Yes, it looks like a grade school gym, but to the band it is the new
Tinley Park-Park District Center for the Performing Arts at Kirby School.

BAND ENDS 2006 WITH CONCERTS AT NEW VENUES

TINLEY PARK , IL - The Tinley Park “Arts Alive!” Community Band finished the calendar year 2006 with two special concerts.

First was the band's regularly scheduled Winter Concert along with the Arts Alive! Chorale at the Arts Alive! concert debut of Kirby School, located at 173rd Street and Ozark Avenue in Tinley Park. Kirby was recently closed by the local school district. The band's sponsor and Easter Seals are now using the former grade school to enhance their programs and it appears the band may, with some alterations, finally have a permanent concert home.

More significant was an evening performance on Monday, December 11 for an enthusiastic audience at Oak Forest Hospital, a long-term health care facility run by Cook County. Featuring selections from the Winter Concert along with some additional Christmas carols, this concert gave the band a chance to give back to the community and to share the Christmas spirit to those who do not have usually have the opportunity to experience live band music.

Thanks to the staff at Oak Forest Hospital, the band members who participated and to Terry Elliot for helping set up this special concert event.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

INAUGURAL PLATKO AWARD WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED IN 2007 TINLEY PARK, IL - The Band Board has determined that the winner of the Tinley Park Community Band's first-ever Stephen J. Platko Award, presented for outstanding service and dedication to the band, will be announced at a 2007 concert with the award's namesake in attendance.

Many worthy individuals were nominated for the Stephen J. Platko Award with all of the nominations providing excellent cases for their candidates.

Check the Schedule and the News sections of the band's website for the time and place the Platko Award will be presented.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

TP Band flutist and Bears fan Alice feeding the masses.

BAND THANKS EVERYONE FOR SUPPORT AT ANNUAL SPAGHETTI DINNER TINLEY PARK, IL - The Tinley Park Community Band thanks everyone for their support at their Ninth Annual Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser, held Sunday, November 5 at VFW Bremen Post 2791 in Tinley Park, Illinois. A big thank you goes to VFW Bremen Post 2791 for their facility and staff and also to all of the musical performers and the band members who solicited raffle prizes, cooked, served and cleaned.

The band also thanks all of the businesses that donated food and raffle prizes:

Big thanks also go out to our performers, including our own Clarinet Choir, Sax in the Suburbs and the Arts Alive! Jazz Band.

The photos from this year's fundraiser have been cleared by the authorities and are posted here.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

NEW BAND PRESIDENT TAKES A “STAND”

TINLEY PARK, IL - New band president Carolyn Schmidt and her husband Russ helped address one of the band's “long-standing” problems by repairing and painting many of the band's remaining music stands.

The band board had authorized the purchase of new music stands earlier this year, and the band is currently waiting for action to be taken by the band's sponsor.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

BAND MEETING PLACE TO BE RAZED

TINLEY PARK, IL - Teehan's Tap, the traditional post-rehearsal meeting place of the Tinley Park Community Band since the band's founding in 1987, will be razed as part of a village-subsidized multi-million dollar redevelopment project.

Although too late to change anything, the Good-bye Teehan's page on the band's website has attracted attention. The band received this E-mail from literally the other side of the world:

“We are one of the few families of Teehans in New Zealand and my parents visited this bar on a trip to the USA years ago. My father is 83 and still proudly told everyone about the bar. Sorry to see the end of an era.

Regards
Viv Morgan (nee Teehan)”

A search for a new post-rehearsal meeting place is currently underway.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

Coming or going, the Tinley Park “Arts Alive!” Community Band looks impressive
as they battle the cultural prejudices of suburban America.

BAND ROLLS IN VILLAGE'S ANNUAL FINE ARTS FESTIVAL

TINLEY PARK, IL - Thanks to the tenacity and courage by a core group of its members, the Tinley Park Community Band made their annual appearance in the Tinley Park Autumn Fine Arts Festival Parade on Sunday, September 10. Despite the threatening skies and an unknown transportation situation, fifteen of the band's best were led by director Brendan Koch on a 1.25 mile trek up Tinley Park's Oak Park Avenue, alternating between “Vehicle” by The Ides of March and Chicago's “25 or 6 to 4.”

