Ed Fitzgerald has been a middle school band director in the south and west suburbs of Chicago for 11 years. The last 7 years have been spent at Columbia Central School in Steger. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he earned his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University in Evanston.
Ed served on active duty for 5 years in the U.S. Navy as a trumpet instrumentalist. He performed in ceremonial bands, jazz ensembles, wind ensembles, brass quintets, and as a solo bugler as a member of the U.S. Naval Forces Europe Band in Naples, Italy and the U.S. Fleet Forces Band in Norfolk, Virginia. A highlight of his time in the Navy included 2 months aboard ship while deployed with a brass quintet to West Africa. He performed at embassies, schools, orphanages, and at hospitals while in port in Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, Gabon, and Liberia.
While at Columbia, Ed has continued to develop a band program that was already on the rise when he arrived in the spring of 2011. The band program added new offerings since he arrived at Columbia, including Pep Band, Percussion Ensemble, and a Drumline. The Wind Ensemble has competed successfully while participating in the IGSMA District VI Band Contest, earning a Division I rating in 5 of the last 6 years. The band earned a Division I rating at IGSMA State Band Contest in the spring of 2014 and in 2016. However, to him, it’s all about the students and their parents. “A band is in every respect a team, and without open lines of communication and a shared vision between the director, the students, and the parents, it will never be as good as it could be!”
Concert Band Director: Michael Bielecki
Snowfall (2017): Chris Bernatos (b. 1969) Christ Bernatos is an active composer, clinician, conductor, and high school band director at Mountain Lakes High School in new Jersey. His works have been featured at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Il. He has arranged for numerous schools, marching bands, and is published by seven different publishing companies. Snowfall is a lyrical work depicting both the peace and tranquility and the majestic character of watching snowfall. The few moments of intensity, or tension written into the work convey the sense of anticipation students may feel in the promise of a snowday.
Scenes from the Nutcracker (1892, arr. 2010) Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Arr. Mike Story (1956)
Tchaikovsky was one of the most famous Russian composers of the Romantic Period. His works include Symphonies, chamber music, concertos, and most famously, ballets. The classic fairy tale has become a staple of the Christmas season since the 1960s. The original tale, set on Christmas Eve, is a magical experience where the main character, Clara, is given a wooden nutcracker as a present. At midnight she experiences a transformation where she shrinks down to the size of the toys. Down here she encounters a battle between and army of mice and an army of gingerbread soldiers, lead by the injured nutcracker. She distracts the mouse-king so that the nutcracker can defeat him. They then venture off to the land of sweets where the meet the Sugar-Plum Fairy. A celebration of sweets from all of the world is thrown in honor of Clara's heroism and they fly off in a sleigh.
Symphonic Band Director: Michael Bielecki
Carol of the Bells (1982 arrangement): Arr. Chip Davis & Robert Longfield
After years of rejection from the rock industry, classically trained and Hi-Fi geek musician Chip Davis conceptualized a Christmas album in the early 1980s that broke from the traditional, religious-centric holiday albums commonly found throughout the music industry. Initially no record company would take on his "concept Christmas album." He formed his own record company and marketed the album himself. Manheim Steamroller, Chip Davis' group, has become the best selling Christmas artist of all time.
Carol of the Bells, or Ukrainian Bell Carol, as it is more commonly known in the United States, is actually based on a traditional, Ukrainian, folk-song which had nothing to do with Christmas. The original song, "Schedryk" describes a swallow entering a house in mid-winter bringing good fortune and telling of a fruitful harvest and healthy livestock in the coming spring. It was traditionally sung on New Year's Eve of the Julian Calendar, January 13, in small Ukrainian villages where carolers would go from house to house to wish their neighbors good fortune in New Year. After it's lyrics were modified by American composer, Peter Wilhousky, it has become ubiquitous with the Christmas season, gaining even greater popularity after its feature in John Hughes' classic, Home Alone.
The Manheim Steamroller version layers a rock sensibility onto this traditional choral work. The arrangement by Robert Longfield maintains all of the memorable additions Chip Davis added to the original work. It is both challenging and fun for every instrument group, but be sure to take note of our principal trumpet, LeeAndre Jones' exceptional handling of the easily recognizable solo parts. Salvation Is Created (1912): Pavel Tschesnokoff (1877-1944) Pavel Tchsesnokoff was a Russian composer best known for his sacred choral music. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory and conducted a variety of church choirs, but solidified his place in Russian music as the founder of the choral conducting program at the Moscow Conservatory and the last Choirmaster of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The church was destroyed in 1933 by order of Josef Stalin, during which time he banned all religious art forms.
Originally written in 1912 for six voices, "salvation is created" is a choral arrangement of a Kievan chant. Kievan is a slavic liturgical language still in use in some orthodox parishes. The original text, sung in Russian, translates into English as:
"Salvation is made in the midst of the earth. Oh, God, alleluia."
Bruce Houseknecht's arrangement for wind band brought this powerful work to the instrumental stage where it has become a cornerstone of the wind band repertoire. The work is consistently featured on state repertoire and festival lists. Houseknecht's arrangement has only recently been modified by another composer to accommodate younger ensembles with limited instrumentation.
Sleigh Ride (1948): A Christmas Festival (1950): Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)
American composer, conductor, and arranger Leroy Anderson is solely responsible for two of the holiday season’s most recognizable and most frequently performed pieces: Sleigh Ride and A Christmas Festival. After Studying at Harvard, Anderson began composing and arranging for the Boston Pops Orchestra before being drafted to the Army as an Intelligence Officer. After his service in the Army, Anderson’s relationship with the Boston Pops continued and in 1946 he began writing Sleigh Ride while summering with his family in Connecticut. Ironically he began writing during a heat wave. Although Anderson did not intend for his work to be associated with the holiday season, after it was premiered by the Boston Pops Orchestra in 1948, it was heard in almost every department store and continues to be one of the most popular works performed by bands and orchestras all over the world.
A Christmas Festival was premiered by the Boston Pops and is one of the most widely performed holiday medleys. Its popularity is a result of Anderson's inventive arranging and original countermelodies taking both secondary and primary roles throughout the work. The featured low-brass deliver an exceptionally aggressive countermelody towards the end of the work, which highlights the delicate touch the band has taken with a majority of the rest of the work.