About Us
Community Involvement
The Southwest Community Concert Band is a 501(c)(3) Not-For Profit organization, our mission is to integrate with our community in promoting music awareness and providing musical services. The following events are some examples our community service and involvement:
- Assisted Living Facility Holiday Performances
- Holiday and Summer Concerts & Food Drives (annually collecting over 500 lbs. for local Food Pantries)
- Summer Park Concerts for local communities
- Participation in various Orland Park and surrounding community events
- Annual Winter Band Day for Junior High & Middle School Students
- Annual Summer Band Camp for 1st year through 9th grade band students
- Master Classes and Clinics for students and adults
Mission Statement
Pursuit of Excellence
The mission of the Southwest Community Band is to foster the musical talent and education of its members, provide quality musical entertainment to the community and promote the value of musical education to the students and adults of the community.
We graciously look forward to seeing you this season.
Our Musical Director
Ray Forlenza joined the band in
1988 through an invitation by the conductor at that time, Leo Henning.
Ray had been a student of Leo's at St. Laurence High School, and
eventually became assistant conductor of the band. When Leo
retired, in 2000, Ray was the natural choice to succeed Leo in the
leadership of the band.
Ray Forlenza completed his Bachelor’s
and Master’s degrees in Music Education from Chicago’s VanderCook
College of Music. He is employed as band director for Kirby School
District 140, in Tinley Park, and plays regularly with several area
bands and cultural groups.
Ray
has been instrumental in promoting music education through the
Southwest Community Concert Band Outreach Program. In 1996, he was
responsible for starting the Annual Band Day. Over the years, this program, held annually in January, has
enlightened over 1000 junior high/middle school students. In 2007,
again under the leadership of Ray Forlenza, the Southwest Community Concert Band
initiated a Summer Band Camp program .
HISTORY
Founded
in the fall of 1981, the Southwest Band began under the direction of
Milton Potter a local school band director. Mr. Potter took the first 2
years to assemble the band. In 1983, Neil Dunlap, a Professor at
VanderCook College of Music, took over the leadership of the band
building on the band's initial membership. Neil focused on honing the
band’s musical abilities and performance quality, while encouraging
confidence in its members to continue building the band. The
band moved to Moraine Valley Community College and soon began its Community
Involvement
performing outdoor summer concerts for the communities served by the
college. Performance options were limited due to sponsorship of the
college, so the band moved to Worth Park District.
Leo
Henning became the Southwest Band's director in the fall of 1988. His
immense popularity helped the band to grow to fifty-plus members. Leo
helped organize the band by electing officers, creating a governing
board and establishing a set of bylaws. The band became more of a
working band, using the money from performances to pay for its
operating expenses.
In 1990, the band began an adult festival for community bands known as the Cavalcade
of Bands. The band hosted the event for the next 15 years.
Under Henning’s guidance, the band elevated the musical talent of its
members, while providing a continuing music education resource to the
community. The band began developing various performing ensembles.
In 1996, Ray Forlenza began conducting the band as Leo Henning’s assistant. in 2000, when Leo retired Ray became the bands fourth musical director.
In 2005, Ray was a significant part in our latest move to The First Church of the Nazarene in Lemont. The church offered the band a rehearsal and performance hall, excellent community relations and state of the art sound, video and recording equipment. Under Ray Forlenza’s direction, the band had grown to its highest membership and continues to foster the band musical ability by increasing the caliber of music repertoire thus challenging the musical abilities of the bands membership.
In 1996, Winter Band Day
Outreach Program for Young Musicians
began. This one-day, non-competitive festival provides students with a
unique opportunity to learn then perform new music, challenging their
abilities. In 2006, the band celebrated its 25th
Anniversary, Texas composer William Owens was commissioned to write
Exaltation which the band premiered in June, under the direction of the
composer. The piece made its world debut at the Midwest International
Band & Orchestra Clinic.
In 2009, the band updated
our library purchasing a new music filing system. Currently we have a
library of approximately 1200 musical selections. We have continued
promoting the growth of our Outreach programs Summer
Band Camp and Winter
Band Day. Also in this year, we attracted 87 students to
our Winter Band Day event and 57 students to our week-long Summer Band
Camp. Enrollment in both of these programs continue to be well-attended by local junior musicians.
Community Involvement
– In 2006, the band began performing a Holiday theme concert that
requests non-perishable food items for the price of admission. The band
collects more than 500 lbs. of food, which is donated to area food
pantries each year. In 2014, the band also started a Summer
Food
Drive Concert that spotlighted the local groups Brass Tracks and the
Starlighters. The band started to bring Christmas music to Orland
Park retirement homes on Christmas Eve of 2016. Also in that
year, the band participated in Orland Park's Crescent Park Concert
series.
In 2012, the Southwest Community celebrated its 30th
Concert Season. Illinois composer Timothy
Loest was commissioned to write
Skyscape which the band premiered at our June
30th Anniversary Concert
along with the sons and daughter of our previous conductors (James
Potter - Wisconsin, Patrick Henning and Barbara J. Dunlap – Illinois)
to guest conduct the band in dedication to their fathers. In 2022
the band celebrated its 40th Anniversary and commissioned Robert
Sheldon in celebration of the anniversary. As part of the band's 40th
anniversary celebration it performed the world permier performance of
Sheldon's piece titled FREEFALL.
In 2013, we started to offer Master
Classes
for specific insturments. Our first clinic was a
tuba
clinic
instructed by Dr. Thomas Bough , Northern Illinois University's
Director of Athletic Bands and Yamaha Tuba Artist. The
band's second Master Class was for percussion instructed by
Mr.
Kevin
Lepper, VanderCook School of Music Director and Yamaha Percussion
Artist. In 2015, we hosted a Jazz clinic lead by Dr. Mark
O'Connor . The clinic was a huge success and we anticipate
another jazz clinic in 2016. We'll continue to seek out
talented
instructors to provide Master Classes and clinics.
The band moved twice since their home at the First Church. In 2013, the First Church renovated their facility and the facility no longer suites the band's rehearsal and performance needs. That year, the band found a home at the Eagle Rock church in Homer Glen. Unfortunately, the Eagle Rock church was sold late in 2015 and in February of 2016 the band moved to the Orland Park Cultural Arts Center. The village decided to demolish the Cultural Arts Center and starting January 1 2024 the band's new home is the Presbyterian Church of Orland Park. The band continues its mission to bring concert band music to the adults and students of our community. As the band grows in its members and musical talents, so do our various Out Reach Programs, audience and community events.
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