Tinley
band takes part in D.C. Memorial weekend
Sunday, May 30, 2004 By
Linda Lutton
Staff writer | |
Joan Perryman played her clarinet Saturday on the steps of the Navy Memorial in
Washington D.C., her father's picture pinned to her music sheet, history welling
up inside her. "We were right
in the middle of the memorial. It was breathtaking," said Perryman, manager of
Tinley Park's community band Arts Alive. The
band is representing Illinois this weekend at the National Festival of the States
World War II Memorial Dedication. Perryman's
father, who died seven years ago Memorial Day, was a World War II veteran. Arts
Alive, which is sponsored by the Tinley Park Park District, played Saturday at
1:30 p.m. at the Navy Memorial and at sunset at the Jefferson Memorial. The
band is scheduled to play today at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution
Hall at Mount Vernon before returning to Tinley Park. The
38 band members who were able to make the trip watched the dedication of the World
War II Memorial on closed-circuit television. Band
members, who range in age from late teens to mid-60s, played renditions of the
"Battle Cry of Freedom," "St. Louis Blues" and the "Star Spangled Banner," among
others. "I tried to pick a historical
program," said director Stephen Platko, who wrote one of the compositions the
band performed, "Broad Stripes and Bright Stars." Perryman
said that she and one other band member — who wore a T-shirt with his father's
picture and World War II combat number on it — were particularly moved by the
memorials to veterans. But that didn't
affect their playing. "You play that
first note and you're into it. We're here to play our best, and we're even amazing
ourselves," Perryman said. "We feel
so honored and proud to be here. We're a part of history." | 
