Creative industries in Washtenaw County add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. In the weeks and months to come, host Deb Polich, the President and CEO of Creative Washtenaw, explores the myriad of contributors that make up the creative sector in Washtenaw County.
ABOUT GUESTS:
Dr. Jerry Robbins
My Research, Writing, and Publications
Numerous books, chapters, papers, presentations, editorships in the field of professional education.
In addition, I’ve prepared and locally published 30th and 35th anniversary histories of the Ypsilanti Community Band/Washtenaw Community Concert Band; a 40th anniversary history of the Dexter Community Band, and a 90th anniversary history of the Ann Arbor Civic Band.
Also prepared and presented several slide shows/lectures on Sousa and his band and “Town Bands” of Washtenaw County and the surrounding area during the post Civil War to the rise of high school and college/university bands—the “Golden Age” of “Town Bands.” Presentations made to civic clubs and senior groups.
My (Mostly Avocational) Music Activities
Music/Arts Organizations
Member, Fellowship of United Methodist Musicians, 1958-1974
Elected to membership, Oxford (Mississippi) Music Club, 1972-1974
Member, Arts in Education Advisory Committee, Little Rock, Arkansas, Public Schools, 1975-1977
Chairman, 1976-1977
Member, Board of Directors, North Fulton Community Band, 1981-1991
Vice President, 1982-1988
President, 1988-1989
Member, Board of Directors, Ypsilanti Community Band/Washtenaw Community Concert Band, 1993- 2011; 2012-2014.
Member, First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1991--
Music Committee, 1998-2000, Chair, 1999-2000
Volunteer rehearsal director, Music Club, Washtenaw Technical Middle College, 2014—2016
Member, Board of Directors, Dexter Community Band, 2011—
Historian, 2020—
Member, Board of Directors, Ann Arbor Civic Band, 2011—
Assistant Conductor, 2022—
Treasurer, 2023--
Handbells
Member, First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1991--
Member, Hand Bell Choir, 1992—
Substitute Hand Bell Choir Director, 2022—
Choral
Member, First United Methodist Church, Conway, Arkansas, 1949-1961
Member, Chancel Choir, 1956-1961
Chancel Choir Director, Wesley United Methodist Church, Conway, Arkansas, 1958-1960
Member, First United Methodist Church, Adrian, Missouri, 1961-1963
Choir Director, 1961-1963
Independence (Missouri) Messiah Choir, 1961-1963 (Similar to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir)
Member, Trinity United Methodist Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 1963-1965
Choir Director, 1963-1965
Member, Oxford-University United Methodist Church, Oxford, Mississippi, 1965-1974
Member, Chancel Choir, 1965-1974
Substitute and Interim Choir Director, 1965-1974
Singer, University of Mississippi Chorus, 1972-1974; Member, University of Mississippi Collegium Musicum, 1973-1974; University of Arkansas at Little Rock Chorus, summers of 1976, 1977
Member and arranger, Oxford (Mississippi) Madrigal Society, 1970-1974. (This group presented several programs of my arrangements of American folk music in both Mississippi and Tennessee.)
Member, Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1974-1979
Member and Soloist, Chancel Choir, 1974-1979
Director, Instrumental Ensembles, 1976-1979
Substitute and Interim Chancel Choir Director, 1975-1979
Member, St. James United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, 1979-1991
Member, Chancel Choir, 1979
Concert Band
Hendrix College band, 1956-1960, trombone, bassoon, student conductor
University of Arkansas Concert Band, first chair trombone, summers of 1961, 1962; 1963-1965
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Concert Band, second chair trombone, 1975
River City (Little Rock) Community Band, first chair trombone, 1977
North Fulton Community Band (now Atlanta Wind Symphony), trombone, bassoon, euphonium, percussion, 1979-1991
Assistant Director, 1981-1991
Acting Director, several summers; January, 1989
Ypsilanti Community Band, trombone, bassoon, euphonium, 1991-1998
Assistant Director, 1992-1998
Barnhill/Ypsilanti Community Band/Washtenaw Community Concert Band, 1998-
Director, 1998-2011 (The Barnhill Band existed 1998-2002.)
