Caledonia Argus

Jazz band director ready for a change

Posted: 6/3/03

by Andrew Miller
Argus News Reporter

The beat will go on, but under new direction.

Craig Gieser, Caledonia High Schoolís jazz band director for the past 23 years, will step down at the end of this school year, devoting himself entirely to the elementary music program.

ìIím going to miss the kids,î Gieser said. ìOverall, it was an excellent experience, and every year I had bright kids in the band.î

His departure, Gieser noted, was prompted by the high schoolís move this year. Previously, with the high school located adjacent to the elementary school, he could keep in close contact with the high school jazz students from his post as elementary music instructor. But the high schoolís move to Warrior Avenue made this more difficult.

ìIt used to be that the kids were only a parking lot away,î he said, ìbut now theyíre a longer ways away, and itís harder to keep in contact with them.î

Another motivating factor for his departure is the all-new music staff at the high school next year. ìI thought with this new blood coming in,î he said, ìit would be a good time to change.î

Gieser came to Caledonia in 1979 with a music education degree from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. The first couple years were hard work, he said, because ìyou have to have all kinds of unique ideas, and especially with high school kids, you have to be able to motivate. Iíd use my performing skills and demonstrateñ Iíd blow on the trumpetñ and then Iíd have their attention.î

The jazz band grew in popularity as the years went on, and it got to a point where recruitment for the band became unnecessary, so eager were students to join the band. State and national competitions showcased the skills with which Gieser imbued the students, and the bandís ratings at these competitions attest to his efficacy as an instructor.

During Gieserís tenure, the band performed in Chicago, Colorado Springs, New York, and New Orleans, to name a few, and ratings of ìSuperiorî and ìExcellent came pouring inî. He appreciated the accolades, but Gieser was most pleased with the ways in which jazz music allowed students to develop their talents and channel their feelings into the songs.

ìI like the kids being able to express themselves through their music,î he said. ìIf theyíre playing the blues and they have a bit of the blues, it comes out in the music.î

ìImprovisation, making up your own music, is important,î he added. ìThe worst thing you can do when a student is creating is to halter that.î

Gieserís approach to teaching jazz helped foster in his students an enduring interest in music, and many students continued playing jazz even after high school. Scads of students went on to play in college jazz bands, and a few even pursued careers in music. One of his students, David Kies, became band director in Spring Grove, and now teaches music in West Salem. It was Gieser who initially sparked his interest.

ìI lent him a Buddy Rich album, and he came back and was playing things on the record,î Gieser said. ìHe told me later that ever since I gave him that Buddy Rich album, heíd wanted to play music and drum like that guy.î

With his jazz days at CHS behind him, Gieser hopes to spend more of his free time practicing and performing with some of his side projects. He is currently a member of two dance bandsñ Remembrance, and Bits and Piecesñ and is also in the Rochester Community College Band.

Though he has his hands full with these groups, as well as the elementary music program, Gieser hasnít ruled out the possibility of teaching jazz at the high school level, perhaps even at CHS. ìWho knows,î he remarked, ìmaybe someday Iíll be back doing it again.î

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