In 1993, the Maine South High School marching band was invited to Washington, D.C., to perform during the inauguration of the nation’s new president, Bill Clinton.
The students, dressed in their sharp black and white uniforms and red berets, came with new music, a piece specially written for the new first lady, Park Ridge native and 1965 Maine South graduate Hillary Clinton.
Could members of the current, 2016-17 ensemble be headed back to the capitol for a repeat performance if another Clinton — this time, Hillary — is elected president in November?
“I couldn’t imagine her high school alma mater not performing,” acknowledged Maine South Band Director David Hutter.
The marching band, in addition to Maine South’s orchestra and choir students, is already scheduled to visit Washington, D.C., in January and view the inauguration festivities from the sidelines. All three ensembles will be participating in a national music competition, the 2017 Inauguration Heritage Festival, in Manassas, Va.
“Obviously, if someone local gets elected president we might get invited to do something else,” Hutter said. “But nothing, of course, is set up and we won’t know [who is elected] until mid-November.”
The school has not yet been in talks with anyone in charge of the Jan. 20 inauguration to see if Maine South students could again play a part, regardless of who is elected, Hutter said.
“Just to witness it and have that performance opportunity in connection with the trip is pretty special,” he said.
Maine South Music Booster President Andrea Rundblad Bateman knows what it’s like to play for a presidential inauguration — she was a member of the Maine South band in 1993.
“When we actually went to the inauguration, we were a stationary band along the parade route,” recalled Bateman, whose son, Theodore, today plays sousaphone with the Maine South band. “We could see the capitol where we were.”
The band played an assortment of patriotic music that day, including a song written just for the event, entitled “Salute to the First Lady March.”
“As she passed in her limo with Bill and Chelsea, they stopped [near us],” Bateman recalled. “They weren’t out of their car at the time, but she got to talk over a loud speaker and she said, ‘Thank you, Maine South.’
“It wasn’t so much about politics anymore,” Bateman added, acknowledging that, as a “Republican girl from Park Ridge” she wasn’t very interested when the Clintons visited Maine South while still on the Democratic campaign trail her junior year. “It was more about the ceremony and being part of this moment in history and saying, ‘I was there for this woman from Park Ridge who now is the first lady.’ “
Michael Pressler, principal of Maine East High School — where Hillary Clinton completed her freshman, sophomore and junior years before transferring to the brand new Maine South High School across town in 1964 — was the director of the Maine South marching band in 1992 when he got the call that his musicians were invited to the presidential inauguration.
“It was an amazing opportunity,” he said. “The invitation came very late. I think, if memory serves, we knew something before winter break, but there wasn’t much time to pull it all together.”
It was the publishing company of “Salute to the First Lady March,” by Ervin Litkei that initially reached out to Maine South, Pressler said.
A Dec. 8, 1992, letter kept by Bateman was written to Hillary Clinton, asking for an invitation to the inauguration. It was signed by the “Maine South Marching band Inaugural Trip Committee,” which consisted of some members of the band.
“Seeing as how this campaign year has been dominated by the perception of declining family values in the American home, it can easily be seen that many would appreciate the presence of a symbol of your early family life — Maine South,” the letter reads. “It would truly be an honor for us to represent OUR alma mater in the inaugural parade.”
The invitation soon followed.
In Washington, the atmosphere was festive, the sky “beautifully clear,” Pressler recalled. The band itself was set up right on Pennsylvania Avenue, giving the musicians “front row seats” for the parade.
During their time in Washington, D.C., the students also visited government sites, met with former Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde, and were featured on national news broadcasts. A video capturing the trip was also produced and is available to view through Maine South’s WMTH Broadcasting YouTube channel.
“I have traveled many times with literally hundreds of students over the years, and it was one of the best trips I ever took,” Pressler said.
When asked if students from Maine East, Hillary Clinton’s other alma mater, should take part in the 2017 inauguration if she is elected, Pressler said he would love to see it happen.
“If we had the possibility for some Maine East students to participate in the festivities, I would certainly support that to the best of my ability,” he said.
Representing Park Ridge in the inauguration of any president is “a source of pride for the community,” Pressler added.
“To be that close to what is a major event that occurs only every four years is a pretty special thing,” Pressler said. “The vast majority of people don’t get to go to an inauguration.”
Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