Director, “Town Band” 20-piece vintage ensemble, 2009--
Dexter (Michigan) Community Band, trombone,2011—
Ann Arbor Civic Band, trombone, 2011— (frequent section leader)
Assistant Director, 2022—
Orchestra
Arkansas State Teachers College (now University of Central Arkansas) Little Symphony, bassoon, 1959-1961
Independence (Missouri) Symphony, (semi-professional) second chair trombone, 1961-1963
University-Fayetteville (AR) Symphony, bass trombone, 1965-1966
University of Mississippi Symphony, second bassoon, 1972-1974
Have guest conducted the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra and the Eastern Michigan University orchestra
Other
Stylemasters, semi-professional dance orchestra (Little Rock), second trombone, 1975-1977; third trombone, 1978-1979; Moonlighters, North Fulton Community Band dance orchestra, trombone, 1979-1991; Riverside Big Band (Ypsilanti, Michigan), trombone, 1991-2006
Trombone player in pit orchestra for several University of Arkansas at Little Rock musicals, 1976-1979; Chamblee (Georgia) United Methodist Church productions of The Music Man (1987), Oklahoma! (1989), and Carousel (1991). More recent, in Michigan, pit orchestras (trombone) performances have been in West Side Story and Sweeny Todd.
My “Day Job”
2005-2011 Independent consultant to various higher education institutions, primarily on matters related to accreditation/state approvals related to professional educator preparation.
1991- 2005 Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan 48197
Dean of the College of Education (July 1991-August 2004) and tenured Professor of Educational Leadership (July 1991--August 2005)
1979-1991 Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Professor of Educational Administration, (1979-1991)
Dean of the College of Education and Professor of Educational Administration (Interim Dean, July, 1983-April, 1984; Dean, April, 1984-September, 1990)
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Educational Administration (1979-1984)
1974-1979 University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, Arkansas 72204
Dean of the College of Education and Professor of Educational Administration
1977-1978 American Council on Education Fellow, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia 30303
1965-1974 The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677
Chairman of the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations of Education and Professor of Educational Administration (1970-1974)
Associate Professor of Education (1968-1970)
Assistant Professor of Education (1965-1968)
1970 University of Tennessee, UT-MSU Center, Memphis, Tennessee
Visiting Professor of Education (summer, 1970)
1963-1965 Arkansas School Study Council, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72702
Executive Secretary (part-time)
1961-1963 Adrian Public Schools, Adrian, Missouri 64720
Principal of the Adrian High School
1960-1961 Clinton Public Schools, Clinton, Arkansas 72031
Teacher. Taught beginning, intermediate, and senior high band; junior and senior high choral music; two sections of 7th grade mathematics.
My Formal Education
1990 Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Participant in non-credit Management Development Program (summer, 1990).
1975 The University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677
Independent post-doctoral study in higher education administration (1975).
1961-1965 University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
Ed.D. in Educational Administration, with additional study in mathematics and physics.
M.Ed. in Educational Administration.
1959-1961 University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas 72032
Three hours of undergraduate work, three hours of graduate work.
1956-1960 Hendrix College, Conway, Arkansas 72032
B.A. in mathematics and music. Arkansas teacher certification in mathematics, instrumental and choral music (K-12).
1952-1956 Conway High School, Conway, Arkansas 72032
Diploma (with honors); college preparatory (1956).
Dr. William Perrine
William Perrine serves as Associate Professor of Music and Director of Instrumental Activities at Concordia University Ann Arbor. He directs the Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, and Cardinal Regiment Marching band, as well as teaching course in music education, conducting, and music history. Under his direction the Wind Ensemble and Orchestra have developed a national reputation for excellence. The Wind Ensemble’s 2016 Carnegie Hall debut was critically praised as “stunning and inspirational…one of the finest wind bands in the nation,” while the ensemble’s 2018 Chicago Symphony Center performance was recognized at the 2019 CBDNA Small Program Showcase and received 3rd Place in the 2021 American Prize competition. Dr. Perrine also founded the Concordia Orchestra in 2014, which was also recognized as a finalist in the 2021 American Prize competition. He holds a doctorate of philosophy in music education from Indiana University, a master of music degree in conducting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and an undergraduate degree in music education from Transylvania University. Dr. Perrine also serves as the conductor of the Washtenaw Community Concert Band.
Prior to his appointment at Concordia, Dr. Perrine spent ten years teaching in Title I schools in Kentucky and Florida, where he earned his National Board Teacher Certification. Ensembles under his direction performed at both Carnegie Hall in New York City and at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. His public-school teaching experience continues to inform his philosophical research and advocacy for large ensemble music education; his research areas include public policy and the development of pre-political spaces in the music curriculum. Dr. Perrine has presented his peer-reviewed research at many national and international conferences and symposia, and is published with the Philosophy of Music Education Review, Journal of Historical Research in Music Education, Arts Education Policy Review, Action, Criticism, and Theory in Music Education, and the Music Educators Journal. His edited volume, The Future of the Wind Band, is available through GIA Publications, while his monograph Beauty, Reason, & Power: Music Education in a Pluralist Society is scheduled to be published by Peter Lang in late 2022.
