Hutch Tech Band History
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MARGINAL
Famed jazz musican Grover Washington Jr. is a graduate of Buffalo Technical High School which was the name of Hutch Tech when it was located on Clinton Street. Phil Agulia, a graduate of Hutch Tech and a member of the various music ensembles, is now a band director for the Cleveland Hill school district. John Hill, the instrumental music instructor for Waterfront Elementary School conducted morning band for a few months in 1998 due to then director Philip Reed's inability to be present for morning rehersals. Students involved with the Arts-Tech Band opened for famed jazz musican David Sanborn at Artpark in 1994. The present Hutch Tech Band room was a locker room when Hutch Tech was simply Hutchinson Central High School. The Hutch Tech Band room was extensively renovated in 1998. Risers were removed, cabnets moved and the room was given a fresh paint job. Hutch Tech faculty members have become involved with the program over the years. Former drafting teacher Daniel Mink directed the Stage Band in the late 1990s and retired science teacher Mark Karlin accompanied the band on many trips and excursions serving as videographer. Current director Ben Boyar is no stranger to Hutch Tech. He spent a great deal of time with Hutch Tech students and former director Floyd Fried during the days of the Arts-Tech Band. Hutch Tech students performed with other students from the Buffalo Public Schools during a ceremony welcoming Dick Clark to Western New York regarding the 1993 World University Games held in Buffalo. In 1996 Hutch Tech Band members performed for President Bill Clinton when he came to Western New York during this campaign for re-election. The Band was asked to perform less than 24 hours before Clintons arrival. During the early 1980s, the Hutch Tech Band made apperances on the local television special Spirit of Music sponsored by former supermarket chain Bells and hosted by radio and television personality Danny Neaverth. The Hutch Tech Band visited and performed at our sister school Brooklyn Technical High School in 1989. Then principal Joseph Gentile and various staff members were also persent for the performance and tour of Brooklyn Tech. From the Class of 2003, 4 out of the top 5 students in the graduating class were members of the Hutch Tech Band. That says a lot about the value of music education in schools. The Hutch Tech Band was a frequent participant at the Jazz at the Arts festival held at The Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts. The Hutch Tech Band is sometimes referred to as the Tech Tones. The Hutch Tech Jazz Ensemble is sometimes referred to as the Stage Band. Long time director Norman J. Vestor was a graduate of Buffalo Technical High School. He graduated in 1918 and became director in 1938. The Hutch Tech Band is a long time participant in the Buffalo St. Patricks Day Parade. The Hutch Tech Band took part in the Tri-School Band in the mid 1980s featuring students from Buffalo Traditional, South Park and Hutch Tech. The Hutch Tech Band participated in the Opening Ceremonies at UB for the 1987 Empire State Games which were held in Buffalo. As of 2004, the Hutch Tech Band has participated in the Berklee Jazz Festival five times. |
Ben Boyar: 2000 -
The History of The Hutch Tech Band
Over the past 100 years, Hutchinson Central Technical High School has had a great tradition of wonderful bands. Throughout it's history the Hutch Tech Band has been a fixture of the school. In a school based mostly on technical electives, the Hutch Tech Band has been one of the few opportunities for students to get an education in the arts. Over the past 100 years the Hutch Tech band has put on hundreds of performances, won countless awards, and has seen thousands of students, but the thing that has remained constant has been the Hutch Tech Bands commitment to musical excellence. From Jazz, to Classical to Marching Music, the Hutch Tech Band has worked hard to establish itself as a showpiece of the Buffalo Public Schools.
Detailed information on music at Tech dates back to the late 1920s and early 1930s. Tech Band was directed early on by Mr. Kenneth Wells and assisted by Earl Palmatier. These gentlemen worked together establishing and maintaining the standard by which the Tech Band was and still is run. Wells and Palmentier carried on as directors through 1938.
In 1938, Norman J. Vestor took the reigns of the Hutch Tech Band. Vestor, a highly skilled musician, set the standard by which music programs in The Buffalo Public Schools should be, and sometimes are, run today.
