NCB at the Midwest Clinic: 1990-1999
Since its founding, the Northshore Concert Band has been a driving force in the community band movement, setting high standards for musical excellence and community engagement. Nowhere has this impact been more clearly demonstrated than through its decades-long relationship with the Midwest Clinic, the world’s largest instrumental music education conference. This series chronicles the Band’s history at the Midwest Clinic, beginning with its groundbreaking first invitation in 1963 and continuing through the present day.
Northshore Concert Band’s presence at the Midwest Clinic in the 1990s marked a period of transition, reflection, and renewed artistic growth, highlighted by moments of levity, profound loss, and heartfelt tributes. As the Band entered its fourth decade, it continued to shape its legacy through memorable performances, impactful collaborations, and a deepening connection to its audience and the broader wind band community.
Frederick Fennell once said, “Who was the best clinician you’ve seen at the Midwest? John Paynter talking about or doing anything!” Such was the case for Northshore Concert Band’s 1991 session at the Midwest Clinic, titled Oh, Teacher, What Big Ears You Have!: Some of the Ways that Listening Counts!
The clinic’s purpose was to share Paynter’s thoughts on the critical role of listening and diagnosis for conductors in the rehearsal setting. To illustrate this, he selected a straightforward band arrangement and coached the Band to play it deliberately poorly, exaggerating common pitfalls like rhythmic inaccuracies, missed accidentals, balance problems, and weak tone production. The resulting performance, complete with wrong notes and mismatched articulations, drew amused reactions from the audience. Once the laughter subsided, Paynter began the process of correcting each issue, demonstrating how careful listening and focused rehearsal can transform an ensemble’s sound. However, as a final twist, the Band had conspired to play the second pass-through just as poorly as the first, catching even Paynter off guard. After a long pause, he quipped that he should have also covered the challenges of dealing with mischievous musicians, earning another round of laughter before the Band finally delivered a flawless third performance.
Northshore Concert Band’s 1992 Midwest Clinic appearance showcased the ensemble’s versatility and Paynter’s enduring influence. Many of the Band’s members were selected to participate in an all-star band organized and conducted by Paynter for a clinic presented by Al G. Wright of Purdue University, dedicated to the music of Henry Fillmore. The Band also presented the final concert of the conference, featuring trumpeter Allen Vizzutti as soloist in selections from his American Jazz Suite and Paynter conducting his popular transcription of Malcolm Arnold’s Tam O’Shanter Overture. Though few could have known it at the time, this would turn out to be John Paynter’s final Midwest Clinic appearance as Music Director of the Northshore Concert Band.
Northshore Concert Band founder and Music Director John P. Paynter with Assistant Conductor and Business Manager Barbara Buehlman following the presentation of the Midwest Clinic Medal of Honor in 1995.
In recognition of her decades of service to the band community, NCB Assistant Conductor and Business Manager Barbara Buehlman was awarded the Midwest Clinic’s Medal of Honor in 1995, acknowledging her transformative influence as Executive Administrator of the Midwest Clinic and as a music educator, conductor, arranger, and advocate for community bands. The award was presented to Buehlman by John Paynter, who was in his final year as President of the Midwest Clinic.
The Band wouldn’t return to the Midwest Clinic again until 1996 — the 50th annual Midwest Clinic and NCB’s 25th appearance at the conference. Months before his planned retirement from both Northwestern University and Northshore Concert Band, John P. Paynter passed away on February 4, 1996, and the Band’s 1996 Midwest Clinic performance was performed in his honor.
Under the direction of NCB’s second Music Director, Stephen G. Peterson, the Band prepared a heartfelt program featuring some of Paynter’s favorite pieces and guest artists who had shared the stage with him over the decades. The program opened with Karel Husa conducting his Mid-West Celebration, followed by Paynter’s transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue. Peterson then led the Band in Fisher Tull’s The Final Covenant, a work Paynter held in special regard. The program continued with a performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, narrated by cartoonist Tom Batiuk, in a nod to the Band’s acclaimed 1988 collaboration on The Carnival of the Animals. Legendary conductor Frederick Fennell took the podium for Morton Gould’s Ballad for Band, while Peterson returned for Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances.
In a show-stopping finale, the Band performed with jazz legend Wynton Marsalis in a dazzling rendition of Dizzy Gillespie’s A Night in Tunisia, before closing the program with Weinberger’s Polka and Fugue from Schwanda, the Bagpiper, arranged by Paynter’s mentor Glenn Cliffe Bainum. Watching proudly from the front row was Barbara Buehlman, Paynter’s longtime friend and colleague, whose health prevented her from conducting that evening. She would step down from her role with the Band shortly thereafter and passed away on September 26, 1997.
Northshore Concert Band at the 1996 Midwest Clinic.
In 1998, the Band returned to the reading session format, led by Indiana University’s Ray Cramer, performing 15 recent works by composers including David Gillingham, John Barnes Chance, Philip Sparke, Martin Ellerby, and Walter Hartley. The session also featured new arrangements and transcriptions, reflecting the Band’s ongoing commitment to expanding the repertoire for wind ensembles.
Northshore Concert Band at the 1998 Midwest Clinic.
Northshore Concert Band’s final Midwest Clinic appearance of the decade came in 1999 as part of the “Midnight Special” clinic, which featured the works of composer Daron Hagen. Under the baton of the Band’s third Music Director, John P. Lynch, the ensemble tackled Hagen’s demanding compositions for wind ensemble and voice, demonstrating the Band’s continued dedication to artistic growth and innovation. Though the crowd for the late-night session was modest, those in attendance recognized the Band’s remarkable musicianship and commitment to bringing new works to life.
