Wheaton Municipal Band celebrates announcer's 35 years

Regular attendees of Wheaton Municipal Band concerts know Pete Friedmann. He has been the band's charismatic announcer for 35 years.

In recognition of that milestone, Wheaton Municipal Band performs a concert celebrating Friedmann and his contribution to the band at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, in Memorial Park, 208 W. Union Ave., Wheaton.

The challenge for a band announcer is to know what to say, how to say it, and keep the comments short so the audience can enjoy the music. Friedmann is a master at the craft. He comes up with amazing facts about the music and the composers. Friedmann even coined the phrase "Mosstro" instead of "maestro" for Bruce Moss, the band's music director.

"My favorite memory of Pete is the 2010 children's Sponge Bob Concert," said Don Cavalli, the band's president. "I tried to attach a stuffed parrot prop to my shoulder pads, but it fell off on stage. Without missing a beat, Pete picked up the bird and called him Mini Moss. He was so entertaining that the children came backstage at intermission to see Mini Moss."

Friedmann not only announces for the band; at times he is asked to perform musical selections that have a script. The band manager, Steve Klaus, remembers when Friedmann narrated the musical composition "The Greatest Generation."

"The piece dealt with the themes of sacrifice and patriotism in the wake of danger and uncertainty. Pete's preparation, inflections and passion in the narration made it a very moving and memorable moment for the band and the crowd," Klaus said. "I'm not sure there was a dry eye anywhere, and the standing ovation showed how much the audience appreciated his efforts."

When the band celebrated the release of Dr. Seuss' long lost "What Pet Should I Get" in July 2015, Friedmann came out rhyming all his announcements Seuss-style.

"Pete is like a brother to me," Moss said. "We trust each other and the antics the audience sees on the stage are real and genuine. We have our little jokes that we play on each other from time to time. There's a mixture of playful humor and tension as we present a new concert each week."

The Wheaton Municipal Band commissioned "The Friedmann Fanfare" to commemorate the announcer's 35th year with the band. Scott Boerma, the director of bands at Western Michigan University and a well-known composer, wrote the work. It was first performed on July 7, and will be performed once again at the concert on Thursday, Aug. 4.

Other music selections have been chosen to honor Friedmann. For information, visit wheatonmunicipalband.org.