Jewel of the Desert
By Diana Graettinger | Special to Independent Newsmedia
A tertiary road that began in Sun City, traveled to Surprise then to Hollywood overlapped to create an emotive, expressive and sensitive documentary film titled “Jewel of the Desert.” The film juxtaposes the marvels of young instrumentalists with the grandness of seniors who still embrace the miracle of music and the Desert Brass Band they created, under the direction of Charlie Musgrave, conductor and Music Director.
Following a Hollywood-style premier of the film for cast and crew, its formal release to the public will be Friday, Jan. 19, at the Fat Cat Entertainment Center and Theater, 13100 N. Prasada.
For more information on movie times call the theater at 623-231-2610, option 2, or visit the movie listings at fatcatsfun.com.
The film’s Hollywood producer and director Mary Apick fused a cinematic patchwork quilt out of pieces of Sun City and West Valley life. It begins with the brass band and its 39 performers, ages 58 to 91, all from the greater Phoenix area, along with vignettes from the Royal Oaks Senior Community Campus in Sun City, where Musgrave and his wife Toby live, along with segments from Bellview Heights Church in Sun City and the Salvation Army on Avenue of the Arts in Surprise, where the band rehearses.
The film depicts the pluses of learning to play a musical instrument as a young person and the rewards of that musical commitment as seen through the eyes of the musicians and performers of the Desert Brass Band, a compilation of retired educators, former musicians and career professionals who used music to augment their lives.
“The hope is that they will see senior citizens playing at a high-level and it will inspire them,” Musgrave said. Regardless of musical roads traveled, he added, there always will be venues like the Desert Brass Band for people to fulfill their passion to play music. The band plays all over the West Valley.
SUBMITTED PHOTO/DIANA GRAETTINGER
Col. Bill Fedor, a member of the Desert Brass Band, left, Mary Apick, Hollywood producer, director and actor, and Charlie Musgrave, conductor and Musical Director of the Desert Brass Band, prepare for the Phoenix opening of the documentary about the band and its members titled “Jewel of the Desert.”
The road that led to the film began in 1998 when a group of brass players from the Sun City Concert Band created a new sound under the direction of Musgrave, an accomplished musician who brought a suitcase full of talent with him when he moved to Sun City. He worked as Director of Music/College Coordinator for more than two decades at the Indiana State Prison, Michigan City, IN. He was Director of Development, Interlochen Arts Academy, Associate Conductor of the Salt River Band and conductor of the Sun City Concert Band, just to name a few. He has held musical workshops, composed a song, “Why Only on Christmas,” and has written a book, “Fussell’s Individual Technique Guide,” for all instruments.
On the film side, producer/director Apick began her acting as a child star in Iran and became the first actress in her country to win the Moscow International Film Festival Best Actress Award for her performance in the film “Dead End.” She has starred in numerous theater, film and television venues including the NBC miniseries “On Wings of Eagles” and produced the MGM release “Mind Games.” In 2005, she wrote, directed and produced the politically-charged Critic’s Choice Play, “Beneath the Veil,” which premiered in places like the Lincoln and Kennedy centers.
She recently wrote, produced and directed the animated film “The Cat,” which was an Academy Award contender and she has won more than 27 international film festival awards in Toronto, Berlin and Cannes. The documentary draws on her history both in-front of and behind the camera to create this slice of musical drama. Working without a script, she fashioned a screen play out of whole pieces, filmed by as many as 16 cameras to create the one-hour documentary.
The conductor and the documentarian met in 2022 after Apick’s close friend, Col. Bill Fedor, who is the band’s founder and a member, invited her to one of its concerts. She was so impressed that she used her iPhone to capture the moment. She returned to Hollywood and formulated a plan to create a documentary and then returned to Sun City multiple times, to film not only the band members and their performances, but the people whose lives the band has touched including family members and friends.
The documentary showcases Mike Vax who was first trumpet for The Stan Kenton Band and Karen Moeck whose mother would not let her listen to Elvis Presley. There is ground-breaker Terrie Beltran who took up the trombone when women did not play that type of instrument. And there is even romance, the story of Terry and Linda Griffin, both colonels in the Salvation Army, who met as band members and who still are in love.