Mr. Vestor saw the Tech Band to many successful performances and competitions during his reign as director. In 1967, after 29 years as director, Mr. Vestor retired. His loss was deeply felt, and he was to be missed greatly. Mr. Vestor holds the record as the longest regular director for The Hutch Tech Band. His longevity is something that few teachers in Tech history have been able to match. Vestor's legacy lives on, and he will be remembered as one of the finest teachers Hutch Tech has been privileged to have.
Though the retirement of Norman Vestor saddened many Tech students and staff, the program continued with another fabulous musician, Mr. Joseph Anzalone. Mr. Anzalone was able successfully carry on the tradition of great music at Hutch Tech during his years as director. During the late 1960s and 1970s the band saw many wins at competitions and held many successful performances both in school and out. Mr. Anzalone carried on as director throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, after 19 years at Tech Mr. Anzalone directed his last peformance for the Hutch Tech, but he too will be remembered for his years of excellence at Tech.
In the fall of 1983, Tech welcomed a new music director; Mr. Floyd Fried. Mr. Fried was truly a class act, and was the perfect man to carry on the tradition of great music programs for Hutch Tech. Mr. Fried saw the band through countless first place wins at various festivals and a top 5 win at the Berklee Jazz Festival, beating many highly funded programs from across the country. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, many music programs were beginning to be phased out in the Buffalo Public Schools, but thanks to Mr. Fried's hard work and dedication, the Hutch Tech Band continued to thrive. During the early and mid 1990s, select Hutch Tech Band students participated in the Arts-Tech Jazz Band, which brought together music students from Hutch Tech and The Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts. Mr. Fried took the band on countless trips throughout the country during his years at Tech; showcasing the great talents of Hutch Tech Band students. After 13 years at Hutch Tech, Mr. Fried left to persue other oportunities; but his years as director will never be forgotten.
In the fall of 1996, Mr. Dennis Moore was named the new Hutch Tech Band director. Mr. Moore continued the tradition of excellence in Hutch Tech Music. He saw his band to first place wins in the Music in the Parks Band Festivals at Cedar Point and Busch Gardens. Mr. Moore was director through 1998.
After a shaky first few months, the Hutch Tech Band resumed in the winter of 1998 with Mr. Philip Reed as director. Though Mr. Reed had many good ideas and plans for the future, his stay was very short lived. After just a few months on the job, he was replaced by Mr. Andrew Peruzzini. Though Mr. Peruzzini was fairly new to the teaching world, he tried his best to carry on the rich tradition of Hutch Tech Music. He focused much of his efforts on the Hutch Tech Marching Band, and truly honed the groups marching skills. He also took the band to a performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in the Spring of 2000.
In the fall of 2000, the Hutch Tech Band saw yet another new director when Mr. Ben Boyar took over the reigns of the Hutch Tech Band. Mr. Boyar came to Tech after spending 19 years at The Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts. Mr. Boyar built a very strong, solid program at Performing Arts, and his goal was, and still is, to do the same at Hutch Tech. Mr. Boyar took the band in a new direction, focusing heavily on establishing a college level Jazz Ensemble. Mr. Boyar has seen the band to first place wins at Busch Gardens, Cedar Point and the Springville Jazz Festival just to name a few. In 2003, the Hutch Tech Band was accepted by Walt Disney music professionals to perform at Walt Disney World. In March of 2004, the Hutch Tech Band ventured to Boston to compete in the Berklee Jazz Festival placing in the half of ensembles in their dvision. Mr. Boyar has just one goal at Hutch Tech, to carry on the nearly 100 year tradition of musical excellence, and he is truly doing a wonderful job achieving that goal.
Over the past 100 years, the Hutch Tech Band has worked hard to establish and carry on a tradition of excellence. Like everything else at Hutch Tech, the Hutch Tech Band demands that the students give their most, but unlike other courses, the Hutch Tech Band has been about a whole lot more than that. It has taught the importance of hard work, dedication and team work. The Hutch Tech Band also has been an artistic outlet in a school that has little else to offer in the way of arts programs. Many Hutch Tech Band students have gone on to to become professional musicans, music instructors, and various other careers in the musical field. No matter what career path taken, Hutch Tech Band students have used the tools they've received to help make them better people in their personal and professional lives. So, as we begin the next 100 years, we hope that the Hutch Tech Band will continue it's tradition of excellence.
Past Performances, Events and Excursions
2004
2003
2002
2001
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