Serving through Music

John Cisetti views his ensembles in Louisburg, Kansasas a way to promote not just musicianship but citi-zenship. He knows that seasons come and go, but the

lessons of teamwork and service to the community linger.According to this veteran of 37 years teaching music inthe same district, “We talk a great deal about using ourtalents to serve our community with our musical skills.What I want them to take with them is the skill of work-ing together with people who are all doing something dif-ferent with a common purpose.” Cisetti teaches 400 stu-dents daily in grades 5-12 in three different buildings, andhis groups give more than 50 performances during theyear. He was a semifinalist for the 2001 Kansas Teacherof the Year. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education, aMaster of Arts, and an Educational Specialist degreefrom the University of Missouri-Kansas CityConservatory of Music and School of Education. Hisgroups consistently receive first-division ratings.

After nearly four decades of teaching, whathave you learned about running rehearsals?I am a better teacher than last year or ten years

ago. By next year I will be better than I am now. Iam always learning new things. I learned quicklythe importance of staying organized and teachingfrom bell to bell. I put up a whole lesson plan onmy projector listing the warmup, how we are goingto check intonation, and the music we will play.When students enter the room it is right in front ofthem. I just step up on the box and go.I have improved at planning rehearsals over a

two-month period before festival. Technology hasalso made my teaching more efficient. I can easilyplay a recorded musical example to show what themusic should sound like. I use a document camerato show the score. In choir all of the parts are infront of you. In band, the second flute does not

18 THE INSTRUMENTALIST / AUGUST 2016

Serving through MusicAn Interview with

John Cisetti

By Dan Blaufuss

know what the third trumpets are doing. I can putthe score up on the projector and everyone can seethe relationships in the music. This past year, all of our students received

Chromebooks. I doubted that we would use themmuch in the band room but discovered that I canwrite an eight-measure sightreading piece quicklywithout having to distribute music. In the morning,students check their email and open the sightread-ing piece. I can create a brand new sightreadingpiece daily, and it is all done electronically.

One unusual feature of your program is asummer camp devoted to concert band.Our concert band camp runs for a week in June

with different activities for various grade levels.We hold an exploratory class for the incoming 5thgraders that covers many instruments for an houreach. Students learn how to put the instrumenttogether and produce a tone. This gives us a jumpon instrument selection, and I get to know thebeginners better. This is especially valuable leadinginto the next school year.In the summer, I teach sixth graders three hours

a day for a week, seventh graders the second week,and seventh through twelfth graders the thirdweek. During that time we play concert bandmusic and other areas that might come up later inthe summer. We sometimes go out to the parkinglot to learn a marching fundamental. The highlight of the summer concert band class

for older students is second instrument class. Forstudents who always wanted to play clarinet, saxo-phone, or snare drum, this is their chance. Wespend 45 minutes a day with the beginning books,and students get to try a different instrument.Sometimes this class has a practical purpose, suchas helping the flutist who want to play in jazz bandbegin to learn saxophone. Sometimes student endsup moving to tuba or some other needed instru-ment next year. Some students simply enjoy tryinga different instrument every summer.

You write your own drill for marching band.How does this help your teaching?I am spread thin teaching 5th grade through high

school. I do not have time for extra marchingrehearsals. Students also have sports and otheractivities, so I cannot ask them to give much moretime either. I have to be efficient with rehearsals.When the bell rings, we work the whole time.I write all my own drill and buy music off the

shelf. When developing the drill, I am puttingfaces with the dots. I know each student and whatI can expect from them. I also think as I writeabout how to teach the drill in the 90 minutes Ihave every other day.I construct drills that facilitate quick learning and

use all the tools at my disposal. There is no reason to

have students stand three inches off the yard line;have them stand on the yard line. If someone elsewrote the drill, I would have to learn it before Icould teach it. Instead, I know it drill inside and out. With difficult shapes and curves (diagonals can be

difficult to get right) we may go out on the practicefield and paint it. “Get to the orange line and findyour spot there.” Amazingly it works. During theperformance the line is not there, but by then it doesnot matter. Having that option available for block-ing out and teaching sets students up for success.I enjoy writing the drill, but it is hard work.