The film will be entered in the Academy of Motion Picture’s Oscars competition in the Spring of 2024. Apick also plans to enter the film in 30-plus other competitions internationally.
“Mary has had several winners in the various competitions in the past and she is confident that she has produced another winner. Come see for yourself!” Musgrave said.
From <https://www.yourvalley.net/sun-city-independent/stories/hollywood-meets-sun-city-with-new-film,467781?fbclid=IwAR273cqwWNpO1BZ8uBadF0VY8DNZz_QcsdG2aiHmha0j0_8Kdq4YIXHowjY>
Christmas Concert 2023
Testimonial from Leanne McKerlich
I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful concert. It has been over 16 years since I retired as a secondary school band and choir director in Canada and sitting there listening to your impeccable playing I became quite emotional. Christmas music does that to me anyway, but I started to remember all the concerts, and all the wonderful music I had the privilege to share with my students. What a delight to listen to your full instrumentation and sensitive balancing of all the moving lines in your arrangements. Entries, cutoffs and dynamic range were exact yet subtle. Special kudos to your oboe player and lead trumpeter, and to the percussion section (especially keyboards) . My grandfather played in dance and concert bands in Saskatchewan and passed along his xylophone and concert bells to my mother who in turn gave them to me. I have since found them wonderful homes. Listening to your band took me down so many memory lanes from high school , to university, fellow conductors, students and my own family. You are excellent musical ambassadors and I thank you again for enabling my emotional journey down memory lane.
Ken Jaeger
Sun City Concert Band set for new year of shows
New director Ken Jaeger takes over starting Feb. 29
[JACOB STANEK/INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA]
Ken Jaeger is seen as conductor of The Glendale Summer Band during a past Summer Band concert series in Glendale.
Posted Wednesday, January 15, 2020 11:28 am
The Sun City Concert Band begins the new year under new leadership.
Ken Jaeger joins the band as its’ newest director, bringing more than 40 years of conducting experience to the ensemble. The first concert of 2020 is the annual John Philip Sousa concert titled “Sousa On My Mind” 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 29 in the Sundial Auditorium, 14801 N. 103rd Ave., Sun City.
The concert will feature marches, polkas and medleys, all in the Sousa style. Tickets $10, and will be available at the door the day of the concert and also 9 a.m.-noon Feb. 24, 26, 28 in the Sundial Recreation Center lobby.
Mr. Jaeger received his Bachelor of Music degree from Arizona State University and his Master of Fine Arts degree from Southern Oregon University. He taught music (primarily band, orchestra and guitar) in the Tolleson Union High School District for 30 years.
Since retiring, Mr. Jaeger has been a playing member of the Phoenix College Concert Band and the Glendale Community College Band. In 2013, he was named the conductor of the City of Glendale Summer Band which plays eight concerts each June and July in Murphy Park in downtown Glendale. He brings the music of John Philip Sousa as his first concert with the Sun City Concert Band.
John Philip Sousa is responsible for bringing the United States Marine Band to an unprecedented level of excellence; a standard upheld by every Marine Band Director since. Sousa accepted the position of U.S Marine Band Director in 1880 becoming the band’s 17th leader.
Subscribers make this story possible.
We are Back!
Hello SCC Band!
It’s true. It’s almost time to go back for a new and exciting season with the Sun City
Concert Band! Rehearsals for the 2021-2022 season start Tuesday, September 7 at 9:00 am at the Fairway Center. We have an exciting season of five concerts planned! For the fall, our first concert is Saturday, October 23 at 2:00 pm in the Sundial Auditorium.
Next is a special Veteran’s Day concert with the Sun City Women’s Chorus on Sunday, November 7 at 4:00 PM in the Sun Bowl Amphitheatre.
Our Christmas Concert is Sunday, December 12 at 1:00 PM at Sundial.
Looking ahead, for the Spring, our Sousa Concert will be February 19 at Sundial and
our Spring Concert is April 9 at Mountain View.
We know that the past 18 months have been a trying time for all of us. And we know
that some of you have health concerns and may not be able to return.
Please visit our website at http://sccband.org for updated information and don’t hesitate to contact me at KJaeger4@cox.net with questions.