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1969-1970 — 19 Comments

  1. I have been trying many times to get concert recordings from 1960 and 61. I am really interested in hearing Ed Gloss play the Trumpeters Lullaby or Ode to Trumpet. I lost my record album some years back due to moving. He was fantastic and often wondered what became of him. Basically a hometown boy from Allentown near to my town. George Moyer 60 JC

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    • I have the RCA Custom processed and pressed album you’ve been searching for. It is called “Command Performance” and has the “Ode to Trumpet” with Edgar R. Gloss as soloist. I knew him as I was a JC cadet the same time he was there. I don’t know what ever happened to him. COL Infortuna thought he was just great on the trumpet (as he played himself) and I thought s, too. Let me know if this is it and what I need to do so you can hear it. Matt MMrMott@aol.com

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  2. Was in the Choir 66-68 and was always looking forward for a chance to sing with the Band, at different concert venues. Best one for me was, our performance, at Lincoln Center. Had to stop singing and just keep my mouth going sometimes to take in what was happening behind me. What a THRILL!!! Would love to get that recording

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    • William if your still visit BandSir.com–anyone else interested—-I just saw this post from 2018, here it is blistering summer of 2023–I was playing trombone regularly in local bands and symphonies here in Central Missouri til a stroke on Dec. 4, 2021. Put horn away for good. Bandies on that Lincoln Center gig in 1968 (piece composed/arranged by Col. Woodside), were Tim Erdman (cornet or trumpet), Dave Detweiler or John Hoffman (can’t remember, perhaps both), Ron Lentz (1st trombone), Dan Witter (terrified 2nd trombone), and percussion (either Kirby Schaeffer (Band Captain) on side drum, or Dave Pickle, (first sergeant) or Bill Gower (Platoon Sergeant on tympani). I can’t remember percussion. I do remember we performed right before the New York Youth Symphony; they were warming up behind curtain as we ended our performance, and we exited, then off to dinner at an Italian restaurant owned by a parent of one of the choir/glee club members. Like so much at VF, we took the choir for granted. Stirring performances every Sunday. Woodside sure knew his way around the VF organ (again, brilliant musician taken for granted). You had your own special choir performances that departed my memory with stroke. I’m not feeble (yet), just aging! Dan Witter ’68 Academy; ’70 College P.S. I know of no recording of that Lincoln Center performance

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    • William Waldenmyer: if you still visit this site: hi Brad. Remember me? We were in the choir together. You were two years ahead of me. We were part of that group that received their choir crossed back in 1968. Do you remember that the choir had those 2 1/2 tables in the mess hall for the academy choir? We sat at that half table together.

      Regarding that Lincoln Center concert: that was a memorable experience. Too bad you were not with us for the next two years. We had two more memorable experiences. We sang with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Philadelphia. It was not with Eugene Ormandy but another conductor whose last name was Smith. I do not recall his first name. I remember him saying to us that whenever the Orchestra played with other choirs that the orchestra had to play at a lower volume as to not drown out the singers. He said that we were so strong that we were the first choir that they were able to play at full volume.

      And we traveled to the White House along with the band to give a concert for president Richard Nixon. That was an experience never to forget. I was a member of the audio visual club; we were the ones that showed the rented movies on the weekend. Well I remember taking the film that we were showing that weekend and showed it in the White House movie theater while waiting for the band to complete their performance. It was that 1950’s sci-fi movie “Forbidden Planet.“

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  3. William if your still visit BandSir.com–anyone else interested—-I just saw this post from 2018, here it is blistering summer of 2023–I was playing trombone regularly in local bands and symphonies here in Central Missouri til a stroke on Dec. 4, 2021. Put horn away for good. Bandies on that Lincoln Center gig in 1968 (piece composed/arranged by Col. Woodside), were Tim Erdman (cornet or trumpet), Dave Detweiler or John Hoffman (can’t remember, perhaps both), Ron Lentz (1st trombone), Dan Witter (terrified 2nd trombone), and percussion (either Kirby Schaeffer (Band Captain) on side drum, or Dave Pickle, (first sergeant) or Bill Gower (Platoon Sergeant on tympani). I can’t remember percussion. I do remember we performed right before the New York Youth Symphony; they were warming up behind curtain as we ended our performance, and we exited, then off to dinner at an Italian restaurant owned by a parent of one of the choir/glee club members. Like so much at VF, we took the choir for granted. Stirring performances every Sunday. Woodside sure knew his way around the VF organ (again, brilliant musician taken for granted). You had your own special choir performances that departed my memory with stroke. I’m not feeble (yet), just aging! Dan Witter ’68 Academy; ’70 College

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    • Hello , I would like to buy your trombone. I need another one now. I hope you are improving! Thank you. Jeff

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      • I’ve just been reading your comments. I have my trombone from the 50’s yet. Haven’t played it for a long, long time. Sure would be nice if it could find a proper home. None of my family is a trombonist!
        Jeff is right – not feeble, just getting older.

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    • In regards to Dan’s and William’s (Brad) comment regarding the El Morocco restaurant during the Lincoln Center gig.

      Mike Levine and I started at the Forge in 1966. I was a freshman at that time and he was a year ahead of me. We were both in the choir at the same time for the four years that I was there. Apparently he spent his fifth year there graduating JC. It was Mike’s father that owned the El Morocco restaurant. His father was gracious enough to provide us dinner on that trip to the Lincoln Center concert. Mike and I lead the choir procession at the start of the Sunday morning service in the chapel my last year there. Just before I graduated in 1970, Colonel Woodside told me he was thinking about making Mike the assistant choir master the following year. That was Mike’s last year there. If anybody has a 1971 yearbook, can somebody substantiate the fact that he was the assistant choir master? As a matter of fact, can you tell me who the choir staff was and their position for that 1971 year?

