Safe and warm in the tent, the Arts Alive! Jazz Band entertains at the Village of Tinley Park's “Weihnachtsmarkt”

20TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR CONCLUDES

TINLEY PARK, IL - In the tradition of other legendary musical institutions, like the Rolling Stones or American Idol, that simply refuse to go away, the Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band celebrated 20 years of bringing live band and jazz music to the people of Chicago's southern suburbs with an extensive concert schedule culminating with a grand 20th Anniversary Concert Celebration in the Fall.

• Saturday, March 24 - 18th Annual “Cavalcade of Bands” at Argo Community High School in Summit, Illinois.
  A combined concert featuring the Argo Community High School Band, the West Suburban Band and the Tinley Park “Arts Alive!” Community Band.
  
  
• Thursday, April 19 - The Arts Alive! Jazz Band was a special guest of the Argo Community High School Jazz Band in the annual Argo Jazz Show at Royalty West in Willow Springs, Illinois.
  
  
• Sunday, May 6 - “Music From Around the World” Combined Band Concert, at Tinley Park High School, featuring the District 140 Symphonic Band, Central Middle School Band, Victor J. Andrew High School Wind Symphony, Tinley Park High School Band and the Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band.
  
  
• Sunday, May 20 - Combined Band and Chorale “Spring” Concert, at the Tinley Park-Park District Center for the Performing Arts at Kirby School in Tinley Park.
  
  
• Sunday, June 10 - Combined Band and Chorale Concert, outdoors at the Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center in Tinley Park.
  
  

• Thursday, June 21 - Concert Band Performance as the feature act at Bicentennial Park in Joliet, Illinois as part of the City of Joliet's Summer Concert series.

• Sunday, August 5 - Concert Band Performance at Klein Park, Evergreen Park, Illinois.
  

• Sunday, August 19 - Combined Jazz Band and Chorale Concert at the Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center in Tinley Park.
  
  
• Saturday, October 20 - Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band's 20th Anniversary Concert
  at St. Stephen's Church in Tinley Park, celebrating the music and memories of the past 20 years.
  Special thanks to St. Stephen's, Evon's Trophies, Mike Katterjohn, Stephen Platko and the .
  
  
• Sunday, November 18 - 2007 Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser at VFW Bremen Post 2791 in Tinley Park featured live performances by Sax in the Suburbs and the Arts Alive! Jazz Band.
  
  
• Sunday, December 2 - Combined Band and Chorale “Winter” Concert at the Tinley Park-Park District Center for the Performing Arts at Kirby School in Tinley Park.
  
  

• Saturday, December 8 - Jazz Band at the Tinley Park Holiday Market in Zabrocki Plaza in Tinley Park.
  

• Monday, December 10 - Members of the Concert Band gave a special private performance for the residents of Sunrise Assisted Living in Flossmoor, Illinois.
  

Thanks to the band members, their families, our fans, our supporters, our sponsors and everyone who made our 20th Anniversary Tour possible.

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Cold, wet , but undaunted, members of the band bask in the glow of the Village of Tinley Park's Chirstmas Tree.

BAND SAVES CHRISTMAS

TINLEY PARK, IL - Stymied by a last-minute cancellation, a panicked Village of Tinley Park called on members of the Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band to perform traditional Christmas music at the village's Sunday, November 25 tree-lighting ceremony, much to the delight of a cold, wet, but appreciative crowd.

Thanks to Brian McFadyen, Lynn Hojnacki, Paul Cummins, Brendan Koch, Ted Barczak, Joe Jania, Christy Claus and Jack Pluister for stepping in at the last minute and taking one for the team.

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The Arts Alive! Jazz Band ends another successful Spaghetti Dinner with another legendary performance.

SPAGHETTI DINNER ENJOYED BY MANY

TINLEY PARK, IL - The Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band thanks everyone for their support at their Tenth Annual Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser, held Sunday, November 18 at VFW Bremen Post 2791 in Tinley Park, Illinois.

