Lots of work goes into music for Mother's Day

Kent Nicholson of Batavia is a little more excited than usual about the Fox Valley Concert Band show “Conductor Highlights” at 3 p.m. Mother's Day, Sunday, May 8, at the Norris Cultural Arts Center in St. Charles.

Nicholson has been a percussionist in the band for nearly five years, making the move to the 75-piece wind ensemble soon after retiring from his job as an air traffic controller in Aurora.

The concert next week will feature music by composers whom Fox Valley Concert Band conductor Colin Holman has worked with in the past. But for Nicholson, it will also mark the premiere performance of his own composition, titled “March 1st,” of which he put in up to 700 hours of work in the past year.

“I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Mark Lathan, assistant professor of music at Waubonsee Community College, for providing me with my first formal training in composition during the spring semester of 2010,” Nicholson said. “His ability to focus my efforts into taking some scattered musical ideas and creating a finished piece were invaluable.”

Nicholson noted that the title of the composition has nothing to do with a date on the calendar.

“It is a march, and it is my first attempt at a wind ensemble piece, hence, March 1st,” Nicholson said. “It is a concert march, meaning it is intended for concert presentation, not a marching band on the street.

“I have always enjoyed and been influenced by many of John Williams' compositions, and believe my piece is a comparable style,” he added. “It is in three parts, featuring both traditional and jazz influences.”

And for the real concert music buffs out there, here's a quick skinny on Nicholson's composition — it is six minutes and 181 measures long; has 37 separate instruments; 26,447 notes; and 10,195 articulations.

The past five years have brought Nicholson back to his music roots, considering he was a professional drummer in the 1970s and 1980s, playing with various jazz bands, including the Jazz Consortium Big Band.

The Fox Valley Concert Band performs free concerts throughout the year and has been doing so since its creation in 1983 as an offshoot of a smaller ensemble that was sponsored by the St. Charles Park District.

If you've never heard this group of area musicians, it could be time to take Mom to a concert on her special day.

A food frenzy: The area chamber's Rolling Down the River expo is a great event for business people, partly because you talk to so many people, but mostly because of the free food samples from area restaurants.When you walk into the event at the Pheasant Run Mega Center and are welcomed by Pheasant Run executive chef Josef Yurisich and a delicious plate of shrimp étouffée (Cajun talk for being smothered in sauce), you know you are in the right place at the right time.I'll tell you more in next Wednesday's column about the interesting food and other things from this year's event.Mark on STC history: When a lengthy obituary covers almost two columns in the newspaper, you know the person carried a bit of local history. That was certainly the case last weekend when Barbara McCornack passed away in Texas, where she had lived with family for the past year after spending her entire life in St. Charles.Barbara and her husband Elmore, or #8220;Mac#8221; as he was affectionately known, were among the first people I met in St. Charles nearly 35 years ago when I was a young sports editor and Elmore wrote St. Charles High School sports stories.They had a long history in St. Charles with McCornack Oil and the gas station that now houses the St. Charles Heritage Center. But for me, they were mostly just really nice people who loved St. Charles sports, especially when watching grandson Evan Clarrissimeaux compete in cross country or track events.When Elmore died in 1979, I checked in with Barb a few months later to see how she was doing #8212; but also to see if I could get my hands on any of the high school sports records and documents Mac had accumulated through the years. Unfortunately, she said she had cleared a lot of that stuff out, thinking it was going to be impossible for anyone to decipher Mac's notes and documents.Regardless of what notes or documents may have been left behind, the McCornacks created plenty of history and memories with the most important legacy #8212; they were really nice people. Thanks to teachers: Past students and colleagues of three retiring teachers at Alice Gustafson Elementary School in Batavia should have a good time today.An open house #8220;Garden Party#8221; from 3 to 5 p.m. in the school's multipurpose room will honor teachers Looi Ayers, Linda Briggs and Mim Smith, who have a combined total of 80 years of teaching in the school district. For the animals: If you have some collectibles or antiques you wouldn't mind getting out of your house, the Fox Valley Wildlife Center can use your help.The center is hosting its annual Barn Sale May 13 and 14 in the barn at the wildlife center in Elburn Forest Preserve, 45W061 Route 38 in Elburn. They can use donations of any clean used or new items, which can be dropped off from noon to 4 p.m. today at the center.You can check the center website at FoxValleyWildlife.org to find out what items are accepted.dheun@sbcglobal.net