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  4. I was part of that Lincon center gig. Dinner was at the El Morocco, the piece that Robert Woodside wrote was entitled Hallelujah Festiva. It was a challenge to sing and I always felt we disappointed Col Woodside with our performance of his piece. I don’t think it was ever performed again, very complex.

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  5. Hi band members,

    I was at the Forge between 66 and 70, a four-year choir member.

    I first want to comment on your website. Whoever is responsible or those that are responsible for designing it, job well done. From my understanding there are some of you which get together and have reunions after all this time; that’s fantastic. It’s been a long time since we were all there at school.

    There are not many fond memories I have of that place except for the many away choir trips I had. A chance to finally get away for a while. And another fine memory was attending your band concerts. You guys were fantastic. You were all a group of talented musicians.

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  6. Regarding the record albums you have posted online: I noticed you have one choir record, the Christmas concert, there which I think was 1969? Well, I have a 1967 and 1970 choir album. At one time I had the equipment to do a digital transfer , but unfortunately I got rid of the equipment a while ago. If someone has the equipment to transfer them, a variable speed turntable and audio CD recorder, I am willing to loan it to that person and ship it to them if you guys are willing and interested to put it online. I mentioned a variable speed turntable for the reason there is one piece with the choir and Organ that I feel sound terrible. It sounds a little flat, and needs to be sharpened by increasing the turntable speed up slightly.

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    • Good morning and thanks for reaching out. I have a turntable and can adjust the speed with software during processsing, if necessary. Generally speaking, I digitize the tracks on records as is but I will surely consider it.

      Feel free to reach out to me at danwolfe.us@gmail.com and we can make arrangements.

      Be well!

      Dan

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  7. I do agree with you, Dan, regarding Colonel Woodside He did know his way around the Organ. And he had quite the credentials to back his profession up.

    He started at the Forge in 1955. And for the four years that I knew him, he never acted with that military protocol like we did with other faculty.

    When we had choir practice, which was several hours a week, he really put his all into forging us to the choir he was looking for. I would always remember him bringing a towel and placing it on that console piano in the choir room prior to rehearsal. And if you recall he was bald on the top of his head. Well, he would get into those rehearsals and generate such a sweat on his head that he constantly use that towel to wipe the sweat off.

    The majority of people who were at the Forge would only know him for the choir and playing the organ on Sunday morning mass. But no one knew that once a year in late fall he would perform a one hour organ recital on a Sunday afternoon. I never missed one in four years that I was there. I found those recitals very enjoyable and very impressive. At that time of my early life, I had never had the opportunity to attend an actual organ recital in a large room which produced the acoustics and reverberation that brought out the power and majesty of a real pipe organ. Only a handful of people ever attended his recitals.

    When we broke for summer vacation, he would go to his second home which was upstate New York. There he was organist and choirmaster at the Chautauqua Institute which is a summer resort and educational center. He later became president of that Institute after leaving VFMA in the Fall of 1971.

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  8. The mystery of Colonel Woodside

    It was the 1971 to 1972 school year and something unusual happened that year. When a school season starts, the faculty gather and stay on till the end of the school year. But there was an exception that year.

    Colonel Woodside started at the Forge in 1955 and left unexpectedly in 1971. Something major had to have taken place. And I ask the question of what happened.

    I graduated in 1970 and left that year. On a rare occasion I would return on a Sunday before chapel services to pay a visit to the choir to see old friends. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving break of that 71-72 school year, I made one of those visits. I attended the service and stayed afterward to talk to old friends. But before leaving Colonel Woodside pulled me aside to talk to me. He told me he was leaving that following week. We never got into a discussion as to what prompted his unusual decision for him to leave. He left the Forge that following Tuesday before Thanksgiving never to return.

    It wasn’t until many years later that I discovered that General Baker was retiring and placing Medenbach in his place. Medenbach, as we all remember, really played his position to the hilt. He must have been the most feared and or hated person in that school. I had the feeling that Baker was always fond of Woodside, but not the case with Medenbach. Just a feeling but there could’ve been friction between those two. I too was involved in a situation that Medenbach stuck his nose into for something petty for which I was only doing my job and responsible. I won’t get into that story here: “The 1969 case of the missing choir blouses.”. I would always remember his famous phrase “bust him, bust him.” Anyway, this has led me to believe there must’ve been a clash between these two which resulted in this drastic outcome. And I mean drastic enough that Woodside left before the end of the year.

    So, my question to anyone that may have been there that year, what happened? What caused him to leave? Did the choir disband? Did they find a replacement?

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  9. I have a question for anyone that was in the band. It pertains to the Field Music. I know that Colonel Feltham was the tactical officer for the band and that Captain Weller was a tactical officer for the field music. I also remember that Colonel Felton was the band’s musical Director. But who was the musical director for the Field Music? I don’t think it was Weller. And I say this because if you look under Captain Weller’s background it’s in physical training. I remember him instructing one of the gym classes I had. So the question is: who was the musical Director for the Field Music? If it was Feltham, you guys must’ve had separate rehearsals from them. Because your repertoire‘s were different. What can you tell me?

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