District 158 teachers form a jazz band to raise money for community

It was standing room only at Culver's in Huntley recently.

Cars filled the lot and lined the street as people were jockeying for parking spots so they could get in to see a hot, new band play.

Once inside, students, parents and community members who wanted to hear the music and also give back to the school district, crowded around to hear the new District 158 Faculty Jazz Band.

It was the band's inaugural performance.

It formed just a few months ago, and members were ready to present their talents to the community, while also helping to raise money for the school district community.

"A bunch of us music teachers were all hanging out and thought it would be fun to play some music together, and we had just the right instrumentation for jazz," said Pam Jorgensen, who plays the trombone.

"It is very fun for us just to get out and play," Jorgensen said. "That's why we all went into music. We don't get many opportunities to perform. For us this is really fun. It reminds us of why we got into music."

Not all of the musicians in the band are music teachers in the district.

The bass guitarist is a computer teacher. One of the saxophone players is a keyboarding teacher.

And the drummer, Brian Faulkner, is the assistant principal at Heineman Middle School. He said he jumped at the chance to join the band and get out into the community to play.

"Pam Jorgensen approached me one day and asked if I would like to be in the faculty jazz band. I always say yes when she asks me to play the drums, simply for the love of playing music," Faulkner said. "After playing for so many years on so many different levels, I miss the camaraderie of playing with other individuals that share the same passion and love for music."

The faculty band, which has members from several different schools throughout the district, came together a handful of times to practice before their first performance.

Jorgensen picked the music, which includes many old jazz standards including "Satin Doll" and "Ain't Misbehavin'."

And everyone worked together to pull off their first performance, which also included some Christmas classics for the season.

The members wanted to share their passion for music with the community not only by playing, but also by giving back the proceeds from their performance to the community.

For the first performance, Culver's donated 10 percent of the sales that evening to the District 158 Education Foundation.

The foundation provides scholarships to students in District 158, and awards grants to teachers and schools to help fund innovative programs throughout the district.

"They have really helped us out in the past with our music programs and have been very supportive financially for the fine arts and we wanted to give back a little to them," Jorgensen said.

The event was a big draw, and band members say they hope to have many more performances like it in the future.

"I'd like to see us perform a whole lot more to help raise money for our students in District 158," Faulkner said.

"Any chance we have, we'll have a performance. This is such a fun and great way to help provide better opportunities for our students to receive the outstanding education they deserve."