Tim Franklin and Jessica John, both graduates of Chambersburg High School and alumni of Cumberland Valley School of Music, were recently in town for the holidays and stopped by to chat with CVSM staff members.
 
Tim and his brothers  James & Peter, were actively involved with CVSM through most of the 1990s. Tim studied voice with Peg Weeks and Richard Overcash, and guitar with Geoff Weeks.  After graduating from Chambersburg High in 1993, Tim went on to study at the Berklee School of Music in Boston, receiving a degree in Music Production & Engineering before moving to New York City.
 
Jessica studied voice with Ronda Zeger (Ranalli) at CVSM and went on to Cooper Union College in New York City, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, specializing in video arts.  Both Tim and Jessica have worked in the audiobook industry since 1999, working first in New York City and Boston, and now have started their own company called Ant Bear Audio in Seattle, where they've lived since 2007. 

 

Tim and Jessica are now married and are co-owners of their audio studio, with Tim doing the editing, mastering and mixing and Jessica doing abridging and quality control. Tim & Jessica won a Grammy for the audio work they did on Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope audiobook. They are currently up for 2 Grammys for childrens' audiobooks, The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden and Brown Bear and Friends by Bill Martin and Eric Carle, read by Gwyneth Paltrow. They have been nominated for and received numerous other awards for their audio productions - including Audie Awards and Audiophile Earphone Awards. The Ant Bear Audio web site can be found at www.antbearaudio.com.

Tim continues to be involved in music making and is in a Seattle band called Pillow Army, a rock band that includes cello and violin. They are currently in the process of producing a CD. The Pillow Army web site is: www.pillowarmy.com.
 
Tim and Jess told us, "The best part of our time at CVSM was performing at Thomson Hall. Having that goal kept our lessons and practice time focused and relevant. We always had something on the horizon to look forward to and work toward. We also appreciate the importance of having teachers like the ones we had at CVSM to help you stay critically aware of your abilities and how you can improve them."

 

Over the years, thousands of students have been involved with Cumberland Valley School of Music and we love hearing from them to keep abreast of what they're doing and they ways in which music continues to play a role in their lives. If you're an alumni of CVSM, contact us! We'd love to hear from you. Over the next couple of months CVSM will create Facebook and MySpace Music profiles to help us stay "in-the-know" about our alumni. Look for us there soon!

The CVSM Community Symphonic Band is performing its annual winter concert at 3:00 pm on Sunday, January 25, at the Chambersburg Area Middle School auditorium, 1151 E McKinley St., Chambersburg, PA, adjacent to Memorial Park.  Admission to the concert is free, although donations to Cumberland Valley School of Music, the local nonprofit community school of music that sponsors the band and concert, are greatly appreciated.

The community band includes musicians from all walks of life, including many professional musicians and educators, who enjoy playing challenging concert band repertoire, which runs the gamut from classical music and concert marches to jazz and musical theater.

Under the skilled guidance of conductor David Wenerd, this year's eclectic and stimulating program includes: the overture to Verdi's opera "La Forza del Destino," "Air (Dublinesque)" by Billy Joel, "That's A Plenty" by John Wasson featuring a brass quintet with band, "Minnesota March" by John Philip Sousa, "Mountain Dance" by Ed Kiefer, "In Flight" by Samuel Hazo, "Atlantik - Marsch" by Edmund Loffler, "Chautauqua" by Robert W. Smith, "Fortress Variations" by Tim Waters, and "Ave Maria" by Franz Biebl.  According to Wenerd, "I would like to think we program something for everybody in the band and audience.  Most of this year's music is new to the musicians but they are beautifully arranged by the finest composers of modern band repertoire."

 

This year, the band concert happens to be scheduled on bass clarinet player Charles Levin's 95th birthday.  His birthday wish was for 3 generations of his family to play in the band with him: daughter Cindy Shank, her son percussionist Zachary Shank, Charles' son trumpet player Chuck Levin and his son, alto sax player Chas Levin. "Charles' birthday wish is being realized this year and the entire community is invited to attend this marvelous performance and celebrate alongside Charles and his musical family," says Wenerd.

Band director David Wenerd holds a B.S. in Music Education from Temple University and a Masters in Music Education from Catholic University.  He is a teacher in the Chambersburg Area School District and chairman of the K-12 Music Department.  He serves as Director of Music at Chambersburg's Presbyterian Church of Falling Spring, director of the CVSM Concert Jazz Band and The Towne Singers, and an active trombonist in the Hagerstown Municipal Band, Lynn Lerew's Slide Show, and The Sand Trap Brass Quartet of Gettysburg.  He has been the director of the CVSM Community Band since its inception in 1993.