Grandview High School Alumni Jazz Band Members Reunite for “Once in a Generation Concert”

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.