Thanks to -- the official carryout pizza restaurant of the Band -- for their generous donation of food and prizes.

The band thanks all of the other businesses that donated food and raffle prizes:

Thanks also to VFW Bremen Post 2791 for their facility and staff, the band members who solicited raffle prizes, cooked, served and cleaned and finally our musical performers: pianist Jenny Ketchmark, the Arts Alive! Jazz Band.and our own saxophone ensemble -- Sax in the Suburbs.

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INAUGURAL PLATKO AWARDS ANNOUNCED TINLEY PARK, IL - The Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band's congratulates Pam Pytko and Brian McFadyen as the co-winners of the first-ever Stephen J. Platko Award, presented for outstanding service and dedication to the band. The awards were presented at the 20th Anniversary Concert with the award's namesake in attendance. Created to recognize individuals who have made special extraordinary contributions to the Band, many worthy individuals were nominated for the Stephen J. Platko Award with all of the nominations providing excellent cases for their candidates. Nominations for are now being accepted for the 2007 Stephen J. Platko Award which will be presented at the Band’s annual Winter Concert, usually held on the first Sunday in December. BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

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LOCAL TROMBONIST ASSAULTS TV VIEWERS

TINLEY PARK, IL - Viewers of NBC 5's Chicago-based morning show on Friday morning were visually and audibly assaulted by the sounds of a trombone playing when “When the Saints Go Marching In” along with the sight of two individuals clad in bright red polo shirts during a live shot at Tinley Park's Oak Park Avenue Metra station as part of a on-location weather report by NBC 5's Andy Avalos.

Sources identify the two as members of the Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band, who perpetrated the crime in front of several dozen commuters, local citizens, and Tinley Park officials, as well as NBC 5's morning audience.

Evidence can be found at at http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=161458

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TINLEY PARK, IL - The Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band welcomes Laurie Fanelli as the Tinley Park-Park District's new coordinator of the Arts Alive! programs, which includes the Band.

Laurie replaces Chuck Cummings who held the position previously. The Band would like to thank Mr. Cummings for his years of service and looks forward to working with New Coordinator and continued support from the Park District in the future.

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TINLEY PARK, IL - Enticing mixed emotions, the Band has found out that the Tinley Park Fine Arts Festival Parade scheduled for Sunday, September 9 has been canceled.

This event is one of the Band's most public performances and was to be used as a springboard to publicize the upcoming 20th Anniversary Concert, however a lack of effort from the festival's organizers seem to be behind the cancellation.

The disappointment of having the event pulled out from under the Band is partially tempered by the free weekend we suddenly have. To see what everyone will be missing, see the photo albums from 2003, 2004, and 2005.

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TINLEY PARK, IL - The Tinley Park Community Band thanks everyone who came out to our Jazz Band concert on Sunday, August 19, in the Tony Bettenhausen Recreation Center.

Originally scheduled for the outdoor performance area, this concert marked only the second time since the facility was opened that the Park District-sponsored band was allowed to perform inside the Bettenhausen Center.

The Jazz Band also wishes to thank the students from Eisenhower High School in Blue Island who sat in on this concert.

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EVERGREEN PARK, IL - The Tinley Park Community Band thanks everyone who came out to our abbreviated concert on the new atrium at Klein Park in south suburban Evergreen Park on Sunday, August 5.

Threatening skies finally opened up as the Band opened the concert with John Philip Sousa's “The Thunderer” and by the time they finished Francis McBeth's “Estampie,” the downpour had begun. No sooner then the show ended did the rain stop. However, a funnel cloud sighted in the west led to the sounding of the sirens and a end to the evening's musical activities.

Fortunately, Evergreen Park wants us back next year to play and we are eager to return...weather permitting.

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Clarinetist Lynn “Hojo” Hojnacki and an unidentified brass player use the four square feet provided to tell Tinley Park about the band.

