Dear Members of the Green Valley Concert Band, Audience Members,Supporters and our Extended Community, On the night of my final concert conducting the Green Valley Concert Band there was a lovely event after the concert at the 19th Hole Restaurant in Green Valley. I did not adequately express my gratitude for my eighteen superb years of being the GVCB musical director and conductor. I tend to pull out all the stops preparing for every GVCB concert and afterwards, especially after this concert I was honestly at a loss of words and emotionally too supercharged to make any coherent speech. I write this document to give some perspective to my 18 years as GVCB musical director and give thanks to all band members, former board members and officers, audience participants and those who made financial contributions to keep our organization going strong. Thanks also to those who assisted in publicizing our concerts! I intend to make this document a summary of how I came to be conductor of the GVCB, some high points of our many concerts together, and bring some closure to my time with the band. How I Became The Green Valley Band Director One morning around 19 years ago I was checking out the choir room at St. Philip's In The Hills Church in Tucson for an upcoming concert with Sonora Winds, an organization I had founded at Pima College, then named The Evening Wind Symphony, with the goal of teaching myself to become a conductor. I had attended a Navy Service Band concert at Crowder Hall at the University Of Arizona as a young child with my mother. A friend of hers was the director. I thought to myself “I'd like to become a conductor some day!” At St. Philips I had a chance meeting with Tom Ervin, U. of A. trombone professor and Tucson Symphony colleague of mine. He said to me “The Green Valley Concert Band is looking for a conductor.” I said “Oh?” He said “They need someone to show them how to play their instruments better and interpret the music they perform.” I thought to myself “I could do that!” He gave me contact information and I set up an appointment for an interview the following Saturday. Being a father and a working musician busy performing and teaching all over Tucson I forgot to go to my interview on the following Saturday. When I realized my mistake I thought “That's the end of that!” I called the GVCB contact and he said “Come next Saturday!” I did and the committee gave me an interview. They wanted to come to the Sonora Winds concert and watch me in action. The concert at St. Philips was well attended because Eileen Perry, piano department head at Pima Community College, was performing Rhapsody In Blue by George Gershwin. She had a large following of loyal students and community members. Eileen had studied piano with Russian pianist Ozan Marsh at the University of Arizona, He was in a lineage of piano teachers dating back to Franz Liszt. Eileen had also been mentored by none other than Leonard Bernstein. Her father played 2nd trumpet in the New York Philharmonic which Bernstein directed and “Lenny” took a personal interest in Eileen. He assisted her piano instruction financially and she was able to attended the Chautauqua Music institute. It's interesting that Eileen's mother was in a Jewish club with Gershwin's grandmother! Eileen's performance Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue in our concert at St. Philip's and the music was flawless and the band's performance was excellent. I got the job as a one year fill in conductor for the GVCB. My reputation for working well with the musicians of Sonora Winds contributed to GVCB selecting me as their interim conductor. Two of my Pima College clarinet students, Emmy Lou Modrezewski and her daughter Julie performed both with Sonora Winds and the Green Valley Band and they most likely put in a good recommendation for me. At my 1st rehearsal with the GVCB we were preparing for an outdoor beginning of the year concert. I selected music including marches, a patriotic medley, orchestral transcriptions and concert band music. The trumpets in the band played so loudly at that first rehearsal that my ears were ringing all the way to Valencia road on my way home. A plethora of euphoniums, some of them front facing, were also too loud for my taste. The two clarinetists in the band and small group of woodwinds were not sufficient to balance the loud brass sounds. In the following rehearsals I worked on making the band a better sounding musical ensemble. Although I was tactful I'm sure I ruffled feathers of some band members. I was later told that the job of the president, a kind bassoon player Henry Use, was to keep band members from complaining directly to me. At that first outdoor concert the band played well and the audience was receptive. For the remainder of the concerts that first year the band improved musically and audiences appreciated the sound and blend of the band as well as the musical selections we were performing. Regular season concerts that first year were performed at Valley Presbyterian Church and at GVR's West Center. I was told that I was a one year substitute conductor for the woman who had led the band for several years. She was taking time off to become a nurse. I was delightfully surprised when the following August when I was contacted to be the director for another year because the permanent director wanted another year off. The band continued to grow, audience size increased and the word was out about the excellence of the band. Audience members continually commented about how the band sounded better at each concert. We moved our concerts to the Sahuarita High District Auditorium which allowed for larger audience attendance. My programming of diverse and interesting concert music added to the musical growth of the band and it's audience. Much to my surprise when the permanent conductor asked for a third year off she was told that I now was the GVCB conductor. An Overfull Auditorium Band President Tim Welch kept suggesting we fill the Sahuarita Auditorium which has a capacity of around 1,200 audience members. I enlisted the Sahuarita Elementary School Choir to sing the songs in The Sound Of Music with our band. Parents, grandparents, family friends and friends of friends attented that concert as well as our usual audience ranging from 700 to 900 in attendance. The auditorium was over flowing and many were unhappy they were unable to be seated! That was before