1st Division Marine Corps Band next ISCS concert

This Thursday, Aug. 25, the Marines are coming to Idyllwild. A tradition in Idyllwild dating back even before the present Summer Concert Series (ISCS), the 1st Division Marine Corps Band will perform a concert of patriotic and American wind ensemble music for the audience at the Butterfield Amphitheater. The concerts are free to all, supported entirely by donations from the community. There will be no opening act and the music starts at 7 p.m.

ISCS Vice President Pete Holzman said the Marine Corps Band has “been a mainstay in the concert lineup for most of our 22 years … and a favorite of the concert goers.” Holzman and ISCS Founder Ken Dahleen have been doing this since 2000. Dahleen, as director and contractor for his Big Band Staff, has the crew and equipment to put on professionally produced events on a big stage.

The Marine Corps Band was originally selected as the final concert of this year’s series, but the outpouring of support from local individuals, groups and businesses has allowed ISCS to schedule a ninth concert for next Thursday, Sept. 1. That concert will feature vocalist Jennifer Singer.

The 1st Marine Division is the oldest, largest and most decorated division of the U.S. Marine Corps. Headquartered at Camp Pendleton, the division is a force of 22,000 men and women organized to conduct combat operations.

The Wind Ensemble is regarded as one of the finest military ensembles in the United States today. The concert band performs traditional marches, overtures, instrumental solos, classical transcriptions and patriotic favorites. It performs regularly throughout Southern California, and across and outside the continental United States. Highlight performances include the annual Fleet Week Celebration in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the Rose Parade, and the World War I annual Remembrance Ceremony in Belleau Wood, France.

The band represents the Marine Corps in the western U.S. and traces its origins back to World War II. The 1st Division was then stationed in Australia, and a band was fielded to play for the celebration of George Washington’s birthday in February 1943. It performed the Australian bush ballad, “Waltzing Matilda,” and this became the official march of the division.

One of the ensemble’s conductors, Corp. Matthew Booth, answered a few questions for the Crier this week. When asked if he had ever been to Idyllwild, he replied, “Yes, I have. We’ve been doing this for many years. A Marine band has been playing annually in Idyllwild for over 40 years. We always enjoy coming back; it’s a great venue; it’s great to be in small-town California. It is a really great opportunity to give back to the community, and to America, through music.”

The presence of the Marine Corps Band brings up a connection to Dahleen: he was once a Marine, and a band member. Dahleen’s dedication and can-do attitude were developed and burnished to a fine luster in the Marine Corps, and have since benefited the community in many ways. This week he shared the story of his enlistment with the Crier.

TC: “You didn’t enlist thinking you would be in the band, did you?”

KD: “No, I didn’t. I enlisted and thought I would be a regular Marine and go to Vietnam. I didn’t have any particular anticipation of what they would do with me. I thought I would go over there and end the war, the kind of thing you think when you are a kid.”

Dahleen told the story of how that enlistment happened, one of those chance encounters that change the course of a young life: “I went hunting down in San Diego, with a friend, Carl, who wanted to stop and visit with a Marine, his nephew, who was in the brig. At any rate we got in the base, ‘behind the wire,’ and we were walked over to the brig by a Marine, an MP. All the way there he was bad mouthing the Marine Corps, how tough it was, how unfair it was … and all the time I was thinking, ‘If that guy can make it in the Marine Corps, I can make it in the Marine Corps.’ I went and enlisted. I liked it and stayed in.”

TC: “How long did you stay in the service?”

KD: “Just under 12 years.”

TC: “What rank did you hold?”

KD: “When I finally got out, I was E7.”

TC: “And what about the band, did somebody say, ‘Soldier, I hear you play saxophone?’”

KD: “At that time they auditioned me on clarinet. They used me as a clarinetist.”

TC: “Where did you serve?”

KD: “Camp Pendleton, Camp Lejeune.”

TC: “Those bands tour a lot. Any places you remember?”

KD: “Mostly the Mardi Gras [in New Orleans]; we played at military graduation ceremonies. We were always all over the place; we were gone more than we were there [on base.]”

TC: “What can you tell us about the band coming to Idyllwild?”

KD: “They are one of the finest [of the 10] field bands in the Marine Corps. I am happy to have them come to Idyllwild with a full concert band consisting of 45 musicians.”

As noted, there will be an unprecedented ninth concert Thursday, Sept. 1, featuring Jennifer Singer, a crowd-pleasing vocalist whose residencies with cruise lines have culminated in her latest voyage as “Signature Artist” aboard Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Sea, its newest and the world’s largest cruise ship. She will be performing contemporary hits and classics from Broadway. That evening will open with Idyllwilders Sam Kessler, David Dapeer and Steve D. at 6:15 p.m.

As the end of this year’s ISCS approaches, Holzman offered, “Just a huge thank you to all the folks who have helped support the concerts. We need every donation, from the change thrown in the hat by children at the concerts to our major sponsors. Every penny counts and it’s this kind of willingness to pitch in that makes Idyllwild such an amazing place to live.”

These concerts are free to all and supported entirely by donations. The team “passes the hat” at the event, and those who can give more are invited to send contributions, checks payable to “Idyllwild Summer Concert Org,” to P.O. Box 1542, Idyllwild CA 92549-1542, or call (760) 413-4638. This year’s budget was over $34,000.

This year’s major contributors include: Bob and Gisela Stearns, Stephanie Yost and Steve Olson, Donna McLain, Compass Realty, Idyllwild Brew Pub, Roland Gaebert, Will and Kathy Kleindienst, Phil Strong and Linda McCaughin, Mountain High Escrow, Doug and Pat Austin, Idyllwild Rotary Club, Town Crier, Nona Solowitz and Mike Cheley, Tim McTavish, Desert Sotheby’s Realty, Idyllwild Trailer Park residents and Idyllwild Pizza Company.

Remember that temperatures drop in the summer evening. Come prepared with an extra layer. Butterfield Amphitheater, 54201 Ridgeview Drive, with access through the Idyllwild Community Playground parking lot on Highway 243 just south of town.

Remember that temperatures drop in the summer evening. Come prepared with an extra layer. Butterfield Amphitheater, 54201 Ridgeview Drive, with access through the Idyllwild Community Playground parking lot on Highway 243 just south of town.