Free concert raises money for Geller Memorial Scholarship fund

Conductor John A. Flaver and Associate Conductor Mike DiMeo will conduct the Herbert M. Geller Tribute Concert Band, a 50-piece ensemble made up of local professional musicians, local music educators, select music students, and several community members from Central New York in a free concert at 7:30 on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Rome Free Academy (RFA) to benefit the Geller Memorial Scholarship fund.

The Geller Memorial Scholarships honor longtime RFA and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (VVS) band director and professional clarinetist Herb Geller, who passed away in 2017.

The Geller Scholarship Committee (GSC) arranges “PREformances” of small chamber music ensembles throughout the year, culminating in a Tribute Band Concert.

The proceeds, via free will donations from these “PREformances” and the series finale, go directly towards providing scholarships to RFA and VVS students who are planning on a career in music related fields.

Over the past four years, the Geller Scholarship Concerts have awarded $9,600 to RFA and VVS graduates for their collegiate studies in music or fine arts.

For Flaver, who presently serves as an adjunct professor of music at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, where he teaches clarinet and performs on the bass clarinet with the symphony orchestra, the chance to serve as the tribute band’s Artistic Advisor is an opportunity to extend a long-standing Copper City tradition.

“Being a native Roman and a musician, I was connected to the Geller family,” says Flaver. “My father taught clarinet to Herb Geller, and I taught clarinet to Herb's son, Jeff.”

The program will feature a decidedly multi-national flavor, with tunes like Morton Gould’s “American Salute,” Percy Grainger’s “Irish Tune from County Derry” (you may not think you know it, but, trust me, you do), Gustav Holst’s “First Suite in E flat for Military Band,” and John Philip Sousa’s march, “Fairest of the Fair.”

Former clarinetist with the United States Military Academy Band, Joe Mariany, who studied clarinet and music theory at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland, and who has performed with Benny Goodman, the Jimmy Sturr Orchestra, and the Adlers Band, to name a few, will be the featured soloist.

Other selections on the program will include tunes by Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and John Warrington’s “Dixieland Jamboree.” Pre-concert four-hand piano music will be provided by Jo Ann Geller and Bruce Smith.

“We know the audience will be greatly entertained and hope they are generous in contributing to scholarships that further RFA and VVS seniors continuing their music education,” says GSC president Jo Ann Geller.

As part of the fundraiser, a limited quantity of Herb Geller Memorial Scholarship Concerts t-shirts will be available for purchase featuring the organization’s clarinet logo.

Contributions toward scholarships will be gratefully accepted at this free concert, and at www.PayPal.me/GellerScholarship, or checks to Geller Scholarships, 712 Beech Street, Rome NY, 13440.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: 50-piece ensemble band plays free concert to aid scholarship fund