Covid hit. We now have assigned seating which would have prevented that situation from happening. The children did sing well and the good news was that the program was a big hit! Success of the GVCB Inc. I attribute my success as GVCB conductor to several factors. I have viewed the band as a family which became my family. I believed in treating all band members with kindness and respect. I took my work seriously and put in the required time studying musical scores, preparing interesting concerts, writing memos to the band and drafting articles for the Green Valley News to assist in publicizing our concerts. Band managers Bill and Sue Krinke worked tirelessly with me to make the band a model organization. They are farmers who also were band directors in Minnesota and knew how hard work produced results. Many band presidents and officers assisted in the organization and improvement of managing the band. Regina Ford came with her camera for several years to our rehearsals and concerts. She promoted the band with her excellent pictures and interesting news stories. I'm thankful to GV News chief editor Dan Shearer and the late Ellen Sussman for their many years of support and a long history of excellent articles about the band, our mission and concerts. The Impact of Earl Raines Earl is an amazing individual. He survived racial prejudice in the south both as a child and in the 36th Army band at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. He wanted to learn music as a young child. He joined the Boy Scouts and learned to play their bugle. In senior high he bought a Wurlitzer trumpet for $98 and taught himself to play. As an adult he became a successful orchestral and choir director in Los Angeles leading a large choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church and directing the Angel City Symphony. Earl also worked for not for profit organizations . Earl Raines Money Raising Ventures Earl wanted to raise money to buy Peg Bowden our timpanist, a decent set of timpani. The band had a mismatched set that at best sounded clunky and thuddy. He constructed a giant thermometer and at each rehearsal delighted in raising the red marker to show fund raising progress. After the many thousands of dollars were raised and new state of the art timpani were purchased Earl wanted the band to become a 501-C3 organization so we could raise more money for instruments and expenses. Earl took care of the extensive work to enable our supporters to give money and receive a break on their taxes. The GVCB is now able to make substantial donations to area high school band programs, purchase instruments for students and provide scholarships for summer music study. A huge THANK YOU to Earl for your transformational efforts in improving out band. I wish to thank Helen Russo who contributes money each year to provide a scholarship for a deserving band student. She enjoys presenting her scholarship each year at our season ending concert. Helen and her late partner the late George Esterly love our band and enjoyed coming to our concerts. Helen writes articles for Green Valley News online magazine. NABUR. She has assisted in promoting our concerts in the past five years. Helen contributed an article this year to NABUR about the oldest and youngest band members: Earl Raines and Kaylee Justice, Costumes...And More! I'm often asked about my costumes and why I wear them. As a touring member of the Arizona Commission On The Arts I performed concerts for Arizona schools and communities. My school concerts featured me wearing a wig and cloak dressed as a Mozart era musician. I told the story of how the clarinet was developed from a mouthpiece placed on a recorder which became a predecessor of the clarinet. I demonstrated this instrument and its high and rather squeaky sound eliciting delightful laughter from my young audiences. I told the story of Mozart and played some of his music, marched around playing my clarinets and sometimes performed popular music. A favorite was always The Pink Panther Theme. After founding my Tucson band, Sonora Winds, I gradually began wearing hats then added costumes to accompany and illustrate something about specific pieces I had programmed. It was a natural extension to bring and expand my costuming to Green Valley. I was told that some people came to hear our music and others came to find out what I was going to wear. Most audiences loved the sound of our band AND my sometimes zany apparel! I believe my costumes brought a sense of comic relief to our concerts and assisted in relaxing myself, the audience and band. Addition of Young Band Directors After a few years area band directors began performing with the GVCB. Two of the first of these musician-educators, Ryan and Rusty Carle-Ogren, continue to perform with the GVCB. Ryan has become GVCB's assistant conductor. Rusty is a past president and has served as an advisor for our educational pursuits. The infusion of younger players into our membership has been a huge asset to our band. Currently a half dozen or more area music educators perform with us as well as many retired musicians and educators. Our band directors sometimes bring in their more proficient students to perform with the GVCB. A prime example are the percussion students at Sahuarita High. Ben Garland, our principal horn, is Sahuarita High band director and his percussion assistant Tom Crevenka adds his skilled and energetic students to our ranks to the delight of our audiences and band members. Memories Some of my best memories conducting the GVCB are from our concerts at the Nogales, Sonora Theater where we performed three concerts. Past and current band president Tim Welch along with our late timpanist and president Peg Bowden did the leg work to make these concerts possible. At the first concert the audience sang the “meows” to Leroy Anderson's Waltzing Cat proving music truly is an international language. At another concert one December I dressed in a Santa costume and many of the mothers had photo ops with me and their children after the concert. At the third concert a mariachi band from a local Nogales, Sonora music and arts school performed with us in musical arrangements I made. We provided lots of much needed positive cross border good will with our music. Unfortunately after that third concert the Mexican bus driver bypassed the DeConcini border exit where we were supposed to depart and went instead