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‘Concert Review’
By Ross Welcome
Community is a word that
is often times misconstrued.
This is because it has two
meanings: The traditional dic-
tionary meaning and the real
meaning. The dictionary
meaning lends itself to the
scientific explanatory ideal,
whereas the true meaning is
actually unidentifiably am-
biguous.
Yet when you attend a
choir and band concert at a
school, and see the faces and
hear the efforts of dedicated
students, you can sense, feel,
and differentiate the textbook
definition from the real defini-
tion of community.
Music is the key, the
chemical that separates the
catalyst from the result.
Thursday, May 8, at Illi-
nois Valley High School was
definitely an example of the
phenomenon I speak of.
T. Lund, IVHS band di-
rector, and IVHS students,
facing unprecedented odds,
pulled off one of the most
heart wrenching, enlightening
and entertaining community
efforts I have witnessed as a
third generation valley resi-
dent. Budget cuts, recent
tragedies and a serious, poten-
tially life-threatening illness
plaguing Lund, did not pre-
vent the show from going on.
The evening opened with
the concert choir. They
warmed up with a renaissance
canon, and then led the audi-
ence in the singing of the Star
Spangled Banner. Then they
performed “Sing for Joy” by
Handel. They performed
“Turn Around” and “Rock-n-
Roll Hall of Fame,” arranged
by Jerry Nowack, which was
one of the favorites of the au-
dience. “One Moment in
Time,” a song originally sung
by Whitney Houston, was an
emotional experience for
many. The choir finished its
part with “Lean on Me”.
Next was the concert
band, and let me tell you, the
IVHS band never sounded so
good; even when I attended
this high school as a music
student. There was some kind
of inspiring force causing the
music to just overwhelm the
audience with a kind of para-
doxical joyful melancholy.
I know I felt it, and as I
looked around, everyone else
seemed to be in a similar
trance. The band performed
several challenging and colle-
gic sounding tunes, with
marches as an apparent theme.
Among the pieces were
“The Florentiner,” Julius Fu-
cik, “March of the Irish
Guard,” “Morning Song,” and
“El Capitan” by John Phillip
Sousa. “Avatara” composed
by Mike Leckrone, the direc-
tor of bands at the University
of Wisconsin, was a pseudo
symphonic classical march
piece, which was the highlight
of the evening for the band’s
segment.
Lund, recently won the
“Mr. Holland’s Opus Award”
for band directors. One under-
stands why when witnessing
the positive influence this
awesome music teacher has on
his students. My hat’s off to
Lund, who put this concert
together while combating
budget cuts, bureaucratic red
tape, a debilitating treatment
for a very serious illness and
psychologically depressed
students and parents due to the
recent loss of a local music
student in a car accident. This
is the true meaning of commu-
nity.
I feel very fortunate and
honored to have been a mem-
ber of the audience on this
occasion, which proved how
important and valuable a mu-
sic program, led by a capable
instructor, can be in all aspects
of education.
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR Wednesday, May 21, 2003