The Cleveland Wind Symphony sent a wave around the conference after their performance on Saturday afternoon. People who attended stopped me to congratulate me and the students. People who missed our performance, stopped me to tell me that they had heard that the band had performed really well. We as the musicians on the stage focus on the things we miss, or don’t quite attain, but the audience was truly moved by our performance giving us a standing ovation at the conclusion of our last piece.
I received the following Facebook post from Michael Burch-Pesses. He is the band director at Pacific University and the director of an Auditioned adult Wind Band called the Oregon Symphonic Band. He is also a former Director of Bands in the Navy.
“Dear Gary and the Cleveland HS Wind Symphony: What a stunning performance in every respect. So crisp and clean with everyone articulating together. So beautifully in tune and such lovely tone from every section. So emotional with attention to the rise and fall of the musical line. And very important, a wonderfully balanced program overall. I’m sure you know how blessed you are to have a conductor and teacher of Mr. Riler’s caliber. Gary, I’m so proud of the work you’ve done at Cleveland and so happy to be your colleague. Warmest congratulations to all!”
Paul Nickolas, who had worked with our group the Monday evening prior to our performance was also in attendance. He came up to me afterward grinning ear to ear to congratulate me and the band.
Although the students and parents of this program did not completely understand what this performance represented, I believe it became much clearer when we were on that stage. This was an amazing honor that only two HS bands received this year, and the Cleveland HS Wind Symphony absolutely proved that they deserved to be there.
Musically Yours,
Gary Riler