Celebrating 100 Years of Instrumental Music at Heights High

By Jillian White

It takes a single conversation with a graduate of the Cleveland Heights High School Instrumental Music Department to realize that the program is truly beloved. Aside from producing generations of distinguished professional musicians, whether they played strings like solo cellist Alisa Weilerstein ’99, woodwinds like bassoonist Loren Glickman ’41, or even percussion, as did jazz vibraphonist Cecilia Smith ’78, the department has provided mentorship and fond memories to alumni who pursued careers outside of music. The 2021-2022 academic year marks the 100th anniversary of the Instrumental Music Department (IMD).

The IMD’s founding is fully documented in the 1922 yearbook. The volume records that in October of 1920, three students petitioned Principal Russel Burtt to form an orchestra. Mr. Burtt acquiesced, stating, “Starting an orchestra in the school is an admirable venture. Prove yourselves to be in earnest and credits will be given for orchestra work.” And prove themselves they did. The orchestra made its debut performance in the fall of 1921 under the baton of Mr. E.B. Downey, a science teacher at Heights. The group existed as an extracurricular activity until February of 1926, at which point the first full time music director, Mr. Percy, was hired and the orchestra became an accredited course. The orchestra even performed at the 1926 opening of the school’s current home on Lee Road.

The next decade heralded a flourishing of Heights’ instrumental music program. While at it’s 1921 founding, the orchestra had numbered only 15 members- a motley array of instruments lacking the requisite sections for standard repertoire (for instance, the group possessed neither violas nor celli), by 1929 it had grown large enough to be divided into a separate band and string orchestra. This year also marked the entrance of a new director, Mr. Mark Hindsley, under whose tenure the instrumental department continued to blossom.

In 1932, the department reached another milestone in its growth: the founding of the Heights Band and Orchestra Parent Organization, affectionately shortened as “BOPO.” The organization, which is still active today, supports the IMD, helping to plan and chaperone trips, providing volunteers for performances, and creating a sense of community for student musicians and their parents. Scrapbooks and other records donated by the BOPO to the Heights Schools Foundation’s historical archives provide fascinating insights into the history of the department, including information about many of the key leaders of the IMD.

John Farinacci, who began his tenure at Heights in 1949, was well loved by his pupils and continued the legacy of excellence in instrumental music at the school. Heights alumna Marcia Hileman Clark, of the Class of 1963 recalls that,

Playing violin, then harp in the Heights High Orchestra was definitely a highlight of my years at CHHS. Our travels and performances were so inspirational especially playing at the Boston Conservatory and in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Canada, and more. Mr. John Farinacci was our inspiration, as he challenged us to perform Sibelius, Beethoven, Mozart, and so many others.

When Mr. Farinacci went on to become a principal at Heights High in the early 1960s, his position was filled by another well-regarded director, Kaarlo Mackey. Though his time at Heights was short, as his life ended in a tragic car accident in 1967, Mackey’s impact is still felt at the school today. According to alumna Lanie (Leni Lewitt) Veenstra, of the Class of June 1967, Mackey was a stickler for intonation and expected excellence from his students. Mackey’s legacy is preserved at Heights through a scholarship recently established by the aforementioned alumna, the Lewitt Music Scholarship. The award, to be first awarded in 2022, will support a graduating senior who has plans to pursue higher education and a career in music.

In addition to the marching band, concert band, and orchestra, a number of smaller ensembles have flourished in the instrumental music department since its inception. Among them was the eminent Jazz Band, directed in the 1980s by James Bane, which hosted a yearly “Jazz Nite,” performed at festivals, and toured the country along with the other large ensembles. By this time, Heights’ instrumental music department had become so popular that it was necessary to employ multiple directors. One such director, Robert Bergantino, taught at Heights High for nearly two decades. Ronna Caplan, of the Class of 1970, reflects,

I credit [Bergantino] for impacting my career path for the remainder of my professional life. He helped provide me with a focus and he enabled me to integrate my professional values with my personal ones.

Bergantino, as is documented in BOPO records, was in addition to being an excellent educator, a ceaseless advocate for the importance of the arts in public education. It is through the advocacy of teachers and staff like him, parent groups, and our incredible students that Heights High’s music program not only survives, but continues to grow and develop.

There is no better way to close this article than with the words of Cleveland Heights High School’s current band director, Dr. Nicholas Marzuola:

The Heights IMD has one of the most storied and rich histories of instrumental music education at the high school level in the United States. I am delighted that Heights High students are still thriving in this program a century after its founding; we’ve been through an ongoing pandemic, personnel changes, and challenges from outside forces such as EdChoice and budget cuts at the state level. Despite these obstacles, the Heights High IMD programs including Orchestras, Concert Bands, Jazz Ensembles, Jazz Combos, and Chamber Ensembles are not only still performing, but are doing so at a high level. I think that is a testament to this community and most importantly, the passion, dedication, and love for music performance that our students exhibit every single day.