the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Band Directors Jeff Haas and John Luckenbill provided an overview at the Ridgewood Board of Education meeting on Monday night of the 100-year history of the Ridgewood High School Band Program. Highlights included various milestones: the first known band member, Dorothy Zimmerman, (Class of 1925), the first band performance at graduation (1935), the first performance of the Willow Club – the present-day Jazz Ensemble (1936), the first Tunes in June performance (1951), and the first Marching Band Championship (1980). In addition to many co-curricular opportunities available to students, educational travel opportunities are an integral component of the band program. RHS Senior Vera Witte spoke about the band program from the student’s perspective and the role it has played in her high school experience. Upcoming 100th Anniversary Events include the Spring Concert, Jazz in the Wood, and Tunes in June.
Click here to view the PDF of the presentation.
Click here to view the webcast and scroll to 11:10.
It’s worth celebrating this milestone of continuous high school-level band programs emanating from one brick building. It speaks well of Ridgewood that there should be this degree of educational inspiration and programmatic proliferation in the area of instrumental music performance across a full 100 years. The students have labored long throughout, and never forget the dedication, hard work, and, frankly, “extra” work that the band instructors do every day, year in, year out, to maintain the value of the RHS Bands program, and its ready availability to so many students for purposes of wholesome participation. Those same students from all generations past would all surely attest to not only their musical development, but also their intellectual, personal and moral development, having spent so much time in the presence of so many high quality people working toward a common goal. Good Job RHS!