RESOURCES:
Washtenaw Community Concert Band
Washtenaw Community Concert Band: About Us
Washtenaw Community Concert Band on Facebook
Washtenaw Community Concert Band on X (Twitter)
TRANSCRIPTION:
Deb Polich: Welcome to 89 one WEMU's creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. It's always great to be together and to meet the creative community members who add color, texture, sound, and voice to our region. I am pleased to be in the studio with two guests who have a couple of things in common. Both are educators who delight in and have a passion for community bands. As listeners know, I always like to note when guests have a connection to Eastern Michigan University. Doctor Jerry Robbins served as the dean of EMU's School of Education for about 14 years, from 1991 to 2004. Throughout that time and continuing still, he has been associated as a player and a conductor with many community bands in the area. Welcome to creative:impact, Jerry!
Dr. Jerry Robbins: Thank you! Glad to be here!
Deb Polich: We're happy you're here too. And Doctor William Perinne--Bill--is the associate professor of music and a director of instrumental activities at Concordia University here in Ann Arbor, where, in addition to teaching, he directs a number of ensembles. With a desire to give back to the broader community and to help foster lifelong music making, Bill became the conductor of Washtenaw's Community Concert Band in 2022. Bill, welcome to the show!
Dr. Bill Perrine: Thank you very much, Deb!
Deb Polich: So, so much to cover. Jerry, I'm going to look at you as the historian. Community bands have been around for centuries. Before we talk local, and I know you've researched local, why do you think the tradition of community bands have evolved? And why do they continue today?
Dr. Jerry Robbins: A very good question, but I think it's the desire of people every place at every time to have a musical outlet, either to listen to or to participate in. And, as a result, we have found not only in Washtenaw County, but all over the country--all over the world for that matter--adults, for the most part, have gotten together and formed community bands of one sort or the other. As you say, it's centuries old.
Deb Polich: Making music together. And here in Washtenaw County, how far back have you been able to trace our first community band?
Dr. Jerry Robbins: It depends on the locality. For example, here in Ypsilanti, there were bands immediately after the Civil War, certainly during the 1870s, that came and went, but probably with much the same group of people, just organized differently well into the 20th century. The same was true in Ann Arbor and also in Dexter. So, we have three communities in the county that have a history of local, adult community bands stemming from Civil War days and continuing then up until generally around the 1920s, when other forms of entertainment began to take over.
Deb Polich: But people are still making music together. Hey, Bill, obviously you guys are conductors. But, typically, in community bands, who are the musicians? And are they professionals? Are they amateurs? What makes up the band?
Dr. Bill Perrine: Yeah. For the most part, the community band movement is made up of amateurs. It's people who have a love of music, who perhaps started learning an instrument when they were in middle schoo and continued playing in high school. And now, that they're adults and moving on with their careers, as Jerry said, they're still looking for a musical outlet. We have people involved in the band from all walks of life. There are some that were music majors in college, but the vast majority of them were not. They just love playing their instrument, and they love continuing to make music.
Deb Polich: You guys have both conducted. Bill, do they audition, or do they just join up?
Dr. Bill Perrine: Yeah. Our band is a non-auditioned band, and different community bands structure it differently, but ours is deliberately meant to be very welcoming to the community. We do not have an audition process. We do have a waitlist.
Deb Polich: Okay.
Dr. Bill Perrine: Because it's very popular to be involved in the group, and we have a very large group. But basically, people that are interested contact us. And when we have openings in the section, we just go right down the list.
Deb Polich: Got it. Got it. And, Jerry, from your perspective, for the community, what do these bands mean for the residents and their audiences?
Dr. Jerry Robbins: For the first and probably primary reason, it's a form of entertainment. And if the community band does a good job of entertaining its audiences, then everybody's purpose has been served in that connection. So, entertainment and recreation are probably the two factors that involve both players and audience members.
Deb Polich: And I'm thinking about holidays, too. So, do they march in parades and/or do holiday concerts associated with maybe traditional American festivals or holidays?
Dr. Jerry Robbins: Well, you mentioned marching, and that's generally an absolute "no" for a community band.
Deb Polich: Okay.
Dr. Jerry Robbins: And these are adults who obviously marched in high school and often in college and have said, "Never again!"
Deb Polich: Never again. Like my husband.
Dr. Jerry Robbins: Yes. But certainly, all of the local area community bands, in fact, community bands in general certainly, are very attuned to holidays: 4th of July, Christmas, other festive occasions.
Dr. Bill Perrine: And Halloween.