The heroic band members included:

In a move of surprising munificence, the band's sponsor was able to secure a float which the band decorated in a “minimalist prairie revival” style in keeping with the parade theme of “Arts in Motion.”

Thanks to the band members who participated as well as the citizens of Tinley Park for coming out and supporting the band during the parade.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

BAND SURVIVES BUSY SPRING/SUMMER CONCERT SEASON

TINLEY PARK, IL - The Tinley Park “Arts Alive!” Community Band has completed their busy spring and summer schedule, including several debut appearances.

• First, the band's Spring season concluded with a Tinley Park-Park District-sponsored concert on Sunday, May 7 at Prairie View Middle School in Tinley Park.
  
  
• On Sunday, May 21, the Jazz Band bid auf wiedersehn to our guests from Tinley Park's sister city of Büdingen, Germany.
  
  
• On Thursday, May 25, the Concert Band made a special appearance at the commencement ceremonies for St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois. The Catholic high school is the “day job” of band director Brendan Koch.
  
  
• The Tinley Park-Park District's summer concert season at the Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center's band shell started with an appearance by the Concert Band on Sunday, June 11 at 6 PM.
  
  
• The Concert Band made their final outdoor appearance of the year at Bicentennial Park in Joliet on Thursday, June 22.
  
  
• The Jazz Band took over for the rest of Summer, starting with a concert on Sunday, June 25 in New Lenox at their fantastic new performance pavilion.
  
  
• The Jazz Band finished the summer schedule with a debut performance in Evergreen Park on Sunday, August 6 and at a well-received performance at the Tinley Park-Park District's Bettenhausen Recreation Center's outdoor performance area on Sunday, August 20.

Thanks to all of our friends and families for coming out and supporting the band.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

BAND APPEARS IN 17TH ANNUAL “CAVALCADE”

SUMMIT, IL - The West Suburban Concert Band in association with the Tinley Park “Arts Alive!” Community Band presented the 17th annual Cavalcade of Bands at Argo Community High School on Saturday night, March 25.

The four bands appearing were:

• The Argo Community High School Band, conducted by Bob Good
• The Southwest Community Concert Band, conducted by Ray Florenza
• The West Suburban Band, conducted by Henry Hiorns
• and The Tinley Park Community Band, conducted by Brendan Koch

Each band performed separately and all four groups combined for The Star-Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful and The Starts and Stripes Forever.

A CD of the 2006 Cavalcade of Bands, featuring complete performances by all four groups and of all the combined numbers, was produced and there are limited quantities available at $18 for a two-CD set. E-mail us at artsaliveband@yahoo.com to find out how you can get a copy.

The Tinley Park “Arts Alive!” Community Band's part of the program can be found in our on-line music library.

The Cavalcade also marked the return of clarinetist Jenny Ketchmark after her November automobile accident. With her return, Terry Elliot's return and a couple of Lynn Hojnacki's students, the clarinet section is back at full strength, although they are under strict orders to avoid future vehicular incidents.

Thanks to all of the participating bands, Argo Community High School, the Argo Music Parents and everyone who came out to support us at this year's Cavalcade.

The Tinley Park Community Band wishes to thank their sponsor, the Tinley Park-Park District, for graciously allowing the band (and others) to use their own equipment at the Cavalcade.

Also a special thanks goes to Pam Pytko for her tireless efforts in organizing this event.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

BAND WEBMASTER NAMED
TIME MAGAZINE “PERSON OF THE YEAR”

NEW YORK, NY - TIME Magazine, a stalwart of the mainstream media, took time from their usual fare of attacking Christians and conservatives to name anyone who puts content on the Internet their 2006 “Person of the Year.”

The webmaster is grateful for the recognition and will gladly autograph copies of the “Person of the Year” issue for a nominal fee.

BACK TO TOP OF PAGE