Tulsa Junior College, Jerrold Lawless Concert Video, 1988, No. 1

A film of Tulsa Junior College music instructor and band director Jerrold Lawless conducting at a 1988 concert. Lawless was a long-time TJC instructor and was the founder and conductor of both TCC’s community band and symphony orchestra. Lawless began working for TJC in 1970 and was TJC's first music instructor.

Jerrold Lawless: Good evening, happy to welcome you to our annual winter concert of the TJC Community Band. We’re going to start our program off with a pretty peppy number by Henry Fillmore called Rolling Thunder. Henry Fillmore was one of America’s happiest musicians, and one of its most successful and prolific composers. The music he wrote projected a jovial and earthy personality and many of his marches high school bands have played for years, and continue to play. Rolling Thunder is a circus march, as breathtaking and as excitement as the action feats by horsemen riding full tilt around the confines of a sawdust track. And, the performance of this march is supposed to be furious. And, most circus marches move like that, and the circus musicians themselves have dubbed these compositions as “screamers” mostly because that’s exactly what they do musically, and they’re designed to help and not hinder the rhythm of the pounding hooves of animals. So, the dynamics on this particular march have two, forte and fortissimo, which means loud and louder.

(Audience laughs)

And, the band loves to play loud and louder.

(Audience chuckles)

So, the trombones they romp through and dominate the music, and old Henry Fillmore was a trombone player himself. I had the pleasure before he died of performing under Henry Fillmore and what Fred Frennel says here about him is true, “he had more fun than anybody with his music.” Many of you probably know the famous Lassus Trombone that he wrote that features the trombone section but, this is one of his really fine circus marches, “Rolling Thunder March” by Henry Fillmore…

(Band plays “Rolling Thunder March” by Henry Fillmore)

(Audience applauds)

4:55

This next number is composed by Alfred Reed. We’ve done a number of his works over the years, one of, really, fine composers of today. This was commissioned the summer of 1974 for the Public School Symphonic Band in Alberta, Canada, and was performed with Canadian Music Educators Association. This suite consists of four movements. Each prefaced by a one-word title. The first movement March is a tense dissonant tinge of hard driving treatment of a dramatic marching theme that never relaxes, and keeps its momentum to the end. The second is the Melody, unfolds a long lyrical line that develops to a broad climax and then diminishes to a quiet coda. The third movement Brag is a ‘lil scherzo set in ragtime rhythms and low hips. And then the fourth movement is a Gallop, authentically styled American circus gallop. The tempo marker on this last movement is “as fast as possible” and in parenthesis “but no faster.”

(Audience laughs)

This tells the story and the music brings this whole work forward to its conclusion. “First Suite for Band” by Alfred Reed…

(Band plays “First Suite for Band” by Alfred Reed)

(Audience applauds)

23:10

That was a lot of fun. As was with everything. ‘Lil bit change of pace here now. John Zdechlik. John Zdechlik has written a number of fine pieces for band. This is, note wise a very simple piece, a very beautiful piece. And, he puts in pro/note here at the beginning, which begins “I dedicate this to my wife Kate in the memory of his mother Marie. The tune that’s long been a favorite of the family. This arrangement is simple and direct so the inherent quality of his melodies can speak freely”. And the text of the melody I’ll read to you; we put it in your program.

“Sure, I love the dear silver that shines in your hair,
and the brown that’s all furled and wrinkled with care.
I kiss your fingers so warm from me.
Oh god bless you and keep you, mother maturity.”
-by John Zdechlik

(Band plays a piece by John Zdechlik)

(Audience applauds)

28:28

This next number is a fairly new number, it’s performed by the United States Marine Band for the first time in the July of 1987. Written by Claire Grundman, anyone who has been in bands for any number of years has played some Clare Grundman tunes all the way from American Folk Rhapsody Number 1 on up to present time he’s written a momentous amount of music. And, this particular piece “Concord” is based on three traditional tunes from old New England. The “White Cockade”, William Billing’s “America”, and “Yankee Doodle”. The White Cockade is a frightful drum marching tune widely known during the days of the American Revolution, and also played a part in the British Military Tradition. “America” was written by William Billings, and art and play tip amateur musician and a tanner by trade. He intended to create a new kind of hymn for the New England Church, which resulted an outpouring of hymn tunes such as “America” and reflected the independent spirit of the young nation at its birth. The third tune, “Yankee Doodle,” is a folk-song most widely associated with the Revolutionary War. The origins of this tune are very obscure and have been subject to a lot of improbable theories. It’s spread throughout the colonies by the mid-eighteenth century was a very popular music for jigs and country dances. This is “Concord” by Clare Grundman…

(Band plays “Concord” by Clare Grundman)

(Audience applauds)

35:44

The name of John Williams doesn’t need to be explained to anybody that’s listened to much music over the past 15-20 years. He’s, of course, been the conductor of the Boston Pops since Arthur Fiedler passed away, and written music for all the great motion pictures “Star Wars” and, you-name-it, John Williams been part of the music business. This is several of his works: “The Special Olympics March”, “We’re looking good” the cowboys, The Dance of the Witches, and the Olympic Fanfare and Theme. John Williams “Evening at the Pops”…

(Band plays “Evening at the Pops” by John Williams)

(Audience applauds)

45:43

Next we’d like to play you a piece of band music that’s just new out, and, the “Selections from the Phantom of the Opera”, this, if you haven’t kept up with musical theater, this has been one of the big hits of the decade; first in England and now on Broadway. It’s full of a lots of wonderful music and we hope we can give you a little flavor of the theater here. The songs are “Think of Me,” “Angel of Music,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “All I Ask of You,” “The Point of No Return,” and “The Music of the Night”. All put together in a beautiful arrangement by Warren Barker. “Selections from the Phantom of the Opera”…

I should give credit of composer to Andrew Lloyd Webber who wrote the original music for this and Warren Barker just made the band arrangement for this but Andrew Lloyd Webber, as you know, has had a number of hits on Broadway and in English musical theater also.

(Band plays “Selections from the Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber arranged by Warren Barker)

(Audience applauds)

59:50

Back up there where you can’t see her, I’d like to thank her for her help tonight with the lights and all, Laura Ellis. Laura wave at them so…

(Audience applauds)

We hope you enjoyed our little added theatrics to the piece. Wonderful music isn’t it? Before we continue with the program I’d like to, uh… pull my trousers up.

(Audience laughs and applauds)

Forgot my suspenders tonight, that’s all. Reminds me of that guy on the marching field that lost them all the way down to his ankles one time. Marching band half-time performance, it was really quite a show…

(Scattered laughter)

I wanted to tell you just a little bit about an organization that we’ve belonged to for about four of five years it’s called the Association of Concert Bands. It’s a national organization that is specifically for the purpose of promoting adult concert bands. And, as you may well know, there aren’t very many actually professional adult…

(Audio cuts abruptly)