BAND MEMBERS MEET AND GREET PUBLIC AT DISCOVER TINLEY TINLEY PARK, IL - An unusually nice early spring day may have cut attendance, but not the enthusiasm, as several band members, including clarinetist Lynn Hojnacki and director Brendan Koch, represented the band at the annual Discover Tinley community awareness festival at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Discover Tinley gives local citizens the opportunity to visit face-to-face with many area businesses and organizations. Seniors and children also use Discover Tinley to load up on free product samples and candy. The Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band uses this event to publicize upcoming concerts and to recruit new members. At one time, the Arts Alive! Jazz performed at Discover Tinley, but the jazz band's rich, full, glorious sound made it difficult for the work-from-home pyramid-scheme con-artists to communicate with their potential victims...uh, excuse us...their potential customers, so Discover Tinley replaced the jazz band with an out-of-work, recovering disc jockey. BACK TO TOP OF PAGE

LOCAL TALENT SHINES AT COMBINED CONCERT

TINLEY PARK, IL - A very enthusiastic crowd supported their local musicians at the “Music From Around the World” Combined Band Concert at Tinley Park High School on Sunday, May 6. Bands from Central Middle School, Grissom and Prairie View Middles Schools, Victor J. Andrew High School and host Tinley Park High School joined the Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band in a concert of favorites.

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Arts Alive! band members and guests enjoying a night on the lanes.

BAND'S “COSMIC BOWL” FUNDRAISER A SUCCESS

TINLEY PARK, IL - A good time had by all at the Tinley Park Community Band's “Cosmic Bowl” held Saturday evening, March 10 at Tinley Park Bowl. The money raised will be used to fund concert and music equipment expenses that are not funded by our sponsor.

A big thank you goes out to everyone who participated, Tinley Park Bowl, the sponsors who provided raffle prizes and to Pam “The Organizer” Pytko for putting this event together.

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STAND AND DELIVER - MUSIC STAND SHORTAGE ENDS

TINLEY PARK, IL - Completing their arduous two-year journey through an ocean of bureaucracy, a new rack of stands arrived at the Tinley Park Community Band's rehearsal area, courtesy of the band's sponsor, the Tinley Park-Park District.

The band wishes to thank Carolyn and Russ Schmidt for repainting and repairing the old stands while the band was awaiting reinforcements. Thanks also to Lynn Hojnacki who was able to repatriate some stands being held captive at Tinley Park High School.

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BAND MEETING PLACE TO BE RAZED

TINLEY PARK, IL - Teehan's Tap, the traditional post-rehearsal meeting place of the Tinley Park Arts Alive! Community Band since the band's founding in 1987, will be razed as part of a village-subsidized project to level existing buildings to create a “historic” downtown business and residential district.

Although too late to change anything, the Good-bye Teehan's page on the band's website has attracted attention. The band received this E-mail from literally the other side of the world:

“We are one of the few families of Teehans in New Zealand and my parents visited this bar on a trip to the USA years ago. My father is 83 and still proudly told everyone about the bar. Sorry to see the end of an era.

Regards
Viv Morgan (nee Teehan)”

A search for a new post-rehearsal meeting place will take place immediately after Teehan's closes.

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BAND CONSIDERS TURNING GREEN

WASHINGTON, DC - In light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a pollutant, the Tinley Park Community Band has launched a preliminary study on how a band of wind instruments can minimize the amount of the CO2 generated by their rehearsals and concerts. Some research indicates that the amount of CO2 released by the world's wind bands is only exceeded by amounts of dangerous climate-changing gasses released by the world's entire population flatulent cows. The inconvenient truth is that many instruments and their players will have to be eliminated and replaced by nonpolluting string and percussion instruments in an attempt to keep wind bands from melting the polar ice caps and drowning baby polar bears.

On the other side, the Band is intrigued by the fundraising possibilities of selling so-called “carbon offset” credits to self-righteous politicians and celebrities as they travel to-and-fro in their gas-guzzling, pollution-producing private planes and SUVs.

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