Deb Polich: Halloween. Oh, that's interesting. 89 one WEMU's creative:impact continues with a couple of community band enthusiasts, Doctor Jerry Robbins and Doctor Bill Perinne. So, Bill, I know you're new--relatively new--to the Washtenaw Community Band--Concert band, excuse me. Is this the first community band you've been involved with?
Dr. Bill Perrine: This is the first community band I've been involved with in a director capacity. When I was in graduate school, I played in a community band in Indiana.
Deb Polich: And what do you play?
Dr. Bill Perrine: A lot of different things.
Deb Polich: Okay. What's your key instrument?
Dr. Bill Perrine: My key instrument is piano, but I played trumpet in the band.
Deb Polich: It's kind of hard to carry that around.
Dr. Bill Perrine: It really is. Yeah. But I've done a lot of different things in bands throughout my life. I've been a band director for the better part of 30 years now. And I was absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to start working with the Washtenaw Community Concert Band.
Deb Polich: I have a student question for you as an instructor. So, I have a great deep appreciation for music education and all kinds of creative education. But I also know that not everyone turns out to be a professional in the field. Do you ever bring up the option or the opportunities to play in community bands when you're speaking with students?
Dr. Bill Perrine: Oh, absolutely! Absolutely! With my own collegiate group. Because I work at a liberal arts institution, most of my students are not music majors. I go out at clinic at high schools in the area on a regular basis, and whenever I'm in front of high school students, I always encourage them to to not stop playing their instruments. There are always opportunities to keep playing. They've invested many years in learning how to play. And it's just something that can be continually enriching for them throughout their life.
Deb Polich: Jerry, you've been involved with the Washtenaw Community Concert Band for a long time. You did serve as conductor for a while. Is that correct?
Dr. Jerry Robbins: Yes, I did. I was the conductor of that group for some 13 years.
Deb Polich: Okay. And I understand, Bill, that it's celebrating an anniversary.
Dr. Bill Perrine: Yes. The band is celebrating the 45th anniversary this May with our concert, which is going to be on May 2nd.
Deb Polich: Okay. And anything special planned for that?
Dr. Bill Perrine: We have many special things planned for that. Yeah. I mean, it's quite a remarkable achievement for a community band, to last this long. One of the things that we're doing is we're programming music from many of the concerts in the past. There are pieces that the band are familiar with and pieces that the audience are familiar with. And then, we're also bringing back some of our past conductors to conduct some favorite pieces, including Jerry, who will be conducting a piece as conductor emeritus at the concert.
Deb Polich: Excellent, excellent! So, I'm going to ask you guys. We're going to close out here pretty quickly. I'm going to ask you each to give me a memory--something that you recall about your involvement with this band or perhaps another that is especially important to you. Jerry?
Dr. Jerry Robbins: I think, in terms of memories, it would have to go, first of all, to people. It has been an opportunity to meet and interact with a wonderful group of people, both in this community and in other communities where I've been involved with a local band. And the memories are often associated with individuals who have done something remarkable along the way as a musician or as a helper with the band and just a deep appreciation for the volunteer time that hundreds and hundreds of people have donated to the cause.
Deb Polich: Thank you for that. And, Bill, maybe a player or maybe some interaction with the audience in your time here.
Dr. Bill Perrine: Yeah. I mean, I've only been with the band for two years. So, I still feel very, very new in the group. I will say it's an incredibly wonderful and welcoming group of people. Jerry, when I first took on the position, we went out to lunch, and he sat down and gave me the whole history of the group. And, like, various people in the ensemble have been just very, very welcoming, helping me understand the ensemble--the culture of the ensemble. And it's just been, like I said, an absolutely wonderful group of people to sort of step in and work with. I love the community outreach that we do with our high school concerto competition, where we bring in high school students that have excelled to play with us. We will be doing that at the May concert. We have a composition contest that Jerry initiated. And we're in our second cycle on that. So, there's just a lot of wonderful things.
Deb Polich: What a great, great way to serve the community and to give back to the community, both of you and all the players. And we wish you a great success for the anniversary celebration! And I want to say thanks for being on the show!
Dr. Jerry Robbins: Thank you for having us!
Dr. Bill Perrine: Thank you very much!
Deb Polich: Doctors Jerry Robbins and William "Bill" Perrine have been my guests. Find out more about the community bands they foster and celebrate at wemu.org. You've been listening to creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. Mat Hopson is our producer. Please join us every Tuesday to meet the people who make Washtenaw creative. This is 89 one WEMU FM Ypsilanti. Public radio from Eastern Michigan University.
If you'd like to a guest on creative:impact, email Deb Polich at deb.polich@creativewashtenaw.org.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Contact WEMU News at 734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
