1959 –
1969
The third decade of the Illinois Grade School Band Association saw much growth
and was unparalleled in the history of the group. The name of the association
was not only changed once but twice during this decade. Progress in the
instrumental education of young musicians was greater during this period of time
than at any other period.
In the spring of 1959, Cloyd Myers was still President, W. C. Edwards was in his
first term as Vice-President, and Frank Laurie continued to serve in the
capacity of Secretary- Treasurer. These three officers served the entire decade.
At the annual Executive Board meeting of the association in October of 1959
which was again held at the Hotel Kaskaskia, LaSalle, the following members
comprised the Board: District #1, Donald Langellier, Quincy; District #2, John
Thompson, Canton; District #3, Bill Douglas, Princeton; District #4, Walter
Kuebler, Sterling; District #5, Ed Jones, Plainfield; and District #6, Robert
Soukup, Libertyville.
At this meeting, W. C. Edwards was appointed chairman along with Cloyd Myers and
Frank Laurie to realign the Northern Division into eight districts instead of
the present six. The band movement was experiencing more growth, and the contest
sites were becoming very overcrowded. There was too much enrollment for only six
districts. Therefore, the Executive Board proposed that eight districts should
be formed in the Northern Division. The three men appointed for a year’s
project realized they really had their work cut out for them as they tried to
readjust the boundaries equally in population, member schools, and in contest
participation.
Another important decision voted at the Executive Board meeting and at the
general meeting on Sunday by the entire membership was to allow “On the Spot
Recording Co.” to record the organization contest at the district and state
levels and sell the disc recordings to the members of the bands. This was
approved with much enthusiasm as an educational tool by which the young
musicians would be able to hear their band’s performance at the contest. What
an advancement and breakthrough in the technology of recording. The records sold
like “hotcakes.”
Thala Rush, Lake Villa, and Art Johnson, Peoria, were appointed to work on a
revised solo list. The state sites for the contest year of 1960 were set up so
that all bands of a certain classification would be performing at the same site.
This method was to be used for, quite a few years.
As the fall meeting in October 1960, approached, the district realignment
committee was hard at work. In September they decided to meet and put all of
their ideas to work prior to the fall Executive Board meeting. This general get
together was held in the recreation room of the Edwards’ home in Park Ridge on
a Saturday afternoon late in September. Because we knew that there was going to
be a lot of work ahead on that afternoon, Wilma Edwards prepared a ham dinner so
everyone could literally work straight through with no interruptions. Frank
Laurie, Cloyd Myers, and I brought all of the proposals for redistricting to the
table. After much discussion and compromise, the existing six districts were
divided into eight districts equally. Everyone worked into the late evening
hours of Saturday. The proposal was presented and approved the next month by the
Executive Board, and then presented at the general meeting of the association on
Sunday and was approved. Districts 1, 2, and 4 would remain intact with the
present Districts #3, 5, and 6 being divided to make a total of eight districts,
which to this day remain the same. Temporary chairmen were named to District 3,
Leslie Requa, Rantoul; District 5, Bill Douglas, Princeton; District 6, Ed
Jones, Plainfield; District 7, W. C. Edwards, Glen Ellyn; and District 8, James
Ring, Gurnee. Districts 1, 2, and 4 would keep their respective chairmen.
A meeting for District 7 was held soon at the O’Neil Junior High School in
Downers Grove to elect a new permanent chairman for District 7. Gene Haney,
Downers Grove, was elected to this position.
Further business conducted at the 1960 fall meeting was the presence of a new
company, the West Shore Mfg. Co. of Kewaunee, Wisconsin, which wanted to bid for
our medal business. Gordon Thoreson, President, made the presentation. Up to
this time, the Robbins Co. of Chicago was the only supplier available for
awards. Gordon made a very fine presentation, with samples of his medals and
gave us a price per medal, which was far below Robbins’ price. West Shore Mfg.
Co. had already acquired the medal business of the Wisconsin School Music
Association. West Shore Mfg. Co. was then voted as the supplier of our awards
and, even to the present time, supplies the medals. The company changed its name
to Medalcraft Corp. and now is known as Medalcraft Mint. It was also decided to
put a white stripe in the middle of the blue or red ribbon for the district
contests so that it would differentiate from the solid colored ribbons used at
the state level. A decision was made that a small plaque be given to the bands
receiving a first rating at the state contest. Because the Vice-President’s
office was in charge of awards, W. C. Edwards personally took on the job of
designing the new plaque, which would be used at the State Band Contest in the
spring of 1961.
The 1961 fall state board meeting was held on Saturday commencing in the early
evening and adjourned at 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning with the general meeting
starting at 10:00 a.m. The new
Executive Board members were District 3, Don Filla, Dwight; District 4, Louis
DiIulio, Moline; District 6, Charles Ursitti, New Lenox; and District 7, John
Weaver, Sycamore. Several major items emerging from the fall meeting were that
the judge’s salary would be raised from $30 to $35 for the 1962 contests; the
association should form a recommended list of judges for the state contests; and
that the majority of the judges’ ratings would determine the final rating.
