WILMINGTON, MA — It had the feel of that final scene from Mr. Holland’s Opus.
At Tuesday night’s spring band festival, longtime Wilmington High School Band Director Barbara Mette received perhaps the biggest surprise of her 40-year career.
Wilmington Marching Band tradition dictates that at the end of each school year, the graduating band members give a class gift to Mette. The members of the Class of 2012, however, took things to a whole new level.
“The WHS Band Class of 2012 decided against a tangible gift, instead starting a fund called ‘the Barbara J. Mette Commissioned Work Fund’,” explained organizer Justin Bleier in his letter to WHS Band Alumni. “The money we raised in this fund was used to commission a composer to create a piece of music to honor Ms. Mette.”
Thanks to the class’s fundraising efforts, the support of the WHS Band Parents and Friends Organization, and a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a piece was commissioned by noted composer James Hosay. “DEVOTION: A Tribute To Barbara J. Mette and Music Education” is scheduled to be published by Curnow Music Press next year.
“DEVOTION” was debuted on Tuesday night, in front of more than a thousand people at the Shriners Auditorium. The performance received a standing ovation and brought an unsuspecting Mette to tears.
To make a magical moment even more magical, the song was performed by dozens of Wilmington High School Band Alumni, along with this year’s graduating seniors. Past band members from as far back as 1983 joined in the fun after months of planning, including three rehearsals.
“We most especially want to thank Ms. Mette for her years of service to our community and for creating a band program that has provided life-long music skills to so many students over the years,” announced the evening’s emcee, prior to the performance.
View the debut of “DEVOTION,” uploaded to YouTube by an audience member, below:
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yYqIU0P-Hk&feature=youtu.be
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[NOTE: Wilmington Community Television was also there to capture the moment. I will upload their video when it’s made available. The photo was taken from Wilmington Middle School’s Twitter account.]
Wilmington Apple 