Illinois

Pandemic-delayed memorial planned for Jan Bach, prolific composer who taught at NIU

Published

2 years ago

April 16, 2022

Jan Bach’s father hoped he’d take over the household lumber enterprise. As an alternative, he took to the piano and music after his mom inspired him to be taught to play.

“She needed him to be widespread, and, in fact, she needed him to get invited to events,” mentioned his daughter Daybreak.

Mr. Bach went on to check with composer Aaron Copland on the Tanglewood Music Heart in Massachusetts, performed the French horn in an Military band on the funeral of President John F. Kennedy and have become a famend and prolific composer of complicated music carried out across the globe.

In 1980, his work “The Pupil from Salamanca” gained the $10,000 first prize in a one-act opera competitors by the New York Metropolis Opera, which carried out his piece that 12 months. Soprano Beverly Sills, the corporate’s chief, phoned to congratulate him and inscribed her nickname —“Bubbles” — on a silver bowl she gave him as a present.

A memorial is deliberate on the finish of the month for Mr. Bach, who taught for almost 40 years at Northern Illinois College.

He died of bladder most cancers in 2020 at 82. However the memorial had been delayed because of the pandemic, his daughter mentioned.

He grew up in downstate Forrest, a small farm city the place his father, John Nicholas Bach, ran J.N. Bach & Sons Lumber, and his mom Ann labored half time at a financial institution.

The household worshiped at a strict church.

“No devices had been allowed within the church, solely singing,” his daughter mentioned. “It’s attention-grabbing my dad ended up taking over the horn. And he performed the piano very nicely. He was composing from the age of about 5.”

He went to Forrest-Strawn-Wing Excessive College and the College of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the place he bought bachelor’s, grasp’s and doctoral levels in music.

A younger Jan Bach along with his French horn.

Within the early Nineteen Sixties, he studied at Tanglewood, the place he was co-winner of the Koussevitzky prize for greatest composition of the summer season. Copland was a decide.

Mr. Bach additionally met one other maestro there, an encounter he described in an interview with radio host Bruce Duffie: “After I met Leonard Bernstein, years in the past at Tanglewood, he mentioned, ‘Oh, you’re Jan Bach.’ I mentioned, ‘How are you aware my title?’ And he mentioned, ‘After I arrived this morning, I used to be wanting on the roster of scholars, and I noticed your title on the high. I believed: God, what a reputation for a musician! So what’s your actual title?’”

“Bach!” younger Jan replied. “What’s yours?”

Mr. Bach did his dissertation on composer Benjamin Britten and was proud that his composition “Eisteddfod” was carried out in Britten’s hometown of Aldeburgh in England in 1979, his daughter mentioned.

In Aldeburgh, he additionally studied with Scottish composer Thea Musgrave.

After the Military, he labored as an teacher on the College of Tampa after which at NIU, the place he taught from 1966 to 2004.

Maureen O’Donnell was interviewed by Ed Yong of The Atlantic for a just-published piece, ”The pandemic has trapped millions in unending grief,” and is included very high in his piece. It’s a short citation but high in the piece, which already is getting very strong readership. And it reflects the national reputation Maureen has built and her way of turning an artful phrase. — A proficient artist and cartoonist, Jan Bach determined to give attention to music but in addition continued along with his drawings, together with this caricature of the music college at Northern Illinois College within the Nineteen Seventies. He pictured himself because the bearded determine in high row, his head turned to the left, carrying a jacket and turtleneck.

“He appreciated to jot down for devices that don’t normally get to see the highlight,” his daughter mentioned. “He wrote for the euphonium. He wrote a concerto for the viola. He wrote one for the steelpan.”

Mr. Bach was impressed to jot down “Concerto for Steelpan and Orchestra” for Liam Teague when Teague was a pupil steelpan virtuoso at NIU. The steelpan is the nationwide instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, the place Teague, now an NIU professor, is from.

“He was a musical genius,” mentioned Teague, who has carried out the work all over the world. “However he was such a form particular person and tremendous humorous.”

Mr. Bach joked that he accomplished his piece “The Comfortable Prince” because of sweet.

“I had been attempting to kick a cigarette behavior for a very long time, and that was one of many occasions after I stopped smoking and was mainly OD-ing on jellybeans,” he informed Duffie. “I believe that sugar did one thing to me as a result of it’s one of the concerned scores I’ve ever written.”

His works may very well be playful. On the finish of the steelpan concerto, “There’s a type of duel between the steelpan and an instrument referred to as the flexatone,” mentioned Teague, who posted video on YouTube of his 2011 efficiency of the piece with the Taiwan Nationwide Symphony.

The Chicago Each day Information as soon as described Mr. Bach’s output this fashion: “His music tends to go its method awhile alongside harmless neo–classical traces. However from time to time, a contact of poetry or wit or sheer boisterous humor alerts the listener to the actual sophistication and hidden depth of what the composer is doing.”

“He was beneficiant to all of his college students and all who labored with him,” mentioned Jui-Ching Wang, an affiliate music professor at NIU, sharing educating supplies and providing encouragement.

He appreciated to jot down his compositions with expensive Blackwing pencils and take photographs with a 3D digicam. He loved the light humor of Laurel and Hardy and the outdated radio present “Vic and Sade” in addition to TV’s long-running “Gunsmoke.”

Mr. Bach can be survived by his former spouse Dalia, daughter Eva, brother Eric and three grandchildren.

His memorial will probably be held at 1 p.m. April 30 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in DeKalb, with a reception after.

