Illinois high school mourns loss of teachers through music

CHICAGO (AP) -

A high school chamber orchestra in a northwest suburb of Chicago is helping memorialize and mourn the deaths of three of the school's teachers.

Two Buffalo Grove High School teachers lost their long battles to cancer last year, the Chicago Tribune reported. A third teacher died from a heart condition.

"It was a rough year. It was a year that none of us would've wanted going into it or expected," said Jeff Wardle, the school's principal. "We really joined in clasped hands and arms together as a group."

Orchestra director Elizabeth Bennett tried to help faculty and students by organizing a concert that featured music that staff and students said helped them during times of grief.

Bennett also ordered a piece to be composed in honor of the high school by Russell Scarbrough, a New York-based composer and arranger. An anonymous donor provided the $1,500 to $2,000 fee for the piece.

Bennett said she wanted a piece that would convey the sorrow and grief the school's community had experienced. She also said she wanted the piece to express hope and gratitude.

"It wasn't meant to be easy, because nothing that we went through was easy," Bennett said. "It has to be about bonding and being thankful for every day we have here."

Scarbrough told the newspaper that the piece called "Solaces" is meant to touch a range of emotions, including trauma, supplication, joy and peace.

The school's chamber orchestra will perform the piece at its Jan. 21 program. The program will also feature artwork and a poem that was inspired by the piece.

Daniel Suh, a senior cellist, said he's looking forward to performing the piece, which he said can offer comfort to the wider community.

"It shows a little, tiny bit of support could just go a long way," he said. "I think it's going to be very meaningful."

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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com