March 2011 - World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles

BOOK REVIEW
The Best We Can Be – The Story of
the Ithaca High School Band, 1955-
67 by Frank L. Battisti and R. Bruce
Musgrave; Galesville, MD, USA:
Meredith Music Publications, 2010;
Language: English; ISBN: 978-1-
57463-159-3; US$34.95; 208 Pages.
The publisher tells us that he originally had
no intention of publishing this book but that
he agreed as a friend to review it and
provide the author, Frank Battisti, with some
comments. However, once he started
reading it, he “…simply couldn’t put it
down.” This reviewer’s reaction was much
the same. When the publisher sent me the
book to review, I wondered why I would
want to read a chronology of an American
high school band, but after only a few
pages, I realized how much this book has to
say about developing a quality Wind Band
program and music education in general.
The Ithaca High School Band program
under Frank Battisti has long been known in
the band world for having commissioned
compositions for the Wind Band/Ensemble
from leading composers of that time. In fact,
between 1959 and 1967, the Ithaca High
School Band commissioned and premiered
17 compositions from such composers as
Vincent Persichetti, Armand Russell, Leslie
Bassett, Alec Wilder, Walter Hartley, and
Warren Benson. Compositions were also
commissioned from Carlos Chavez, Karel
Husa, Gunther Schuller, Alvin Etler, and Ernst
Krenek but were withdrawn when Battisti
left Ithaca High School in 1967. As
impressive as the band’s commissioning
series is, the story of Battisti’s Ithaca High
School Band is much more than even this
tremendous accomplishment.
Most interestingly, Battisti had one of the
finest high school band programs in the USA
during his time as conductor of the Ithaca
High School Band, but the Marching Band,
Concert Band and the individual students
never participated in any competition!
Nonparticipation in contests was the policy
at the High School when Battisti became
band director, and it remained so throughout
his time there. Battisti’s skill as an educator
was in getting young people to strive for
excellence by challenging themselves and in
working together to create an environment
of excellence.
When Battisti became director for the
Ithaca High School Band, he wished to
eliminate or at least to place little emphasis
on the Marching Band. However, the band’s
former director, who had become the school
principal, encouraged Battisti to keep the
Marching Band because of its significance in
the school and community. Battisti then
decided that if he was going to have a
Marching Band, it should be one of excellence
that would create a sense of teamwork
and discipline in the participants. Thus the
“Little Red Marching Band” of 79 students
when Battisti took change became a 158
piece Marching Band in 1967 with a
national reputation, having performed
outstanding halftime shows for nationally
televised professional football games.
The Concert Band quickly became known
for its excellent performances and the quality
of the music it performed. Frederick Fennell
was so impressed with the band program
that he spent one day each year from 1960
to 1967 at Ithaca High School rehearsing the
band. By 1965, the band’s reputation was so
strong that it received an invitation to
perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago,
and the following school year an invitation
to perform at the MENC Conference in
Boston. For both performances the band
commissioned works – Alec Wilder’s Entertainment
III for the Midwest Clinic and John
Huggler’s Celebration, Opus 68 for the
MENC Conference. These performances
brought the band to national prominence
not only because of the outstanding performances
but because of the excellence of the
music performed.
Battisti was a demanding teacher/conductor
who expected and insisted that his
players always do their very best. However,
his demands on himself were higher than the
expectations from his pupils. In addition to
conducting full band rehearsals, he gave
each player a 30 minute lesson each week,
coached small chamber music groups,
conducted a brass choir, clarinet choir, flute
choir, and percussion ensemble, gave
evening and Saturday morning theory, music
history, and conducting classes, commissioned
composers, designed all of the
halftime shows for football games and
arranged the music for them, organized
band trips and fund raising activities, and as
Musgrave writes, “found ways of making
every minute of the day productive.
…Surrounded by adolescents brim-full of
vitality of the most natural sort, he was the
most vital one of all, right in their midst. He
was getting every drop of life out of living –
right down to limiting himself to five hours
of sleep a night….”
Part of what makes this book attractive
reading is its format. Battisti tells the story of
the band during his years as conductor,
providing the factual information about
commissions, guest soloists and conductors,
band camps, etc., while Musgrave, an
English and mathematics teacher and school
administrator, provides his reflections on the
time he spent as a member of the Ithaca
High School Band in the early 1960s. As with
the chorus in an ancient Greek play, his
essays with titles like “Leadership, Role
Models and Mentors”; “Creativity”; “Band
Director or Coach”, “Competition and
Cooperation”; and “Demanding in Public,
Supportive in Private” provide the
commentary needed to understand why this
high school band program was one of the
finest in the years between 1955 and 1967.
This book should be mandatory reading
for any young person considering becoming
a school band director. For music students, it
provides a wonderful “blueprint” for a qualitative
program. For those still considering
studying music, it is not only inspirational
but also a warning that being a success in
this field is as demanding as in any other
branch of the music profession. For those in
the profession, this book provides an
impetus to strive for even higher achievements.
Leon J. Bly
WASBE World 27