Bands receiving a I, II, and III from the judges would be given a final rating
of II, and if the judges rated a band I, I, and III, the final rating would be a
I. The Robbins Co. appeared before the board trying to regain the medal and
plaque business, but because of the fine service and lower prices, the West
Shore Mfg. Co. was once again awarded the business. President Myers was
appointed to revise the instructions to the judge’s sheet, which was to be
distributed to the district and state contest chairmen. The President would also
appoint a committee to study the reclassification of schools and report back in
1962. The meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m.
Trying to find a more centrally located area for the association’s 1962 fall
meeting, the Hotel Joliet, in Joliet was selected. The Executive Board met on
Saturday evening starting around 8:00 p.m. and ended on Sunday morning at 1:40
a.m. Louis Bartlett, Trewyn-Peoria, was the only new member representing
District 2 as its new chairman. At the general meeting, many resolutions coming
from the Executive Board were passed and adopted. John Weaver, District 7
Chairman, was given permission to appoint a committee of three to clarify the
snare drum contest sheets regarding the Rudimental and Straight systems of
drumming. Also passed was a rule that if a school district maintained more than
one band, each band’s classification shall be determined by the enrollment of
the parent school plus the schools that directly feed the parent school. It was
also approved that the center judge in the organization contests would be the
moderator to signal when the band should proceed to its next selection. The
major decision coming from the 1962 fall meeting was a motion made by Michael
Kmetz of Moline that the association accept string solos, ensembles, and
orchestras in the contest in the spring of 1963. The motion was seconded by
Lendell King of Pekin and passed. The name of the association was changed to the
Illinois Grade School Band and Orchestra Association. W. C. Edwards was
appointed to design a new medal for solos, ensembles, and organizations to
incorporate the theme of bands and orchestras. The meeting was adjourned at 5:10
p.m.
As the fall Executive Board meeting to be held at the Baker Hotel in St. Charles
on October 26, 1963, was approaching, it was certainly strange after so many
years to see the new stationery with its new heading of Illinois Grade School
Band and Orchestra Association. Don Langellier, District I’s new chairman, was
introduced to the board. As voted in the previous year, starting with this
meeting, two advisors were added to the Executive Board. The advisors were to be
school administrators who could give the perspective views of the school
administration towards the instrumental programs. The new advisors to the
association were Vance Hamann, Superintendent of the Western Community Unit
School in Buda, and Robert Thayer, Administrator of the Ashton School District.
This was a very positive and profitable approach to our discussions about the
association as the administrators’ point of view was received and welcomed.
Since the meeting started on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and all the introductions
were made, the first decision was to hold the state meeting next year in LaSalle
at the Holiday Inn, which would now be our state meeting site for many years.
During the membership meeting, the judges were voted an allowance of 10 cents
per mile, round trip, for their services. The Constitution was revised and
accepted. The association accepted the use of the Rudimental and Straight
systems of drumming, to be marked on students’ comment sheets accordingly, as
proposed by the committee of Chairman, John Weaver, Sycamore; Lafayette Wall,
Elmwood Park; and Tom Goodwin, New Lenox. It was decided that all wind choirs
should be limited to 12 members. Piano solos were voted into participation in
the association’s contests, another milestone in our history. It was suggested
that new comment sheets be printed for strings and piano solos. Merle Wegener,
Moline, was appointed to do the string comment sheets and John Weaver, Sycamore,
would take care of the piano sheets.
The year 1964 was a rather quiet year for the association. The new location at
the Holiday Inn in LaSalle was a pleasant change of surroundings and atmosphere.
This was a change from the older hotels to a delightful new inn, which was a
very pleasant and positive move. The
Executive Board meeting was still held on Saturday evening, ending in the wee
hours of Sunday morning and the Sunday meeting started after lunch. The starting
and ending times of the Executive Board’s meeting are mentioned because it is
interesting to see how everyone worked late into the early morning hours with
heavy deliberations on various amendments to the constitution and discussions on
many new ideas. The new board members were introduced. One new advisor, Walter
Kuebler, Administrator, Calumet City, and the two new district chairmen:
District 2, Don Seymour, Peoria; and District 3, Verrollton Shaul, Champaign,
were introduced.
Two very important decisions were made regarding the organization’s
activities. A code system for identification would be used on the schedules and
comment sheets of all solo and ensemble participants rather than the name of the
school so the judges would not know which schools the contestants were from; and
it was also decided a member of the Executive Board should be assigned by the
President to co-chair each state site and give the instructions to the judges.
