the ogden VOLUME 138
Repor er Our Town, Make it Yours!
OGDEN, IOWA 50212 - WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2014
NUMBER 40
Jazz band in full swing
RHETT BENDER - PERFORMER, CLINICIAN, EDUCATOR
Where a love of music has taken him by KATHY PIERCE
REPORTER STAFF WRITER
Former Ogden High School band director Jerry Kinney saw a lot of promise in his young student Rhett Bender. Kinney, his students will tell you, pushed them to be their best and taught them how to practice. Bender concurs. “He was always giving us achievable goals with multiple competitions,” said Bender. “From him I learned that talent was mostly just focused, hard work.” What has hard work done for the aspiring musician? You may just want to address him as Doctor. Bender, a 1996 OHS graduate, earned his Doctor of Music degree and is currently a professor of music and a graduate coordinator at Southern Oregon University. “During my tenure as Director of Bands and instructor in Ogden I had the pleasure of teaching and working with Brett,” said Kinney. While a student at Ogden, Bender performed numerous times as a soloist at Iowa High School Music Association contests, the Perry Band Olympics, as well as being a member of a saxophone quartet composed of Mike Anthoney, Karen Christensen, Dann Nebbe and himself that was selected as the most outstanding ensemble at contest. He twice competed in the State Jazz Championships. Bender’s original intentions were to major in physics and engineering at Iowa State University with music as an extracurricular activity. Sometime during his junior year he decided on a different direction - “to really study music,” figuring he could always go back and be an engineer - if he ever got bored with music! Bored? Life’s been a balancing act for the soloist, clinician and educator who since leaving college has traveled the country and world. Bender has presented chamber music education programs for young students in California, Nevada, Washington, Wyoming and throughout China, sponsored by Yamaha Corporation. “Yamaha Musical Corporation supports my educational efforts and performances,” says Bender. “They allow me to play their instruments in development, in exchange for my input. I have had a long relationship with Yamaha and am honored they promote me as one of their artists.” Bender says he loves traveling and that music has been the vehicle to take him all over the world. “I particularly like performing in China. There,” he says, “they treated
me like a rock star.” He began studying violin in fourth grade. He would transition to the tenor saxophone in junior high when his family moved into the Ogden school district. The much smaller school did not offer a strings program. His Master’s Degree from the University of Georgia was in bassoon, clarinet, flute, oboe and saxophone. He even plays guitar, but saxophone he says is his primary love.
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I consider myself lucky to have a job teaching about what I love to do. -RHETT BENDER
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“I play all the saxophones, especially soprano and alto. Currently I’m working with a composer on a composition for baritone saxophone. And of course, I started by playing tenor.” Drawing worldwide acclaim Bender has picked up where he left off in high school, garnering numerous awards as both a conductor and performer. A spring concert (2013) of the Rogue Valley Symphony in Medford, OR featured Bender as a guest artist. He is a founding member of the Siskiyou Saxophone Orchestra whose successful tours in Mexico and China have attracted the attention of dozens of composers/ arrangers who have written over 30 works for Siskiyou Saxophones. Bender has found a way of melding two careers into one. “Being an active performer enhances my teaching,” says the musician. “I have the practical experience of being a professional musician and can relate those experiences to my students.” A simple matter of practicality directed Bender towards the field of education. “It is nearly impossible to make a living solely as a professional musician. I consider myself lucky to have a job teaching about what I love to do.” The balance between performBENDER Continued on page two.
