All photos credit to Olivia Smith © 2017
Loveland, Ohio – The Loveland schools jazz program held its 18th annual Big Band Spaghetti Fundraiser on Saturday, February 18, bringing in more than $4,000 in ticket sales and nearly $2,000 from a silent auction and raffle.
“The students in the Loveland jazz program had an incredible performance,” said Bernardo Lopez, the high school jazz band director. ”They continue to grow and surprise me by attaining a new level of artistry every year. What a successful performance and fundraiser.”
Susanne Quigley, one of the organizers of the dinner said, “The student musicians in the Loveland Middle School Stage Band, the High School Jazz Studies Ensemble and High School Jazz Commercial and Contemporary Group are grateful for the generosity of local area businesses who donated raffle items, to the larger Loveland community for attending the concert – and not the least – to their band directors, Mr. Hueing and Mr. Lopez, for their dedication and passion in teaching the art of jazz.”
The perspective of a 6th grader after attending the Big Band Spaghetti Fundraiser
by Olivia Smith
On the night of February 18, I went to a jazz concert with my grandfather. It was warm. It was hard to find a spring outfit (because it was winter), so I had to borrow some of my mom’s clothes. I had on a white blouse, with a jean jacket, capri leggings, and Sperry shoes.
[quote_box_left]”They were phenomenal!”[/quote_box_left]After my mom dropped me off at Papa’s house, we drove in his little Fiat, to the Loveland high school. When we got there we were seated in the cafeteria, at a long table. There were so many people at our table. After we sat down one of the students came and took our order. I ordered spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread. Papa wanted the same. Another student brought our food out. I dug right in, while trying not to get spaghetti sauce on my white blouse.
Soon after I was done, Papa and I ventured over to the dessert tables. Yes, tables! They had so many desserts and were all different from each other. It was so hard to choose, so I started off with a chocolate cupcake. When we got back to our seats, I set my cupcake down on a napkin and accidentally tipped my cupcake into my spaghetti sauce. Luckily, I could just scrape that part of the cupcake off.
After a few more treats, me and papa went around to take pictures. We were given complimentary tickets, so it was my turn to return the favor by sharing photos of the event. I took pictures of all of the people, the auction items, and so much more! Then the Jazz concert started. By now, you might be wondering, why were they having a Jazz concert in the first place? Well, It was to raise money for the jazz bands. By the way, there were three jazz bands. The Loveland middle school Jazz Band, and the two Loveland high school jazz bands. First up, the Middle School Stage Band. They started off with hello, by Adele. The director of the jazz band, Chris Huening counted off, then the band played. They did the song so well. I took some pictures of the band. They were phenomenal.
After I took some more pictures, I again ventured back to the desserts, that time getting a Rice Krispies treat. I was growing tired, so we decided to leave. But before we did, we walked around the school to look at the artwork. All of the artists at the high school were phenomenal! Then we got back into his Fiat, and went home. I had so much fun that night! Definitely one I won’t forget.
The Big Band Concert and Spaghetti Dinner is the primary fundraiser for the Loveland schools jazz program. Proceeds from the event directly fund trips to enhance the music education and experience for the high school jazz students. In addition to numerous excursions across the country over the years, the LHS jazz orchestra has performed on the U.S. Naval aircraft carrier Intrepid twice, has won the North American Music Festival and received honorable placements in other national competitions, and has been accompanied by legendary jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson.
The annual fundraising event was started in 2000 by then superintendent secretary Doris Osborne and Cheryl Maegly. Cheryl is wife of Bruce Maegly, who taught music at Loveland Middle School for 35 years and reinstated the high school jazz program in the early 1990s. Today, the high school jazz bands are led by LHS Jazz Band Director Bernardo Lopez, and the Middle School Stage Band is directed by LMS band teacher Chris Huening. Current and former Loveland jazz band musicians have been selected as All-State musicians, to the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) District 14 Honor Bands, and as recipients of the Maegly Music Scholarship Award. The scholarship program was set up by the Loveland Music Boosters in 2014 to honor Mr. Maegly and his extensive contributions to the development of the music program at Loveland.
All photos credit to Olivia Smith © 2017
Click on photos to see larger view.
Like this:
Like Loading...
