Kathy and I were in Madison this past Thursday for the state teacher’s convention…. and although I enjoyed having lunch with my dad and Nathan, and Kathy attended a couple of fairly interesting presentations, there was no question that what made the trip worth it were the two magnificent performances that we attended.
The first one, which was at 8:30 that morning, was given by the Carthage Women’s Ensemble, which under the capable direction of Dr. Peter Dennee has become a truly splendid group. I had not heard the women’s ensemble yet this fall, so I was expecting a pleasant time- but in fact I was absolutely blown away. He put together a marvelous program that featured music in a plethora of different languages and styles, and many of the pieces were accompanied by the spectacular instrumentalists of Fifth House, a Chicago-based music ensemble that have been special artists-in-residence at Carthage for the last couple of years. I don’t have their program in front of me, but I know that there was a gorgeous setting of Emily Dickinson’s “Heart we will forget him” that gave me shivers…. a set of five songs for voices and string quartet, sung in Hebrew, by Eric Whitacre that were incredibly moving…. and a gorgeous setting of the text which opera fans know as The Song to the Moon from Dvorak’s Rusalka. Those were my favorites, but everything was beautiful – and wonderfully sung – and because Dr. Dennee asked that people hold their applause until the very end, it meant that we could completely immerse ourselves in the program and allow it to penetrate to the deepest depths of our souls. And when they finished the final piece and the audience began applauding, I found myself with tears in my eyes and a big lump in my throat- and with this warm sense of tremendous pride. (Not that I could take even a sliver of credit for what they had just done.) Maybe a better way to put it is that they made me so proud to say I Teach At Carthage College.
Then that afternoon, at 1:45, I emceed a performance by the Jazz Band of Washington Park High School in Racine, under the direction of Ed Bergles. This was a neat moment for our city because they were the first Racine Unified music ensemble to be invited to perform at the teacher’s convention in seventeen years. Ed asked me to take care of the emceeing so he wouldn’t have to worry about it- and just by taking that responsibility off of his shoulders, it would help him focus on what mattered most- and maybe allow him to enjoy it more as well. I heard them this past Tuesday night when they played the same program at Park, so I knew they were good- but in Madison they were on fire! They played with incredible energy but also did a great job of holding it together- and when they were all done, they were given a much-deserved standing ovation, complete with cheers! By the way, Ed made sure that I mentioned that Park High School is a gritty public high school, and 55% of the students qualify for reduced-priced lunch. He wanted that said because at conventions like this you so often hear ensembles from well-to-do school districts stocked with a certain kind of clientele – and Ed was exceedingly proud that this wonderful group came from a school district that is much rougher around the edges and contending with plenty of problems. When this kind of excellence emerges from that kind of school district, a celebration is definitely in order! Ed also had me explain how these young men and women gave up every afternoon of the last week of summer vacation for band practice- and half of the band members were also giving up their mornings for football, soccer or cross country practice. Talk about dedication! It made me proud to be from Racine, WI !
pictured above: the Park High School Jazz Band in the midst of their wonderful performance.