Peterson Retirement Concert

BETH & STEVE PETERSON RETIREMENT CONCERT

DEAR FRIENDS,

How fast seven years can go! It seems like only yesterday I was gearing up for my first newsletter and first year at Illinois. As I write this final note to you, I must admit I am not missing the annual knot in my stomach that would normally be forming right about now. But there are SO many things I will dearly miss about Illinois: Thursday night rehearsals in the stadium, the incessant metronome outside my office window for the drum line, my nod to Mr. Harding and Hindsley every time I drove past their headstones on Fourth Street, the great talks and special memories alumni would share with me along the way, the march to the stadium (I’ll never forget it!), the incredible concerts in our world-class concert hall, the countless rehearsals in Harding 141 that were always the highlight of my week, the priceless interactions with our amazing Illinois students, and, of course, the great joy of my daily work with the best band faculty and staff anywhere.

These Illinois years were the best times one could ever hope for. After forty-three years of teaching, 412 concerts,1784 pieces, and sixth-four new commissions, it feels like the time is right to move on to life’s next phase. It has been the privilege of my life to serve as the sixth director of bands at this, our iconic institution, and I will be forever grateful to have been entrusted with the leadership of the Illinois Bands during

I LOVED my time at Illinois and I am grateful to all of you for your support during my seven years with Illinois Bands. In addition to missing you, I will miss the concerts, rehearsals, and conducting classes. I will also miss collaborating with the music education majors to help them find their best student teaching placement.

I am super excited for the next chapter in Illinois Bands history and wish Kevin Geraldi the best of luck as the new director of bands. I first met Kevin at an American Bandmasters Association conference several years ago. After sharing information about our this time. Together, we have accomplished a great deal. I am very comfortable saying that the Illinois Bands are in great shape.

Thanks to your support of our work, our students are afforded a word-class music experience while they are here at this world-class university. I am absolutely thrilled with the new faculty that will be joining us this fall. They are all extremely talented, and I could not have possibly asked for a better successor than Kevin Geraldi. He is perfectly equipped to lead this great organization into its bright future. Of course, Barry Houser will continue to do his amazing work as associate director of bands, director of athletic bands, and chair of the conducting area for the School of Music. I shall miss him greatly. Thanks to everyone for your support over the past years.

On a personal note, Beth and I have moved to our happy place— Colorado—where we join her dad, my mom, our two children, a couple of siblings, and many friends who made it here before we did. While it has never officially been home, it had felt like it for quite some time. We both hope to remain very active in the band world we love so much. We look forward to seeing you in the future, as we hope to return to Illinois often. My most sincere thanks to the faculty, staff, and students who made my tenure at Illinois simply the best. When I look back at my career, I feel like the luckiest guy around. All the best to each of you.

backgrounds, we realized that his father, Matt Geraldi, was my beginning band director and trumpet teacher in the mid 1970s. Steve and I are proud to share that Kim Fleming and Mike Vecchio, both new faculty members in Bands and Music Education respectively were students of ours at the Ithaca College School of Music. Our band world is amazingly small and wonderful.

I wish you all the very best and hope to see you at a football game, Illinois event, or on the hiking trails of Colorado in the years to come!

With true Illini Spirit, Steve Peterson Former Director of Bands

TO ALL THE ILLINOIS BANDS ALUMNI, STUDENTS, COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS, AND FAMILIES:

Beth Peterson Former associate director of bands