Your 2019 Marching Show is...

The story of the Mars Rover

This passed week the Eastland Band Program presented music week in Eastland.  Centered around Eastland Alumni Collen Gray "Tex" Satterwhite and his music, the band presented programs featuring the history of music in Eastland.

A special guest came to Eastland for the celebration.  Lindsay Kaufman, Satterwhite's daughter flew in from Los Angeles.  Lindsay has visited Eastland a few times, the first being a visit as a small child in the 1950's to meet her grandparents Lina Gray and E.C. Satterwhite

The week's events started with a showing of "The Benny Goodman Story" movie at the Majestic last Tuesday.  Satterwhite appears in several scenes of this movie.

On Tuesday the Eastland HS Wind Symphony, one of the two concert bands at Eastland High School, performed a concert at the 1st United Methodist Church.  This included performances of Easter Monday on the White House Lawn, A Childhood Hymn, A Hymnsong of Phillip Bliss, and Vesuvius.

Two band students presented vocal performances of Satterwhite's music, Catherine Hernandez singing the Patsy Cline hit Through the Eyes of a Child and Trenton West presenting a song from Satterwhite's personal collection entitled A Child at Prayer.  ​Tex Satterwhite passed away in 1978 and it is believed that this song was never publicly performed until this concert.

On Thursday a combination of students from the Eastland Jazz band and Eastland Pops formed a group nicknamed the Satterwhite Symphony.  They performed the Eastland Musical Legacy concert with song dedications to Phil Hewitt, Marsha Vermillion, and G.W. Collum.  Verna Johnson and Leon Hale were recognized as distinguished faculty and distinguished alumni respectively. 

Friday saw a swing dance at the Connellee Roof Top Garden with live music provided by the Key City Jazz Quintet.  Satterwhite, Leon Hale, and their friends used to hold dances in this same location in the 1930's after forming a dance band of local high school/community musicians.

Despite the weather, the Eastland Jazz Festival finished off the week on Saturday in the downtown square with jazz bands performing throughout the day at the Lyric Theatre and the old Texas Band building on the square.  Groups included the Eastland Jazz Band, Eastland Pops, Tarleton Jazz Band, Stephenville HS, Jim Ned HS, Wylie HS, Abilene HS, and Howard Payne University.

Here you will find the dedications for the Eastland Musical Legacy Concert that was held at the Eastland Majestic Theatre 4/11/2019

This performance is dedicated to Phil Hewitt.  He directed the Eastland Band in the 1960's and again in the 1980's.  He lead the program to their first known sweepstakes in 1989 and started the jazz band program.  This song is one of his favorites that his students remember playing many times.

G.W. Collum was the band director in Eastland, TX from 1935-1937.  The band in Eastland was strong and Prof. Collum would be remembered in Eastland for many years after he left.  He introduced the Eastland School song in 1936.  Read more about him in the Band Director Hall of Fame.

Verna Johnson taught for many, many, years in Eastland, TX.  She was known as Teach Johnson to her students.  Many times has she been honored in Eastland.  Tonight we tie her to her successor Marsha Vermillion who is in attendance tonight.  Marsha was a student of Verna Johnson and eventually took the same post at Eastland, leaving her own legacy.

She originally came into our view in photos of her visit with Collen Gray Satterwhite in 1976.

Leon is a band alumni and a long time columnist in Houston, TX.  We have recently posted Leon's memories and biography here.

Tonight we have with us Lindsay Kaufman, daughter of Tex Satterwhite, picture visiting her grandparents home of Seaman St. as a child and again this week:

In 1960's Ina traveled to LA, California to be on the TV show "About Faces."  While there she met Satterwhite and shared her experiences with us.

Due to an unfortunate leak in keeping the secret of the 2019 Marching Show Theme (thanks a lot Mr. Bramlett), we've decided to announce it early.

A Marching Show entirely based around the concept of not actually playing our instruments!  This will completely blow the minds of audiences everywhere.