Spring Break
Wind symphony salutes veterans
JC Clark/ Staff Reporter
Issue date: 11/12/08 Section: News
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The EIU Wind Symphony and the Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School concert band honored Veteran's Day with the performance, which had about 150 attendees.
The PBL concert band opened the performance at 7:30 p.m. with its rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner." Timothy Hess, the PBL concert band's conductor, is an 11 year veteran of the Marines and currently spends his weekends as a staff sergeant in the Air National Guard.
Hess is not the only member of the armed forces associated with the PBL concert band, as seven of the students in the band have enlisted for military duty.
Hess, who stood proudly during the "Armed Forces Salute," shared his perspective on the word "hero."
"It's often said that veterans are heroes, but if you ask them, most will say 'no,'" Hess said. "The heroes are the ones who paid the ultimate price and didn't come home."
Following "The Star Spangled Banner," the PBL concert band performed "Mansions of the Lord," "Duty, Honor, Country" and "The Light Eternal."
After a brief intermission, the EIU Wind Symphony began its half of the performance with "American Salute," during which Barry L. Hauser, newly-hired Associate Director of Bands, made his conducting debut at Eastern.
Following Hauser's debut, Joshua Kumpula stood as a guest conductor for "American Overture for Band." A moment of silence followed the piece in honor of fallen veterans of war.
Dr. Milton Allen took the stage for the final two pieces of the concert. Allen not only conducts the EIU Wind Symphony, but also serves as the Director of Bands and as the instrumental division director for Eastern.
Although Allen has never served in the military, he holds a special place in his heart for Veteran's Day because his father and uncle were both veterans of foreign wars.
Allen expressed the pride he took in being able to commemorate the holiday.
"I think we get desensitized by the movies, but it means an enormous amount to me," Allen said. "It was a tremendous night of music-making, remembrance and honor."
Allen also said he was grateful for the level of support the concert received and how well the band performed, noting that they only had six focused rehearsals.
Senior trumpet player Tim Cocagne said the performance met or exceeded expectations, but he was mostly glad for the occasion.
"The veterans have done so much for us, and its kind of our way to show respect to the sacrifices they make," Cocagne said.
JC Clark can be reached at 581-7942 or jrclark2@eiu.edu.
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