There are times when it is midnight, and I ampulling my hair out. It is like working a puzzle.When I first started there was no computer drillsoftware. I had a light box, drafting tools, andgraph paper, and I did everything by hand.

How do you organize marching band camp?During the last few weeks of school, we hand out

music and start to learn next year’s show. Marchingcamp consists of two eight-hour days and three moreevenings. We spend time working inside as a groupand in sectionals and also include practice parade

AUGUST 2016 / THE INSTRUMENTALIST 19

Louisburg, Kansas, pop. 4,315, was originallycalled St. Louis. The name was changed to avoidrailroad industry confusion with St. Louis, MO.

John Cisetti’s ensembles include fifth-gradebeginning band, which meets daily as one classof 90 students, and separate bands for sixth,seventh, and eighth grade and the high school.In addition, he teaches seventh- and eighth-grade combined jazz band in the fall semesterand high school jazz band in the spring semes-ter. The high school jazz band is also the basket-ball band, giving students the chance to playsome more sophisticated music for sportingevents. Says Cisetti, “The high school is on anA/B block. I was on the schedule committee andmade sure that all students could take musicand other activities.”

marching. Every year we lead the local Labor Dayparade. We learn our pregame and half of the firstdrill for our halftime show during camp. At the endof the week we give a performance for the parents.

What is the Electric Light Band Show?Every year we present our marching show on a

Saturday night for a packed crowd at the stadium.We play it once with the overhead lights on, andthen again with the lights off. The students decoratethemselves with Christmas lights and glow sticks,and we march the show in the dark. This event isquite popular and frequently includes fireworks.I wish I could take credit for this idea, but we all

borrow from other directors. I do not hold manyrehearsals outside of the school day, but did sched-ule one evening rehearsal each year before a festi-val. I invited the parents to watch us, so it becamean informal performance. I had heard of the elec-tric light idea but knew it could be dangerous andimpractical to turn off the lights during a footballgame. I tried it one year during the eveningrehearsal, and everybody loved it.


Above: clockwise from top left: The LouisburgBand’s giant flag, at the Veterans Day Paradein New York, receiving John Philip Sousa’sbaton, playing at the Flight 93 NationalMemorial in Pennsylvania, the Electric LightShow, marching at the Indy 500 Parade.

Below: Folding the flag, packing the flag.

I tell my kids to figure out how to light themselvesup in a way that does not damage the uniform orinstrument or interfere the performance. They comeup with all kinds of crazy ideas. It is so much funwatching students decorate themselves in band rooman hour before the performance.

Your group is also known for incorporating agiant flag into its marching performances.How did that begin?One year we planned a patriotic show for a field

competition. I decided to end it with the BattleHymn of the Republic and open up a big flag on thefield. We discovered that you can buy 20' x30' flag,the largest off-the-shelf size available. It cost $600at the time, and a community donor came up withthe money. I wanted the flag’s appearance to be asurprise at the end of the show. We have it foldedlike an accordion lengthwise and then again in theopposite direction. Folding it this way makes it pos-sible to open the flag suddenly by pulling the fourcorners. I built a wooden box at home to hold it inplace when folded. Everybody loved the flag so much

at the show that it became a tradition at every gameand parade. We have used it to play the NationalAnthem at baseball games for the Royals, Cardinals,and Nationals. On the Friday after September 11, 2001, we

climbed up to our school roof and draped the flagover the side of the building. Everyone passing onthe highway could see it. It was a real inspiration.The flag became dirty in the process, and we had afootball game the next week. I took it home,spread it out on an island in our kitchen. Iscrubbed it a section at a time. I happened to havea television on and saw the President addressingCongress. It was a poignant moment polishing thestars of the flag while the President was speaking toCongress about the attacks.

Your groups take a big trip every four years.How do you raise the money?We have held an annual garage sale for 26 years.

