
2015
Former VHS Student Composes, Conducts Vernonia Overture
A former Vernonia High School
student has composed a piece of orchestral
music, dedicated to the community of
Vernonia and his classmates at VHS.
Nate McCroskey-Izzett, a senior
at Mazama High School in Klamath Falls,
Oregon, directed the world premiere
performance of Vernonia Overture,
which he composed, at the Klamath Falls
Community Band concert on April 12,
2015. The composition was inspired
by the devastation and recovery that
the community experienced during and
following the December 3, 2007 flood.
McCroskey-Izzett is the son of
former Vernonia Band Instructor Rob
Izzett, who now teaches at Mazama High
School. Izzett led the Vernonia Band
when they won the State Championship
in 2012.
McCroskey-Izzett began com-
posing the musical piece while he was a
sophomore at Vernonia High School. He
and his family moved to Klaamth Falls
in 2013, and McCroskey-Izzett com-
pleted the seven minute composition as
his Senior Project. He worked with noted
American composer Robert Sheldon as
his mentor for the project. McCroskey-
Izzett and Sheldon became acquainted
following the flood when Shel-
don, the head of instrumental mu-
sic for Alfred Publishing, donated
sixty music titles to the Vernonia
School when he heard about the
devastation and the loss of Rob
Izzett’s music library in the flood.
Sheldon provided guidance and
instruction to McCroskey-Izzett
via email during the composition
of the piece.
McCroskey-Izzett was
a student in Vernonia when the
new school campus was opened
in 2012 and was inspired by the
resiliency and perseverance shown by
the residents of Vernonia in not giving
up and their willingness to invest in each
other and move forward.
Rob Izzett read the following
description of the music, penned by
McCroskey-Izzett, before introducing
his son, who then conducted the band
in the first ever performance of his
composition.
“In this piece you will notice it
starts out slowly, portraying the grandeur
and spectacular beauty I soaked in daily
riding along the winding and twisting
roads of the majestic, forested hills
Medley’s Custom Printing Opens
Medley’s Custom Printing celebrat-
ed their grand opening in Vernonia on Satur-
day, May 16th.
The business will be family run. Ed
Medley and his wife, from Mist, purchased
the former Kaptain’s Kraft operation, and
will run the business with the help of son
Tony and twin daughters Elaine and Elise
Farren and Elise’s husband Eli Farren. Eli
has twenty years’ experience in the screen
print business and says the business will
look to expand into embroidery shortly.
Elise, who also has experience in
where Vernonia is nestled. Tension and
chaos build as the storm rages and the
waters rise. From there it slows down
again and the town grieves as they view
the aftermath of the flood. From that note
springs the march like section,
wood block hammering out the
construction of the new building.
Defiance and determination are
depicted by the brass as they hint at
the school’s fight song. The march
section builds until it collates in a
massive fanfare symbolizing not
only the opening of the new school
but also the heroic perseverance
that made me so proud to be part of
that community.”
McCroskey-Izzett says he plans
to attend the University of Oregon
next year.
A video of the world premiere
performance of Vernonia Overture by the
Klamath Falls Community Band can be
found on YouTube by searching Vernonia
Overture; the video is titled “VTS 01 1.”
the screen printing industry, says the fam-
ily is looking to work closely with the com-
munity to meet their printing needs. She
says they are especially looking forward to
working with the school and hope to offer
internships or work training opportunities
for students.
The business already has their first
customers: the Vernonia Cheer Squad used
them to print tee shirts and were so pleased
with the product they volunteered to come
out and support the business during their
opening day celebration.
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