A celebration of his music is deliberate for 7 p.m. Might 1 at Boutell Memorial Live performance Corridor within the NIU Music Constructing, the place the primary Jan Bach Prize in Music Composition is to be awarded to a younger composer.

Teague mentioned he’ll carry out the steelpan concerto that Mr. Bach wrote after listening to him play.

Source link

Illinois

Two Morrison seniors attend Illinois Premier Boys State

Published

2 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Two Morrison seniors attend Illinois Premier Boys State

MORRISON – Two Morrison High School students participated in Illinois Premier Boys State, which was June 8-14 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Gavin Streets Wood and Blaine Williams, who will be seniors this upcoming school year, were selected to attend and were sponsored by American Legion Post 328 in Morrison.

American Legion Illinois Premier Boys State was founded in Illinois in 1935 by three Illinois Legionnaires, Hayes Kennedy, Harold Card and Matthew Murphy, who organized the first Boys State at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. It is a participatory program in which students become part of the operation of city, county and state governments, according to its website.

American Legion posts select high school juniors to attend the program in June right after their junior year. In most cases, individual expenses are paid by a sponsoring Legion post, a local business or another community-based organization, according to the website. At Boys State, participants learn the rights, privilege and responsibilities of citizenship. Fictional political parties are created and the citizens are randomly assigned to one.

Boys State activities include various levels of legislative sessions, political party caucuses, four election cycles, general assemblies, band concerts, law enforcement presentations and recreational programs, according to the website.

Streets Wood said he decided to go to Boys State for a chance to win scholarship money. His plan is to attend Sauk Valley Community College and work toward earning a degree in cybersecurity, possibly at the University of Illinois.

Williams said he is unsure as to what he wants to study after high school, but the Boys State experience has him thinking about politics.

Source link

Illinois

Its official, Chick-fil-A is Illinois’ favorite chicken sandwich

Published

9 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Its official, Chick-fil-A is Illinois’ favorite chicken sandwich

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A new fast-food study from Richfield Research confirms what many Illinoisians could’ve guessed, Chick-fil-A is the king of chicken sandwhiches.

According to the study, Illinois isn’t alone. 30 other states ranked Chick-fil-A as the best place to get a chicken sandwich.

Popeyes and Wendy’s took home the silver and bronze, respectively.

In spite of the love Illinois has for chicken sandwiches, the state doesn’t even crack the top five states for consumption. The top five are Florida, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia.

On average, 14% of Americans are eating a chicken sandwich at least once a week.

The full results of the study can be found below:

Illinois’ favorite fast food chicken sandwich hails from Chick-fil-A, the preferred choice in 30 other states
Popeyes (21%) and Wendy’s (8%) follow CFA in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
Over 40% of Florida residents consume fast food chicken sandwiches on a weekly basis, the most among all U.S. States
43% of Americans admit to consuming a fast food chicken sandwich on a monthly basis

Source link

Illinois

Looking to live off the grid? 3 Illinois counties are among the country’s top choices

Published

16 hours ago

June 30, 2024

Press Room

Looking to live off the grid? 3 Illinois counties are among the country’s top choices

Looking to get away from the bustle of the city? Suburbia just not for you? An off-grid lifestyle might appeal to you.

According to a recent poll, three Illinois counties are among the best for off-the-grid living, including one in the top 10:

Top Illinois counties for off-grid living

In its poll of 3,000 people nationwide, BusinessElectric.com says these counties were the most popular choices in the Land of Lincoln:

No. 9, Pope County: The southernmost county in Illinois sits on the border of Kentucky, along the Ohio River. It has 3,763 people — second-fewest people in Illinois, according to the 2020 census. The entire county is hilly and during rainy weather, “rivulets cascade down the hills in the park forming waterfalls of varying sizes and heights,” according to Wikipedia. The county contains Dixon Springs State Park and is part of the Shawnee National Forest.
No. 36, Johnson County: The immediate western neighbor to Pope County has 13,308 people, according to the 2020 census. It includes part of Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge and Shawnee National Forest.
No. 124, Jo Daviess County: Let’s go to the opposite side of the state with the northwesternmost county in Illinois. Part of the so-called “Driftless Area,” the county contains “rugged terrain compared to the rest of the state,” says Wikipedia, including Charles Mound, the highest natural point in Illinois. The county has a population of 22,035 and sits in a tri-state area including Dubuque, Iowa, and Platteville, Wisconsin.

The top 5 locations nationwide to live off the grid

No. 1, Wasco County, Oregon: The county gained significant attention as the setting for the Netflix series “Wild Wild Country,” which documents the controversial Rajneeshpuram community led by Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in the 1980s. Despite the community’s tumultuous end, the show has appeared to have sparked renewed interest in off-grid lifestyles in Wasco County, according to Business Electric.
No. 2, Hot Springs County, Wyoming: Ranked second, Hot Springs County in central Wyoming offers a rural environment enriched with natural hot springs, rivers, and mountains. The county’s remote areas provide the essential seclusion and resources necessary for off-grid living.
No. 3, Meriwether County, Georgia: Located in west-central Georgia, Meriwether County offers a rural setting with large parcels of land available for purchase. The county’s strong agricultural community and abundant natural resources support a sustainable off-grid lifestyle.
No. 4, Bienville Parish, Louisiana: Situated in northern Louisiana, Bienville Parish provides a rural environment with access to plentiful natural resources like forests and bodies of water. The parish’s remote areas offer privacy and opportunities for alternative living.
No. 5, Somerset County, Maine: Completing the top five, Somerset County in central Maine boasts a rural environment with vast forests and access to rivers and lakes. The county’s low population density and natural beauty make it an ideal location for off-grid living.