LS native conducts orchestra at silent movie

CRESCO -  Lime Springs native and Crestwood High School graduate James Ripley, who currently serves as Director of Instrumental Music Activities at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., returns to Northeast Iowa Sunday, March 4 to conduct the Carthage Wind Orchestra in two Cresco events.

Ripley and the Carthage Wind Orchestra will provide music during services at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cresco at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 4. At 3 p.m., they accompany the showing of ‘The General’, a silent film comedy by Buster Keaton, at the Cresco Theatre and Opera House.

Tickets for the movie showing are $5 and are available at the door.

Pastor Elaine Siemsen of Immanuel Lutheran Church, located at 305 2nd Avenue SW,  invites the public to attend the morning worship service.

“The orchestra is providing a prelude, offertory music, a psalm, and a hymn where we will sing along. We’re calling this a prelude to the afternoon (event). Immanuel Lutheran has a tradition of welcoming musicians, and we always hope the community feels they are invited, because these are special opportunities here in Cresco. We are pleased to host them, and have an acoustically wonderful facility.”

A brunch will be served following the service, and attendees are asked to bring their own dish to pass.

 

Stepping back in time

Ripley said returning to Northeast Iowa works well within the context of his latest music project:

“The idea of coming back to Cresco is part of my larger plan to play at historic opera houses in the Midwest,” he said of the project that also includes presentations in Decorah and Dubuque.

Ripley said the recently-renovated historic Cresco Theatre and Opera House, built in 1914, provides an ideal setting for the presentation of ‘The General’ with its live musical accompaniment, which is how silent movies were presented in the early years of the previous century.

At the Cresco Theatre and Opera House, the public is invited to step back in time and witness how movies were shown in the early 20th century.

“It looks like a band concert with a big screen behind us,” Ripley said. “Hopefully the music matches up with the screen in such a way the audience appreciates the film even more. The silent movie music is more like mood music for an extended period of time. It’s not the same kind “of thing as cinematic film music that we are used to now, where every little thing has a sound effect or music that goes along with it; it’s a little more broadly paced than that.  A lot that connects very directly but there’s a lot where a five-minute segment of music and a five minute segment of a film are meant to paint a picture or set a scene,” he said.

 

 

 

 

Ripley said, “It’s a unique opportunity for the community to see the way films were shown in the era the theatre was built. Bringing this to the community in a venue that they’ve taken the time and care to renovate says to me that (the silent film showing) is something special we can do in this theatre. It seemed like a natural fit.”

 

 Personal tribute

Another inspiration for the project is personal for Ripley:

“Over time, I always thought it would have been great to play a concert and actually have my mom hear it, because she was still living in town, in the assisted living center, but she passed away last January in 2017,” Ripley said. 

“When she was just getting into hospice care, I talked with Dr. Paul Jensen, who is actively involved in the theatre.  I said I would like to bring a band and do a silent movie and we’ll make Cresco the centerpiece. I just walked to the theatre from the assisted living center and talked to (Cresco Theatre Manager) Wendy (Lickteig). They said, ‘Let’s make it happen.’”

About 'The General'

From press materials provided by Carthage College:

“Often regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, ‘The General weaves the comedic timing and stunts of Buster Keaton into an engaging story based on a factual account from the Civil War. This synopsis from Kino Lober Films describes the plot:

“Rejected by the Confederate army and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), young Johnny Gray (Keaton) is given a chance to redeem himself when Yankee spies steal his cherished locomotive. Johnny wages a one-man war against hijackers, an errant cannon and the unpredictable hand of fate while roaring along the iron rails.”

The Wind Orchestra is one of the oldest collegiate bands in the country. Under the direction of Professor James Ripley, it specializes in programs that re-create historic performance practices. Come see what your grandparents and great-grandparents experienced when they attended a silent film in the early days of movie-making.'

 

Lime Springs native, Cresco graduate

Born and raised in Lime Springs, Ripley attended high school in Cresco, where he played tuba in the band. He graduated with the Cresco High School Class of 1977. His sister Susan also played in the band, Ripley said, but her specialty was in journalism.

 “She was editor of the school paper, and went on to a journalism career in Aurora, Indiana,” Ripley said.

Ripley returned to Cresco to teach band at Crestwood High School from 1990-1993, and also taught at public schools in Minnesota. He credits ‘marvelous teachers’ for inspiring him in his chosen career as a music educator:

“The elementary teacher Beulah Montgomery, junior high band director Leonard Upham, and high school band director Tom Haugen were all terrific,” Ripley said.  “I actually did have one lesson with Phil Fehmann before he passed away.  Phil was a legend in the community and he put the band program on the map.”

“I’ve kept a soft place in my heart from Cresco. This past January of 2017 when the Carthage band was on tour to Japan, one of the pieces I performed was a work written for the Cresco band back in 1967 when Phil was still the band director. It’s a part of my DNA,” he said.

 

 

Education

“Growing up in Northeast Iowa, I learned that if you are going to do something, do it right," Ripley said.

To that end, following his graduation from Cresco, Ripley attended Luther College in Decorah, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in music education.

“Both my junior high and high school band directors went to Luther,” Ripley said. He credits his education there in helping him when he opted to attend graduate school:

 “When I got to graduate school, I was far ahead of what other students had in their background when it came to music history in particular,” he said. “The background I had at Luther really prepared me to be successful in graduate school.”

Ripley received his Master of Music degree in wind conducting from Northwestern University.

“I studied with an amazing teacher, John Paynter. I learned a lot from him both as a conductor and an arranger of music for band.”

Ripley earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the Eastman School of Music.

“When I was at Eastland, I took a number of classes in orchestration and arranging with Don Hunsberger,” he said.

 

Carthage College

Ripley joined the Carthage College faculty in 2001. He conducts the Carthage Wind Orchestra, Carthage Band, and the chamber winds group AMATI. He also serves as guest principal conductor of the Sakuyo Wind Orchestra at Sakuyo University in Kurashiki, Japan, where he was the music director from 2091-2011. He is currently President-Elect of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).

 

Previous accomplishments

Prior to his appointment at Carthage, Ripley served as assistant professor of conducting and ensembles at the Eastman School of Music, where he was the associate conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble and Wind Orchestra, and as conductor of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble at the River Campus of the University of Rochester. He is an active arranger and editor of wind ensemble music. He has appeared as guest clinician and conductor throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan.

In 2012, Luther College recognized Ripley for distinguished service in the field of instrumental music with the Carlo A. Sperati Award.

 

Family life

At home in Kenosha, Ripley is joined by his wife, Kathryn, a teacher at Tremper High School and “my constant source of inspiration for being able to do anything,” Ripley said.

He is father of two children: His daughter, Jacinda, is a professional musician, and son Erik is a computer programmer sometime trombone player, and like his father, a graduate of Luther College.

 

‘Excited’

As Ripley prepares to return to his hometown, he is excited to offer Howard County residents the opportunity to hear the Carthage Wind Ensemble play at Immanuel Lutheran Church and at the Cresco Theatre and Opera House.

“We have 40 kids looking forward to performing this music for an audience,” he said. “We are excited to come and play.”