to the Mariposa port where we were not expected. The border patrol made all of us get off the bus late at night in the cold where we had to wait for an hour while they inspected our instrument cases for possible contraband! After that unfortunate snafu our members were not willing to play another concert in Mexico. Directing the GVCB has been the high point in my musical career which has included performing as a clarinetist and saxophonist with the Tucson Symphony for 51 years, many performances with the Tucson Pops Orchestra, Arizona Opera, Phoenix Symphony, playing in Tucson versions of Broadway Musicals and with the Carefree AZ Chamber Orchestra. I worked with youth and children at St. Mark's Presbyterian church for 30 years. My music education career included teaching at Pima College and Tucson Unified School District where I assisted in implementing the Opening Minds Through The Arts (OMA) educational model. Because I played in so many musical organizations in Tucson and taught music in several schools I sometimes was referred to as “Tucson's Musician.” I could most likely claim a similar title in the Green Valley area. Embarrassing Situations A few years back I went offstage to change my costume. We were performing an intense, difficult work about a disaster in the wild west. I came back on stage and gave a downbeat and realized I had the wrong score up on my stand! Somehow I waved my arms around and we got though that work with lots of help from my superb band musicians! After that Concertmaster Ryan Carle-Ogren made sure I had the correct score open BEFORE I came back to the podium! At another December concert the two Maria's from Nogales sang with the band. At the end of the concert they led the singing of Feliz Navidad. I stepped down off the podium and began dancing with them. I FELT MY PANTS SLIPPING DOWN! Fortunately for all of us I had other pants underneath...and I pulled them up before they slipped too far! Our Band I adore our GVCB musicians. I challenged them and myself with world class music which often proved to be technically demanding. Many times our seasoned band directors would question my and the band's ability to pull off some of these compositions in concert, especially in the last few rehearsals before the downbeat. I had faith: in my own abilities and those of the band's musicians who NEVER let me, the band or our audiences down. Our band members were ALWAYS thoroughly prepared. Being a musician myself and having played in many challenging concerts I acquired a huge bag of techniques to overcome musical difficulties. I shared my knowledge with the band on every occasion possible. Over the years I have performed under the batons of hundreds of conductors in symphony, opera, band and pops concerts giving me a wide variety of pedagogical techniques to draw upon. Concert Time! When it came to concert time for the GVCB I let go of any worries and enjoyed the rare kind of peak human experience that comes when I, the band and audience are on the same page. It's exhilarating creating, enjoying, performing and consuming some of the best band music on this planet. I am eternally grateful to all: band members, board of directors, past officers and support staff for their outstanding support and contributions. Kudos as well to our loyal audience members and countless supporters. Thank you ALL for this once in a life time opportunity I've had with one of the best musical organizations in America, the magnificent Green Valley Concert Band Inc. I give my full support to the incoming GVCB musical director Dr. Matthew Williams. I wish the band continued success and growth. I hope you ALL continue to support and uplift the band! Gratitude I and the band owe a huge amount of gratitude to our band managers Bill and Sue Krinke, librarians Leslye Hughes and the late Karl Krumel as well as many past presidents, band officers and board of directors personnel. Here is a list of our current past presidents: Tim Welch (current and past president), Marianne Checkovich, Chris Hohweiler, Rusty Carle-Ogren, Earl Raines, Peg Bowden, Lance Hoopes, Ray Soper and Henry Use. Thanks to Debbi Gurocak for sending out thank you's to our contributors and for excellent narration of so many concerts; to Suzanne Sparks for her current work as secretary and Ryan Carle-Ogren for being our treasurer for many years. Brad Savola is now treasurer. Kathy Creten takes care of hospitality and Pat Dent is historian. Steve Strange is Vice President and in line to be President when Tim's term is finished. Thank you Steve Schmidt for recording and producing our concert cd's for many years and to Chris Hohweiler for his recordings of the past few seasons. Matt Kane has kept our website up to date and Nancy Kane leads her crew taking tickets and seating guests at our concerts. Jack Stamp composed a wonderful band composition for me to direct at our final concert: Chapeaux. Thanks to Jack and the band for commissioning that work in which I was able to wear FIVE costumes in TWELVE minutes! More Thank Yous Thanks you to Savanna and Josie Kramer for your backstage costume managing and Carol West for putting up with at least 16 years of having my nose buried in scores seemingly 24/7 and dealing with my costumes and hats everywhere in the house. Green Valley News did outstanding work publicizing our last concert and documenting my retirement from the GVCB, as did Joel Foster from KGUN news. Guy Atchley has hosted KGVY interviews about our concerts for many years. Jack Stamp composed a wonderful band composition for me to direct at our final concert: Chapeaux. Future Plans My plans for the future: Utilize my clarinet skills and wardrobe to perform lively, entertaining and informative concerts. I'd enjoy guest conducting if I have the opportunity. I'm thinking of selling real estate to enable travel to other countries. I want to assist young musicians in our area and Mexico when possible. I enjoy singing in the choir and performing music at my church. I have music to compose, a book or two to write, lots to do at our home in Sahuarita and summer home in Eagar, AZ nestled at 7200' close to the foothills of Arizona's White Mountains. And then there's fishing possibilities! With sincerity and gratitude, John Snavely, Doctor of Musical Arts (fb)

Once again we have been featured on the KGUN 9 News! See how Ullas Instrument Fund is being put to good use in our community! (fb)