OHS band instructor Jeremy Britton has his jazz ensemble belting out tunes from the big band era. The group recently placed third at the South Central Iowa Bandmaster’s Association (SCIBA) District Jazz Band Festival and competed in the annual Iowa High School Music Association state jazz band contest. They are now getting tuned up for the Indianola Jazz Encounter Saturday, Feb. 22. Ogden performs at 8:30 a.m. Both the jazz band and show choir will be featured in a concert Tuesday, Feb. 25 beginning at 7 p.m. The Hoover Jazz Festival set for March 8 is
their final contest of the year. Mark your calendar for Saturday, May 10 when the public is invited to the 17th Annual Jazz Band Dance. 2013-14 OHS jazz band members are front row, left to right, Zach Waterbury, Ally Rubin, Kara Kieffer, Lexi Hamilton, Derek Reutter. Middle row, Zane Satre, Grant Heineman, Zane Buxton, Jeff Olson, Andrew Haberer. Back row, Anna Clark, Nathan McCutcheon, Olivia Johnson, Allen Waterbury, Director Jeremy Britton. Not pictured, Savannah Baugh-Clark. -Ogden Reporter photo
A Valentine’s Walk-in registration nights Release audit invite for scheduled for Ogden Early report on OMU youngsters Learning Center preschool The Leonard A. Good Community Library is hosting an after school Valentine’s story time and craft session Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. Note: This is an early out day at school.
Boone County Extension Council elects officers
The Ogden Early Learning Center preschool is looking forward to its 14th year of serving families in the community. The Ogden Community School District is pleased to have the fouryear-old grant that provides preschool at no cost to children who are four years of age on or before Sept. 15, 2014. Walk-in registration nights have been scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday, Feb.18 and 20 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Howe Elementary School. Preregistration will help the Dis-
The Boone County Extension Council elected four officers during the organizational meeting January 23. The nine-member council annually elects officers to comply with Iowa law.
Making plans for Relay for Life fundraiser
Donna Monson, Boone, is the newly-elected chairperson. Monson will preside at all meetings of the extension council, and will have authority to call special meetings and carry out duties performed and exercised by a chairperson of a board of directors of a corporation. Kim Rinker, Ogden, was elected vice chairperson. Jeff Erb, Boone, was elected secretary. The council elected Doris Stotts, Boone, to the treasurer position. The council is the county governing body of Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. The council hires county staff, manages the county extension budget of approximately $250,000, and helps determine programming. In partnership with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, the council provides educational opportunities that bring university resources to the needs of the county and region. Local extension programs include: 4-H, Strengthening Families Program 10-14 and Master Gardeners. The county extension office is located at 603 Story Street in Boone. To learn more about ISU Extension and Outreach in Boone County, visit their website at www.extension. iastate.edu/boone.
The 11th annual Relay for Life evening buffet and fundraiser for the American Cancer Society is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at the Leonard Good Community Center in Ogden. The event will feature a live auction and raffle drawings. There are still a few tables and tickets available.
trict determine the specific details of the program including: number of children, number of employees, location of programs, etc. If you are unable to attend the walk-in registration nights, the forms can be found on the school’s website www.ogdenschools.org, or you may pick up a packet prior to the registration dates in the Howe Elementary office. Please contact Brenda McCloud at 5152752795 or brenda. mccloud@ogden.k12.ia.us if you have questions.
Houston & Seeman, P.C. released an audit report on the Ogden Municipal Utilities, Ogden, Iowa. The Utilities’s receipts totaled $2,360,994 for the year ended June 30, 2013, a 4% decrease from the prior year. The receipts included $1,991,827 in charges for service, $359,351 in sewer and storm water fees collected for the City and $9,816 in interest on investments. Disbursements for the year totaled $2,329,333, a 10% decrease from the prior year, and included $1,774,344 for operations and improvements, $195,638 for debt service, and $359,351 for sewer and storm water fees remitted to the City of Ogden. A copy of the audit report is available for review in the office of Ogden Municipal Utilities, in the office of the Auditor of State and on the Auditor of State’s web site at http://auditor.iowa.gov/reports/ index.html
If you are interested in sponsoring or decorating a table, please contact Jodi Carson at 275-4259 or Lisa Kieffer at 275-4644. If you would like to donate to the auction or raffle, please contact Jodi Carson at 275-4259, Jeni Ross at 275-3008 or Kerry Carson at 2752266.
Students chosen for honor band Four Ogden High School musicians were nominated for the 9th Annual Simpson College Honor Band that took place Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. From left, Kara Kieffer, Grant Heineman, Zane Buxton and Lexi Hamilton worked with guest conductor, Dr. Courtney Snyder (Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.) Following a day of rehearsals, participants performed in concert. -Ogden Reporter photo