More
than 20 GHS alumni musicians will be back at Grandview High School to perform a once-in-a-generation 7 pm concert June 21st. Musicians will include a graduate who’s played piano for
Cirque du Soleil shows and lives in Montreal, Quebec, a GHS grad who teaches
percussion in Seoul, South Korea, to name a few. GHS graduates from 1989 to 2015 will travel
from two other countries and five states to perform in the free concert.
The event celebrates the rich legacy and
supports the future of the Grandview C-4 school district jazz program. The
public is encouraged to attend the concert.
The
GHS alumni musician “Big Band” will also perform for 200 Grandview school
district summer school students at 10 am, June 22 at Grandview Middle School
and at the Missouri Bandmaster's Convention at Port Arrowhead that night. The GHS
band directors over the last 30 years, Garry Anders, Bob Drummond and Danny
Watring, will be conducting the musical pieces.
Funds
raised through sponsorships of the program will help underwrite some of the
concert costs and will help send student musicians to jazz clinics and camps to
help continue the program’s excellence.
Grandview alumni musicians coming to make up the “Big
Band” include:
Anthony Cooperwood, 1989 Grandview graduate,
coming from Montreal, Quebec, will play piano.
Cooperwood has toured internationally as
keyboardist/backup conductor with Cirque du Soleil’s Dralion (8 years);
performed at Montreal Jazz Festival on keyboards and bass; performed on
trans-Atlantic cruises;
He has a BA Music & Piano
Performance (1993) and MA Education (1994) from Truman State; has taught
elementary & high school music, presents lectures annually at teacher’s
conference in Quebec.
DeAnthony Nelson, Jr., 2004 Grandview grad,
coming from Seoul, South Korea, will play drumset.
Nelson teaches drums and percussion at Korean Art
Conservatory in Seoul, serves as the music and sound director for Ruva Film,
and performs regularly as a session drummer for various K-pop artists. He
earned a BA, Pittsburg State University 2010.
The Grandview Alumni band directors are Garry Anders, who taught band at
Grandview High School from 1983-2007 and taught at Missouri Valley College; Bob Drummond who taught at GHS 1984 –
2000, and Danny Watring who has been
band director at Grandview from 1986 – 92 and 2006 to present. The directors
have won multiple awards and served in state and national leadership roles as
music educators. They have each directed college, community and church bands
outside of their high school band experiences.
Facts:
·
In
addition to Montreal, Quebec, and Seoul, South Korea, other alumni musicians
are coming from Los Angeles, Calif., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Bloomington, Ind.,
as well as Springfield, Mo., and the Kansas City region.
·
The
oldest musician is Anthony Cooperwood (GHS 1989) and the youngest graduated
from Grandview High School last month, Tim Ogutu on guitar.
·
Many
play music professionally; all continue to play music in some capacity.
·
The
directors have a total of 55 years teaching jazz and instrumental music at
Grandview.
·
Grandview
C-4 school district fields four competitive jazz bands – two high school and
two middle school bands, plus a jazz combo – making it unique among school
districts its size.
The
two high school and two middle school jazz bands consistently receive 1 rating
at festivals. Over the years, many students have qualified for all-state and
all-district jazz bands. Many Grandview grads continue to play in college jazz
bands and, as demonstrated with this alumni band, continue to play as jazz
professionals.
