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For the first time in its 32-year history, the State of the Art Catholic Band Competition came to the Northwest suburbs, and Saint Viator High School’s Symphonic Band made it worth the trip.
The ensemble took second place in Class AAA, behind nationally ranked Marian Catholic High School’s Symphonic Band of Chicago Heights, which won the class and earned the title of Grand Champion.
“I’m ecstatic,” said Tom Seaman, Saint Viator High School director of bands.
At the competition, they played “Pas Redouble” by Camille Saint-Saens and “Concord,” a medley of Revolutionary War tunes by Clare Grundman. Saint Viator’s Concert Band competed in Class A and performed “Plains West” by William Owens and “Highland Legend” by John Moss.
It was the 9th time in 10 years that Marian Catholic’s band had won the competition, but Saint Viator’s symphonic band students led the rest of the field among large bands, earning a 90.3 score.
Overall, Saint Viator bands have placed in the top three of their class 14 times over the last 17 years.
They earned high praise from the panel of college educators who judged the competition. They included Judith Grimes from Elmhurst College, Stacey Larson of VanderCook College of Music and Kenneth Dye of the University of Notre Dame.
For Larson, it was a coming home of sorts. Her first job out of college was directing the Saint Viator band program, 20 years ago. She left in 1995, but during her three years at the school, she made an impression.
After her first year as a part-time band director, faculty members petitioned administration members to bring her on full time. They did the following year, and the band program has continued to grow.
Larson is a popular clinician and judge at competitions throughout the Midwest, which she manages along with her teaching duties at VanderCook.
“I look at the overall performance,” Larson said. “I hope that at this stage, it’s more about making the music come alive from the page.”
Saint Viator symphonic band members came alive when they heard they had won second place. They screamed and jumped for joy, before student director Christine Southall of Arlington Heights calmly approached the podium and accepted their award from the Knights of Columbus, who conceived the contest and continue to sponsor it.
