Whitefish band to play for Schweitzer's inaugural ball

Gov. Brian Schweitzer will enter to hometown fanfare at his inaugural ball in Helena on Feb. 12.

The Whitefish rancher-turned-politician went back to his roots when committee members working on the gala evening lined up entertainment for the big night.

Whitefish High School concert band, under the baton of John Klassen, will roll out the musical carpet when Schweitzer arrives at the first of three separate locations for balls that Saturday.

"It's an experience for the kids to do something at that level," Klassen said just before Thursday's band rehearsal, when they worked on their program of music for Helena.

"It's a big thrill for them. They'll always remember this."

As he spoke, musicians were collecting in the band room, finishing their lunches, assembling saxophones, trumpets and piccolos, and pulling out their copies of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun."

The Beatles classic was a personal request of the governor. Throughout his gubernatorial campaign, Schweitzer told voters that it was a new day in Montana.

Harrison's song, he feels, conveys that message.

And what better school to help bring in that new day than an old, familiar haunt - the school that Schweitzer's three children; Ben, a senior; Kai, a junior; and Trina, a freshman; attend.

"This will give us more exposure outside the valley," first-chair trumpet player Stephanie Woodbeck said. "I think it'll be good for our reputation."

The junior has been in band under Klassen since she was in the sixth grade, long enough to put a fine patina on her admiration for the director.

"I think we're good," she said, "and it's not only because we have good musicians, but we have a good conductor. It's the conductor that makes the band."

On Feb. 12, while Schweitzer's trolley is bringing him from the governor's residence to the Carroll College Campus Center for his first ball appearance, the Whitefish High School band will provide the waiting crowd with music to mingle by.

As he enters the tall, vaulted room in the upper floor of the center, the 51-piece band (one member will be missing) will strike up "Here Comes the Sun."

After the new governor has made his entry and the song is over, the musicians will set aside their instruments and lead Gov. Schweitzer, Lt. Gov. John Bollinger and their wives and children downstairs to the evening's second venue, the semiformal youth ball in the Carroll Center Commons.

There, vocalist Kelly Jackson will welcome the entourage with her version of "Here Comes the Sun." She will share the rest of the night's billing with the band, The Clintons.

From Carroll College, Schweitzer will proceed through a swirl of balls across Helena that evening.

Music will be under way in two venues at the Helena Civic Center. The Helena High School band will open the formal ball, which will feature a big-band orchestra program by the Montana State Jazz Band. In the Civic Center auditorium, tribal chiefs and other American Indian leaders will usher in the governor, then Wilbur Rehmann's jazz quartet, Philip Aaberg's piano music and Eden Atwood's smooth vocals will provide entertainment for the semi-formal event.

The last venue, the Great Northern Hotel, will host a semiformal ball with Rob Quist and a musical group including John Bollinger, Jr., which calls itself The Nashville All Stars.

Each is open to the public, with admission set at $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Since getting the request to play for the youth ball, Klassen's band has been through a lot.

When the invitation came the week before Christmas, it seemed impossible to raise what they figured would be $3,000 in transportation and hotel costs. Each band member already is doing some hefty fund-raising to attend a big competition in Seattle this spring and there isn't much to spare.

But through a series of negotiations with Dale Duff at Rocky Mountains Transportation in Whitefish, the governor's ball committee will cover cost of the chartered bus and a night's stay at the local Motel 6.

With the finances cleared, the musicians could get on with the music.

Klassen had no trouble finding the music for "Here Comes the Sun."

The governor's request for John Mellencamp's "Small Town," however, was scuttled when Klassen discovered that it has not been scored for concert bands.

The Montana State Song was a go until Schweitzer's camp changed their minds.

But the band director has plenty to draw from for other "milling about" music.

Thursday's rehearsal found him cajoling his students through another practice of "Upon These Wings."

"What does that English word mean there, 'lightly'?" he asked the tubas with a wry smile. The next time around, they obediently backed off enough for the trumpet and piccolo to carry through.

"You've gone from some pretty nice sounds to trying to dominate," Klassen peered over his glasses at the clarinets a few bars later. "This is a lush blend we're going for here."

Again, his musicians responded beautifully.

"I feel we have a good band. That's largely because we have the only teacher in the state who does private lessons," band vice-president and trombonist Steven Clark said.

Five days a week, Clark said, Klassen gives those free lessons to all takers, and he conducts jazz band on his own time after school twice a week.

"He knows where each person is at," Clark said. "It's not only a musical, but a personal relationship."

Coming from a professional jazz trumpeter who once played with the military's Jazz Ambassadors in Washington, D.C., that means a lot to his students.

"He's always been such a great example, not just as a band director," Woodbeck said, "but more on a personal level. I started thinking of him like maybe a grandfather or a dad."

Katie Cain, the band president and second-chair clarinetist, who will finish her seventh year under Klassen when she graduates this spring, lines up with that sentiment.

"You always know he'll get you through it," Cain said. "He sees the personal side, he cares a lot about you."

But she really admires the way he pushes his students to achieve full potential.

"That's the thing about Mr. Klassen," she said, "he never settles for less. He knows we're better than that."

Cain, Clark and Woodbeck all echoed the honor they feel at the governor's invitation and their gratitude for the opportunity.

The recognition has not gone unnoticed by the school administration.

"Obviously it's a tremendous honor for us and for our kids to be able to play on such a platform," Assistant Principal Jeff Peck said.

He's pleased that the students' talents will be showcased, and knows they "will perform up to their expectation, which is highest level of excellence."

And he knows they will represent Whitefish High well.

"We are very proud and excited for them," Peck said.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com