The event has grown dramatically and nowincludes a silent auction. The bands and choirsalso perform. I like this approach better than sell-

AUGUST 2016 / THE INSTRUMENTALIST 21

ing products door to door. The items are all donat-ed by families in the band and except for a fewexpenses and promotion, the garage sale is almostpure profit. We start setting up on Tuesday after-noon and begin selling on Thursday evening. By4:30 on Saturday afternoon, the gym is emptyagain and the floor swept. The Salvation Armypicks up most of the surplus items. We raise$25,000 from this, and it is one of our onlyfundraisers. The garage sale has the added benefitof bringing everyone involved in band together.Young students, older students, and parents allwork together on this, and it builds camaraderie.I try to limit fundraising; that is not why we are

here. The school pays for the regular expenses ofthe program like music and instruments. The solepurpose of our fundraising is to pay for our big trip.Every family has an account that accumulatesmoney over four years to cover the travel cost.

What have been the most memorable expe-riences from your travels with the band?We want every student in the high school pro-

gram to take a trip at least once. We have gone tothe Indy 500 parade, the National IndependenceDay Parade in Washington, and the Cotton Bowl. Our most recent trip was to New York for the

Veterans Day Parade. When I take students on atrip, the purpose is education. We have fun, but it isnot a vacation. For the New York trip, I assignedevery student to find a veteran in their family orneighborhood and interview them or people whoknew them. I worked with the English departmentto develop a series of small assignments, and stu-dents ended up with a descriptive paragraph thatincluded an interesting anecdote for each veteran,along with a picture. We produced a book with allof the pictures and short essays. We also made but-tons with pictures of the veterans, and students worethem on their uniforms during the parade. Youcould walk up to any students and ask about theirveterans. Before the parade, I told the students thatnone of us are veterans. We have been invited to bepart of this parade, and have a duty to represent peo-ple who maybe never got a parade. The bandmarched with pride.

How did you end up conducting at Sousa’sgrave with his baton?After reading books about Sousa and seeing pic-

tures of his monument in Washington, D.C., I hadalways hoped to visit the monument; the year wetraveled to Washington for the Independence DayParade was my opportunity. I contacted theCongressional Cemetery and asked to visit hisgrave. They were pretty excited at the cemetery, andthey contacted the Sousa family. When the bandarrived to perform, cemetery officials pulled outSousa’s baton, and I conducted Taps over his grave

using the baton. My assistant then conducted aSousa march with the baton. That was pretty cool.

What are some of the musical highlights ofyour career?There are two songs that have been written in

my honor. One is Fantasy Suite on Hot Cross Bunsby Barbara York. The other one is Robert E. FosterJr.’s Festival Tribute. The Hot Cross Buns was writ-ten to celebrate my 30th year of teaching. I loveHot Cross Buns; it is my favorite song. When youteach beginning band, you start with just a fewnotes. To students it is just sound. When studentsplay Hot Cross Buns, all of a sudden light bulbscome on as they realize that they are making musicwith these sounds. The day they play Hot CrossBuns is the first day they play music. I thought itwould be cool to have a legitimate high school-

level piece based on this song. Barbara wrote afour-movement suite. that starts by bringing the5th graders out on stage to play the opening themeand then the high schoolers take over and play allkinds of development. For the second piece, RobFoster used the rhythm of my name and wrote thepiece based on that motif.

What was the most poignant moment in yourteaching career?Once we were preparing a piece for seventh-

grade music festival that included a brief trombonesolo. The young player struggled mightily with thattwo-measure solo. Sometimes it would come out,but it was hit and miss. I stuck with him. When we played at the contest, I gave him the

cue and he nailed it. I flashed him a big smile, andhe smiled back. I later learned that this student wasfacing serious problems at home. Life was prettygrueling for him at the time, but that one momentof sunshine made all of the difference in the world.We never know when something we do or say inclass might change the lives of our students. Asteachers, we touch the future. �

Dan Blaufuss is managing editor of TheInstrumentalist. He earned degrees in music andcommunication from Northern Illinois University


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Serving through Music