DGS Band Director: Program Has Achieved Triple Crown

The following was written by Craig Roselieb, band director at Downers Grove South, and submitted to Woodridge Patch by Deborah Kimminau. 

A few months ago, a fine arts department meeting was held in which the art and music teachers at South High were asked to write a “life sentence.” In other words, what one sentence might summarize what your life does to benefit other people? The personal sentence that I developed is as follows: “I do what I do so that music students will have the opportunity to enjoy being in the middle of the moment.”

I continued the process and offered my opinion on some additional life sentences: “the Mustang Band Boosters do what they do so that music students can be supported; parents do what they do so that music students can feel appreciated, and music students do what they do so that they can experience the joy of collaborative accomplishment.”

Success has come to the Downers Grove South High School band program in this past year at a measurably higher level. The students, parents, boosters and directors have achieved a kind of “musical triple crown,” in the major components of the program.

1) The Marching Mustangs have broken the finalist barrier at the ISU State Marching Band Championships last fall, and the Winter Guard has done the same in the MWCGC finals this spring.

2) The JazzEnsemble and Jazz Lab Band have repeatedly been named Honor Band at the Purdue Jazz Festival, and the Jazz Ensemble has achieved its own triple crown having been recognized as a finalist for a May performance at the Essentially Ellington Festival in New York, accepted for performance in December at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, and accepted for performance at the 2012 Illinois Music Education Conference in Peoria.

3) The Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony continue to achieve superior contest performance ratings at the Midwest Musical Festival in Lemont, and the Wind Ensemble has again been selected to perform at the U of I Superstate Band Festival, the premier Illinois State concert competition.

Why is this year different? A simple one word answer can be found as the reason; consistency.

The directors consistently provide musical vision, the boosters consistently provide their time and financial support, the parents consistently provide caring and loving appreciation, and the students consistently provide selfless commitment to their teams.

Along the journey to our collective mountaintop experiences, I’ve heard it said that our personalities are defined by what we do, and our character is defined by how we do it. As a director, I am completely overwhelmed by the quality of the character of each student, parent and director, and by the depth of personality that exists among all of us. Everyone is very special to the legacy of this school and I encourage all of us to remember and cherish this incredible view from the top.