Hazleton High School 1948 Yearbook (Hazleton, PA) - Full Access

JAMES GEFFERT My three years in the Hazleton Senior High School Band have shown me that the partic– ipant receives more from music than the non-participant realizes. Some students believe that a band member's aim upon entering the organization and leaving it three years later is an easy credit. The degree of advancement offered by a band is not understood by an individual who entertains such beliefs. An overture of accelerated rhythm or a heavy concert band arrange– ment \vith various and confusing tempos provides the indulgent with an in ight to finer musical aspirations. Music is our means of transition to nature. A love for the beauty of nature is in– fused into the band member by the rhythmic strains of "Waltz of the Flower." by Tschaikow– sky, while John Phillip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" sends a patriotic thrill to the listener through the musician. It has been said: "Travel broadens the mind." Figuratively speaking, my band work during the past three years has been my magic carpet for my travels around the world. Our rendition of "In a Persian Market" swept me through the bustling streets in a Persian City. I saw the jugglers put on their act; I heard the snake charmers playing their weird melodies; I saw beggars in the streets crying, "Alms! Alms!"; I saw royalty in the per:>on of the Queen enter the scene causing a hush to fall upon the market place. My band work carried me south of the border in "Caribbean Fantasy" where I saw the senoritas and caballeros dancing in the streets amid the beating of tom-toms and the clicking of castanets. In "Song of the South" I traveled through the "Old South" and heard the plantation slave singing the beautiful south– ern ballads for which they are noted. In this respect alone the fecundity of my band work would suffice. Does a band build character? The traits of character which develop from band work are innumerable. I firmly believe that the band possesses more potential character building out– lets than are offered in any other cia room in our school. Playing at football and basketball games, in parades, at community functions, in a concert, orin an assembly requires something more than intonation. The director must have confidence in his band personnel when he calls a practice. Thu , he feels assured that each member is dependable and co-operative. Care of school instruments requires responsibility. Solo appearances by a band member call for ini– tiative and self-reliance. To be a success in our band, one must possess tact in order to live each band period harmoniously with his fellow members. Responsibility, dependability, ini– tiative, tact, teamwork, and self-reliance are but a few of the traits derived from band work. To the school, the Hazleton High School Band means a group of musicians who will repre– sent the school in parades and at games. To the community, it means a group of sixty-five (65) unHormed persons available at any time to march in a parade or to play at some community function. To me, the Hazleton High School Band means an opportunity to obtain something more than the knowledge of academic subjects. It is a means of expressing my feeling in music, for there is a song for every mood. It is also a means of spurring onward my imagination, and it enables me to perceive what part my instrument plays in creating a beautiful melody. It is my means of happiness and relaxation- my scholastic Utopia. !18 70