Northshore Concert Band to Perform at the 79th Annual Midwest Clinic
Northshore Concert Band is honored to announce its invitation to perform at the 79th annual Midwest Clinic in December 2025 — the ensemble’s 31st appearance at this prestigious international conference. Since its debut in 1963, NCB has brought dynamic programming, riveting artistic interpretations, and educational innovation to the Clinic, presenting everything from featured concerts and new music reading sessions to collaborations with legendary conductors and soloists from around the world.
For a comprehensive listing of Northshore Concert Band’s performances at the Midwest Clinic, click here.
Northshore Concert Band at the 1963 Midwest Clinic. Photo courtesy of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library Special Collections in the Performing Arts, University of Maryland.
A Legacy Begins (1963-1969)
NCB’s distinguished history at the Midwest Clinic began in 1963, when it became just the third community band ever invited to perform. The program opened with John Paynter’s Fanfare on America — the start of a tradition of opening with patriotic works, often arranged by Paynter himself — and concluded with a standing ovation and an immediate invitation to return the following year. The Band returned annually throughout the 1960s, appearing in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, and 1969. These performances showcased varied programs featuring new compositions, pops selections, chamber works, and concertos spotlighting ensemble members. Notably, the Band gave its first recorded performance of Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances, transcribed by Paynter, at the 1967 Clinic, 11 years prior to its official publication.
Growth & Innovation (1970-1989)
Throughout the 1970s, NCB's reputation for excellence continued to grow with performances in 1970, 1975, 1977, two appearances in 1978, and a return in 1979. The double-bill in 1978 marked the ensemble's 10th and 11th appearances, including a formal program featuring conductors Alfred Reed and Col. Arnald D. Gabriel and a performance of Karel Husa’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Band with soloist Frederick Hemke. The second appearance, at the Clinic’s closing banquet, included pops selections and holiday favorites. A memorable moment came in 1979, when a conductor-less fanfare by Paynter went humorously awry, with the Band missing its cue but ultimately pulling together to the audience's delight.
Northshore Concert Band at the 1979 Midwest Clinic.
In the 1980s, the Band appeared at every Midwest Clinic except 1983, when it chose instead to prepare for its inaugural Adult Band Conference, presented in 1984. Highlights include the 1980 session A Conductor’s Spectacular: Three Aces and a Joker are a Full House, with John Paynter moderating and William D. Revelli, W. Francis McBeth, and Col. Arnald D. Gabriel conducting. In 1981, the Band celebrated its 25th season at the Clinic by performing Richard Strauss’ Festival Prelude, arranged by Barbara Buehlman, with antiphonal brass from six area community bands.
In 1986, NCB introduced reading sessions of newly published music, performed in quick succession for the benefit of attending educators. Paynter encouraged directors to “have their stopwatches and miniature tape recorders ready because things were going to move fast!” In 1988, cartoonist Tom Batiuk joined the Band to draw live illustrations of The Carnival of the Animals, which were projected during the performance, creating a delightful and novel experience.
Tributes & Transitions (1990-1999)
In 1990, Paynter reflected on NCB's broader influence:
"[Northshore Concert Band] became sort of a model of volunteer adult band music-making, and I know, from the correspondence, has resulted in a lot of bands starting up. A high school conductor listened to what adults could do and went home and said, 'You know, there may be enough people in my community to put together such a group.' … We took on a bigger than local role — there are many, many people within the Northshore Band who really feel that we are sort of missionaries in this field."
In 1991, the Band presented a humorous clinic session entitled Oh, Teacher, What Big Ears You Have! — Some of the Ways That Listening Counts!. After preparing a purposely poor first performance of a piece, Paynter coached the ensemble to “improve” it in real time. Unbeknownst to him, the Band planned to play even worse the second time, much to the delight of the audience and highlighting the camaraderie shared between Paynter and the musicians.
The 1992 Clinic featured soloist Allen Vizzutti performing his American Jazz Suite, and Paynter conducting his own transcription of Malcolm Arnold’s Tam O'Shanter Overture.
In 1996, just ten months after Paynter’s passing, Northshore Concert Band returned for the 50th annual Midwest Clinic with a moving tribute concert. The program featured some of his most beloved arrangements, including J.S. Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, Fisher Tull’s The Final Covenant, and Four Scottish Dances. Conductors included Karel Husa, Richard E. Strange, Ray Cramer, Frederick Fennell, and Stephen G. Peterson. Jazz great Wynton Marsalis and his ensemble joined for a dazzling rendition of A Night in Tunisia. Barbara Buehlman, then unable to conduct due to illness, proudly watched from the front row.
Reflections & Renewal in the New Millennium (2000-Present)
In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Northshore Concert Band performed the Midwest Clinic’s closing concert in 2001. The solemn and stirring program opened with Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra followed by Mars, the Bringer of War, which carried new poignancy in the context of the national tragedy. Then-Principal Guest Conductor Mallory Thompson led Elgar’s Nimrod, Ray Cramer conducted Henryk Górecki’s Totus Tuus, and operatic bass-baritone William Warfield narrated Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. The performance closed with John P. Lynch conducting America, the Beautiful, with the audience invited to sing along.
The Band returned to the Midwest Clinic to celebrate its 50th season in 2005, marking the occasion with a triumphant program featuring Richard Wagner’s Huldigungsmarsch, Mark Camphouse’s whatsoever things…, and the Finale from David Maslanka’s Symphony No. 2. Its most recent Midwest Clinic performance came in 2011, which included Donald Hunsberger leading the Band in Vaughan Williams’ Toccata Marziale, an evocative performance of Frank Ticheli’s Rest, and Leonard Bernstein’s rousing Symphonic Dances from West Side Story.
A Tradition of Leadership & Recognition
Northshore Concert Band founder and Music Director John P. Paynter with Assistant Conductor and Business Manager Barbara Buehlman following the presentation of Buehlman’s Midwest Clinic Medal of Honor in 1995.
NCB’s Midwest Clinic performances have featured a remarkable roster of conductors, including founder John P. Paynter; longtime Assistant Conductor Barbara Buehlman; former Music Directors Stephen G. Peterson, John P. Lynch, and Lawrence Stoffel; Artistic Director Mallory Thompson; and Assistant Conductor Daniel Farris. Guest conductors have included Meredith Willson, Glenn Cliffe Bainum, Lt. Col. William F. Santelmann, Alfred Reed, Fisher Tull, Col. Arnald D. Gabriel, Frederick C. Ebbs, William P. Foster, W. Francis McBeth, William D. Revelli, Ray Cramer, Frederick Fennell, Claude T. Smith, Karel Husa, Eugene Migliaro Corporon, H. Robert Reynolds, John L. Whitwell, and Donald Hunsberger.
Notable soloists have included Mitchell Lurie (clarinet), Terry Applebaum (percussion), Frederick Hemke (saxophone), Brian L. Bowman (euphonium), Julius Baker (flute), Allen Vizzutti (trumpet), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Steven Mead (euphonium), and William Warfield (bass-baritone).
NCB's artistic leadership has been recognized with the Midwest Clinic’s highest honors: the Medal of Honor awarded to John Paynter (1987), Barbara Buehlman (1995), and Mallory Thompson (2019); and the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Mallory Thompson (2024).