9/11

Twelve members of the DHS Warrior Marching Band took part in a civic ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of 9/11. It was held on the front lawn of the Deerfield Village Hall on Waukegan under beautiful, blue skies, not unlike the weather we remember seeing ten years ago in New York City. We opened the event with the national anthem, followed by some patriotic selections, including "America," "America the Beautiful," and "God Bless America." We also played "God of Our Fathers," which is known as the "National Hymn." The words were written for the American centennial in 1876, and the tune was composed a decade later for the centennial of the U.S. Constitution. Although there is a wonderful band arrangement of this hymn Claude T. Smith, we played a simple, four-part chorale version.

We then played a similar setting of "It Is Well with My Soul," which has a particularly poignant story that is appropriate for the occasion. Horatio Spafford, a wealthy Chicago businessman who was financially ruined by the great Chicago Fire of 1871, planned a trip to England with his wife and four daughters to take his mind off his troubles. He sent them ahead on the steamship Ville de Havre, which was tragically struck by another ship and sank. All four of his daughters died in the accident, with only his wife left to send the fateful telegram, "Saved alone." When he sailed for England to meet his wife, he asked the captain of the ship to let him know when they reached the site of the accident. It was there that he penned the hymn, a testament to one man's faith in the eyes of tragedy. I felt this was a fitting piece to play as we looked back to the events of ten years ago.

I remember being in the old band room in M-hall on September 11, 2001. Towards the end of freshman band, Mr. Swanson, the assistant principal, came on the P.A. system and told everyone about the attacks and directed us to turn the classroom televisions on to the news. My memories of what we actually saw are a bit fuzzy, but it would have been sometime before 9:00am in Chicago, after both towers had been hit. I believe we heard about the Pentagon strike and saw the towers collapse in real time. In any event, there was an incredible numbness across the school. I remember going to my office after class and calling my wife, who was about to turn off the television. My twin sons, four years old at the time, were happily watching the exciting scenes of fire trucks. When she realized that this was no commonplace accident, she found something else for them to do. Trying to get online to CNN was impossible, so most of us spent the day around the TV monitors in classrooms. My student teacher told me her boyfriend was in DC and that his bus stop was outside the Pentagon, so I sent her home to try to contact him. By the time fourth period came around, there wasn't a lot of new information to be had, so we tried half-heartedly to rehearse in Symphonic Band for the Potpourri Concert. Unfortunately, we were working on a cheerful little march, and it just seemed wrong.

The next few days of teaching were difficult. Learning scales and rhythms seemed insignificant at that point, and not being a history teacher, I felt ill-equipped to explain what was going on to my students. I know that I started my next rehearsals with "Amazing Grace" from the chorale books because it has such a hopeful melody. In retrospect, the band piece On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss would have been even more appropriate, as it is based on "It Is Well with My Soul."

One year later, the marching band gathered with the DHS community by the flag pole and played the national anthem. After a moment of silence, trumpeter Jenni Morris played "Taps," slightly cracking one of the last notes, much like the military bugler who played for President Kennedy's funeral in 1963. Instead of this diminishing the moment, it represented the broken feeling we all had inside. At the ceremony this past Sunday, Zack Berman had the honor of playing "Taps" to punctuate an honor guard ceremony led by our Deerfield police and firefighters. I'm proud to say that he nailed it.

Click here for photos from the Deerfield 9/11 ceremony.