CONCERT REVIEW: CSO greeted warmly in Lakota
October 9, 2007
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
WEST CHESTER TWP. – Cincinnati’s world-famous symphony joined the chorus of supporters for Lakota’s high school marching bands this evening (Tuesday evening) with its first performance in a suburban school.
Director Paavo Järvi led the CSO before 800 fans at a sold-out auditorium in Lakota’s Freshman School in the first regional concert in his six-year tenure. The unusual fundraiser brought in about $15,000 to benefit the Lakota West and Lakota East band programs as they prepare to travel thousands of miles during the next year to play in high-profile parades in California and Hawaii.
Proceeds from the concert will help 300 members of the Lakota West Marching Firebirds make the 2,000-mile trip to Pasadena as the first high school band to represent Southwest Ohio in the Tournament of Roses Parade this coming New Year’s Day. The concert also will help fund Lakota East’s trip to Hawaii to perform in the November 2008 Waikiki Holiday Parade and perform at the USS Missouri battleship.
“This is an historic evening for the district, and the fact that the CSO would come to our community says a great deal about both the residents who helped make it happen and the residents who came to make it a successful evening,” said Jon Weidlich, spokesman for Lakota schools in Butler County.
Gary McClimans, chairman of the Lakota Upbeat Club Inc. – the fundraising arm for the two high school marching bands – said: “This was huge. It’s an incredible boost for the fund-raising for both schools. To have a demonstration like this by such an amazing organization as CSO to our bands and our community is wonderful.”Varying ticket prices allowed for students ($10), adults ($20) and “patrons” ($100) to contribute at different levels. Before the event, band boosters had raised about $82,000 toward a $400,000 goal for the marching Lakota West Firebirds to play in Pasadena. The total cost of the trip is about is $1 million. A reception for Jarvi was to be held at the Wetherington Country Club in West Chester Township following the performance. Tim Sant’s daughter Maggie – a junior in the Firebirds marching band – looked around at the packed school auditorium as the internationally acclaimed orchestra took the stage.“This doesn’t happen every day,” Sant said, smiling. “It’s very generous of the symphony and its supporters to do this.”Nick Miller, a Lakota West sophomore and band member, shook his head at the sight of the crowd – many dressed in suits and cocktail dresses – filing into an auditorium that normally features ninth-grade theatrical productions.“This is pretty amazing,” he said.
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
WEST CHESTER TWP. – Cincinnati’s world-famous symphony joined the chorus of supporters for Lakota’s high school marching bands this evening (Tuesday evening) with its first performance in a suburban school.
Director Paavo Järvi led the CSO before 800 fans at a sold-out auditorium in Lakota’s Freshman School in the first regional concert in his six-year tenure. The unusual fundraiser brought in about $15,000 to benefit the Lakota West and Lakota East band programs as they prepare to travel thousands of miles during the next year to play in high-profile parades in California and Hawaii.
Proceeds from the concert will help 300 members of the Lakota West Marching Firebirds make the 2,000-mile trip to Pasadena as the first high school band to represent Southwest Ohio in the Tournament of Roses Parade this coming New Year’s Day. The concert also will help fund Lakota East’s trip to Hawaii to perform in the November 2008 Waikiki Holiday Parade and perform at the USS Missouri battleship.
“This is an historic evening for the district, and the fact that the CSO would come to our community says a great deal about both the residents who helped make it happen and the residents who came to make it a successful evening,” said Jon Weidlich, spokesman for Lakota schools in Butler County.
Gary McClimans, chairman of the Lakota Upbeat Club Inc. – the fundraising arm for the two high school marching bands – said: “This was huge. It’s an incredible boost for the fund-raising for both schools. To have a demonstration like this by such an amazing organization as CSO to our bands and our community is wonderful.”Varying ticket prices allowed for students ($10), adults ($20) and “patrons” ($100) to contribute at different levels. Before the event, band boosters had raised about $82,000 toward a $400,000 goal for the marching Lakota West Firebirds to play in Pasadena. The total cost of the trip is about is $1 million. A reception for Jarvi was to be held at the Wetherington Country Club in West Chester Township following the performance. Tim Sant’s daughter Maggie – a junior in the Firebirds marching band – looked around at the packed school auditorium as the internationally acclaimed orchestra took the stage.“This doesn’t happen every day,” Sant said, smiling. “It’s very generous of the symphony and its supporters to do this.”Nick Miller, a Lakota West sophomore and band member, shook his head at the sight of the crowd – many dressed in suits and cocktail dresses – filing into an auditorium that normally features ninth-grade theatrical productions.“This is pretty amazing,” he said.
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