In 1965, a special Executive Board meeting was held in May in Dixon for the
purpose of discussing the operation of the recent state contests and to get an
early start on revising the constitution. The fall board and general meeting
were held at their usual times in LaSalle. The new board members were
introduced: Advisor, Graydon Peterson, sycamore; District 2, had Louis Bartlett,
Peoria, returning once again as chairman; and District 8, James E. Ring, Gurnee.
There was no chairman for District 4 so District 3 would absorb all entries from
District 4 for one year. Frank Laurie had written a “State Contest Guide
Book” that was excellent in presenting all the mechanics and operation of the
contest. All members received this very informative book. Most all of the board
and general meetings were taken up with the business of revising and updating
the constitution. Ninety per cent of the resolutions and amendments to the
constitution were adopted. The general meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
The fall Executive Board meeting was held on a Saturday in October 1966, from
7:45 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. and again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The general meeting was
held on Monday at the Holiday Inn in LaSalle. Barbara Buehlman was introduced as
the new District 8 chairman, and the new advisor was John Albright of the Salt
Creek School Administration in Villa Park. It was decided to let District 6
introduce scales on a voluntary basis at the solo contest for one year with the
results of the addition of scales to the solo contest having no bearing on the
performers’ final rating. The results of this pilot program would be reported
back to the Executive Board next fall. For the state organization contest,
Peotone was selected as the state site for the pilot program of having one
judge, the center one, do his or her comments orally on tape. Results once again
were to be reported back to the members by next fall. It was decided to continue
with a board member co- chairing each state site, as the results were excellent
and made all the state sites run more uniformly. Once again a decision was
reached that would allow any of the judges of the organization contest to mark
down in rating any groups for their entrance and exit to the performing area.
The fall meeting in 1967 was held at the same place on Saturday and Sunday.
Another new advisor was introduced, James Perelli, Farmington. Also, the new
Chairman of District 3, was Robert E. Jorgensen, Urbana. The group raised the
judge’s salary to $40 and also would pay their overnight lodging provided they
travelled more than 75 miles one way to the contest. Frank Laurie suggested that
the organization should have an official “logo.” He developed the musical
note as the official “logo”, and it has appeared on all of the envelopes and
stationery ever since. It was voted that all final ratings must be made in ink.
The pilot experiment with the tape judging at the state site in Peotone was so
successful, that it was voted to have one tape judge at all the organization
state sites in 1968. The Vice-President would take over the duties of obtaining
the tapes and distributing them to all the state sites. The association
initially would pay the cost of the tapes. It was decided that the state contest
would be held on the last Saturday of April instead of the first Saturday of
May. Any negative comments made to the director by a judge would be given in a
separate enclosure and would not be written on the adjudication sheet. The
posting of all the organization ratings at the state contests shall be uniform
in that only the final Roman Numeral rating shall be posted and not the
individual ratings by the three judges. District #6 reported the results of
using scales in their solo contest in addition to the solo performance, but this
idea was not adopted for use by the association.
A monumental decision reached at the fall meeting was that “the
association would conduct only one solo and ensemble contest in the spring of
1968, and it would be conducted at the district level and organized by the
districts.” We now would have two organization contests at the district and
state level and only one solo and ensemble contest. This remains the same today.
Interesting statistics are listed below for the contest held at the state level
in the spring of 1967.
Northern Division
State Solo and Ensemble Entries
11,000
State Band and Orchestra Entries
105
Southern Division
State Solo and Ensemble Entries
8,900
State Band and Orchestra Entries
52
In the spring of 1968, the one solo and ensemble contest
conducted by each district was well received. The fall meeting of the Executive
Board in 1968 was held on October 3 at 1:15 p.m. and adjourned early Sunday
morning at 12:15. The general meeting on Sunday started at 10:00 a.m. and ended
at 3:00 p.m. The new advisor on the board was Milton Davis, and also Caryl Rae
Clinge, Moline, was the vocal representative at the meeting. Two new chairmen
were on the Executive Board: District 2, Lendall King, Pekin; and District 7,
William Knapp, DeKalb (NIU Lab School). Another major step in progress was taken
during this decade. Vocal organizations were voted into the association to
participate in the organization contest in the spring of 1969. This precipitated
giving the Illinois Grade School Band and Orchestra Association a new name: The
Illinois Grade School Music Association. Twice during this decade the
organization changed its name. This would be the permanent name for many years
to come. Due to the problems of getting judges to be the tape judges, the
Vice-President’s office made up demonstration tapes of four judges. This would
enable the tape adjudicator to have some guidelines to follow while doing the
taping procedures. This plan was done for several years. It was also decided to
let an instrumental player compete in his first and second band of his school if
he or she performed on two different instruments. The area around Rockford
involving District 4 should be all revamped and finalization taken by the people
involved.
This
ends one of the most active decades of the Illinois Grade School Music
Association.
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