Jeffrey Nielsen

It was a bittersweet gathering of ENMU Band Alumni this June for the 8th bi-annual reunion. The bitter came from the passing of Mr. Thompson just days before the events began. The sweet was again sharing music and memories with old friends.

The reunion started up Thursday evening with a reception and the first rehearsal. Conducting duties were taken over by a number of alumni. Each added their own insights and style to the concert selections. Rehearsals continued on Friday and Saturday. Without Mr. T’s strict eye on the clock, breaks stretched on longer than in past years, (a blessing for out-of-shape armatures) But once in the rehearsal hall, everyone buckled down, blew the rust out of their horns and produced great sounds.

With close to 100 attendees, this was the biggest alumni band to date. So big that we overflowed the banquet room on Friday night. This year, the banquet moved off-campus to a new restaurant on the square, The Roosevelt. This Victorian-styled building has a very nice upper banquet room, but it was a tight fit to get everyone seated for the meal. Speeches afterward brought back more memories of previous reunions and of the days with Mr. T. An alumni jazz band provided music later in the evening.

While the alumni weekend is definitely not a fundraising event, a pitch was made at the banquet for contributions to the Thompson scholarship fund.. By the end of the weekend, over $2700 in donations had been made by the assembled Alumni.

Of course, we took time to visit old haunts, look at the changes on campus., and once again sample our favorite restaurants (La Hacienda in my case).

Saturday evenings concert in the ENMU Theater went very well. Musically, everyone pulled together and made it one of the best-sounding Alumni Bands to date. The music had been selected by Mr. T, who had continued the planning process even when he was in the hospital. The alumni conductors were also his suggestion. The large number of Thompson clan members who played in the band was another tribute to Mr. T’s lasting influence on music.

After the concert, we assembled for a reception at the home of John Olson, the Music chair (right behind the old Thompson house). Much of the conversation centered on whether or not the reunions will continue. The consensus is, of course they will. As much as the alumni weekends had given us a chance to perform again under Mr. T’s baton, they have also been a time to share music with each other, connect with old colleagues and make new friends. All these reasons to get together remain, even with the passing of the Thompson era.

Dustin Sieffert, the current band director at Eastern, is in full support of continuing the reunion tradition. He put in many hours planning the logistics for this year’s rehearsals and performances. He’s committed to the growth of ENMU’s band program and understands the importance of the Alumni in helping the band grow. When he came to Eastern 3 years ago, the band was down to about 35 members. This fall, he expects to have close to 100 students on the field.

The other driving force behind the reunions is of course Pat Henry, who has kept the communications going through his letters and email as well as planning countless details. As a thank you for his efforts, Mary Faye Snell made a special pillow for Pat, which all the Alumni signed, and presented to Pat at the concert.

And we owe thanks to all the conductors who stepped in to make this year’s Alumni concert possible. In concert order, they are:

Merle "Doc" Hogg: his "Tour Fanfare"

Tom Wolf: "DedicaTOM"

Ron Sanders: "American Patrol:

Dustin Seifert: "On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss"

Van Ragsdale: "American Civil War Fantasy:

Jim Barnard: "Olympic Theme & Fanfare"

Dick Felts: "Shenandoah"

Ken Holloway: "America the Beautiful"

Mary Lu Brooks: "Anchors Aweigh"

Pat Henry: "Stars & Stripes Forever"

Whether or not you were there this year, start thinking about June of 2004.