As the Potomac’s Upper School Band finishes up this season’s concert cycle, The Current sat down with Mr. Michael Dicuirci, K-12 Chair of the Music Department and MS, IS and US Band Teacher, and Mr. Henry Heidtmann, MS, IS, and US Band Teacher and Pep Band Director, to learn what’s new in our band program.
This year’s band is one of the largest in years, with 70 members. With the addition of Mr. Henry Heidtmann, the assistant band director, to the program in 2019-2020, he and Mr. DiCuirci were able to accomplish more in less time, including creating the drum line and the pep band.
Increased participation has allowed a greater range of instrumentation. The Jazz Band has begun auditions, raising the quality of the playing. We have played at the Jammin Java live music venue in Vienna and have brought in local guest artists to accompany the band. The recently-created pep band is playing at basketball games and other Potomac sports events. The drumline, a subset of the Pep Band, has also played at athletic events.
My interview with Mr. DiCuirci follows:
William: Has anything changed in the past few years of the band program, and will it continue to change?
Mr. Dicuirci: Well, I think the two biggest things that have happened in the past couple of years were getting Mr. Heidtmann as the assistant director and he has just really brought a lot of enthusiasm and energy to the job. Because of him, we’ve been able to do a lot more things like drumline, pep band, and other things that we hadn’t been able to do before. He worked very hard in his assistant role, but it’s really more of a collaborative role.
William: What are some differences between this year’s band and previous bands?
Mr. Dicuirci: I’d say the size is the biggest one we’ve had since I’ve been here. And we’re now able to have an audition-based jazz band. There were years in the past, because our numbers were smaller, where we took people who maybe weren’t that interested in jazz or kind of did it begrudgingly. This year, we had to audition for the group because there were so many good jazz instruments. We could play on it. We also, knowing the talent level, picked a very challenging Fall concert. We didn’t go easy on it. I would say this is normally the level of music that we would play later in the year
Having a lot of instrumentation also just opens things up. You can choose better music. There was one year where I only had one clarinet player. And it’s really challenging to figure out what you’re going to do with an ensemble. We’re pretty stocked on all our instruments this year. It’s very well-balanced.
William: Are there any exciting things happening this year besides the regular concerts?
Mr. Dicuirci: Absolutely. Yeah, there are some big things coming up this year and some of this builds off of what we did last year. The last two years we brought in local DC guest artists to feature with our jazz band. Two years ago, we brought in an artist named Gordon Sterling in the fall. Last year, we brought in Everyday Everybody. It’s been a really fun, exciting collaboration. This year, we have our guests and we do have someone who we’ve been talking to. That’s always an exciting kind of new addition to our program. Students approached me and we talked about making our Bands Concert all composers of color. So we’ve been picking up music and bringing in a guest conductor to work with a group shortly after that. So that’s really exciting. And then last year, the jazz band played at Jammin Java, Vienna, and we’re ready to do that again. So those have been newer additions to our program that have been positive.
Mr. Heidtmann: And Pep Band is open to everyone who plays an instrument. We play basketball games, and will play events around campus, play exciting music, and sports music. And you get to learn and play at several events throughout the year.
William: What do you see in the future of the band?
Mr. Dicuirci: Well, I think one thing that has been a growing pain for us is when our program was smaller; We were able to do a lot with little. We were able to do Pep Band, and Jazz Band, and other things. It feels now like maybe a next step would be to explore a tiered ensemble where you had a more advanced level and multiple ensembles. But that is also something that can be very tricky to pull off. So I feel like we’re in a good spot.
William: Anything else you want to add?
Mr. Dicuirci: We’re just thrilled with the trajectory of the ensemble this year. And we don’t take it for granted. It’s such a huge thing to be at a school that values music and backs that up, supports it. If we didn’t have the backing of administration and parents and students, it’d be very hard to run a base program.
Editor’s Note: William is a member of the band. Josh Reinecke assisted with the preparation for the interview. This transcript has been edited for length.
