Crossroads Brass Band plans tribute concert for founder, longtime director

One last time, the Crossroads Brass Band will play for their longtime director.

Don Bookout formed the British-style band in 2012, bringing together community members to play a variety of brass instruments and percussion to recreate the sounds popular in the 18th century. The band performed all over Indiana and beyond, earning honors and distinctions along the way.

Bookout died on June 15, leaving behind a significant musical legacy. To honor their founder and leader, the band wanted to do something special.

“Through music, he was able to bring all of the people who have played in Crossroads together in one way or another. We look at who we are as an organization through the lens of, we wouldn’t be together if Don hadn’t started the group,” said Dr. Jon Noworyta, the musical director of the band. “We’re so happy being around each other, we wanted to do it for him.”

The Crossroads Brass Band will perform a special tribute concert Friday to recognize Bookout’s contributions to local music. Former and current members of the band will play together a slate of unique compositions ranging from Igor Stravinsky to “Amazing Grace.”

Because music played such a huge role in Bookout’s life, band members want this concert to serve as a fitting goodbye to him.

“This concert is much more than a memorial to the founder of the band. It’s a tribute and celebration of the passion Don had for the British brass band tradition — a passion I’ve never seen matched by anyone else,” said Sean Kissane, who plays principal euphonium in the band and is board president. “Don was all-in when it came to the Crossroads Brass Band. The group was his life.”

Bookout was born Feb. 18, 1940, and spent much of his early life in Wyoming. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s degree in education from the University of Wyoming, going on to direct bands at various high schools before becoming principal.

He left education in 1978 to work at Whirlpool, and was transferred to Evansville to lead quality control and testing teams.

But music never left his heart. After he retired, Bookout joined Bend of the River Brass Band and became active as a member of numerous local band booster groups.

When he moved to Greenwood, Bookout wanted to create a brass band with regional players. Crossroads Brass Band was born, performing the type of British brass music made popular in the 18th century.

During a Daily Journal interview in 2015, Bookout described their sound as more mellow and restrained than most brass ensembles. It relies on cornets, E-flat tenor horns and English baritone horns instead of the more traditional trumpets and French horns. Trombones add a bright quality to the music, while percussion instruments give it a unique rhythm.

“No one really knows much about brass music in the U.S. But we’re growing, and we’ve found a home here in Franklin,” he said in 2015.

What started as a group of eight local performers meeting in Edinburgh in 2012 has grown to be a full band of 25 brass players and three percussionists. Two years after its formation, Bookout led the band to its first North American Brass Band Association National Championship in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

With his guidance, the band finished in third place in the nation in their classification — still the highest placement the band has been awarded.

“People leave different kinds of legacies,” Noworyta said. “For Don, his legacy is this band. His passion was music.”

The band wanted to choose selections that were a tribute to Bookout, without being somber; they wanted it to be a celebration of his life.

Each one, in one way or another, reflects the memorial nature of the concert, Noworyta said.

All have special meaning to Bookout’s impact on the band. For example, one “The Firebird” by Igor Stravinsky, symbolizing the fact that though Bookout is no longer with the band, they will remain together and keep his vision alive, Noworyta said.

“The Baritone Aria” was chosen for the concert because Bookout had played the song previously as a soloist. The band will also perform a version of “Amazing Grace” that Bookout really enjoyed, Noworyta said.

Other pieces, such “Blue Tango” by Leroy Anderson, are open to alumni of the band to come play on. A former director of the band, Paul Bork, will help lead the song as well.

For the memorial concert, Crossroads Brass Band has chosen the theme of “And the Band Played On.” The phrase had meaning to the band’s mindset after losing such a big part of their group.

“We didn’t realize how much work Don did for the band in the past, and then how much work we have to do to keep us moving into the future,” Noworyta said. “The idea is, we’re going to keep this moving forward.”

Friday’s concert will certainly be emotional. But Kissane hopes that the community comes together to pay tribute to someone who brought something special to the area arts scene.

My hope is that this concert honors Don in the way he deserves and that as a band, we continue to honor his legacy in the way it deserves,” he said.

IF YOU GO

Don Bookout Memorial Concert

What: A special concert by the Crossroads Brass Band to honor their founder, Don Bookout, who died in June.

When: 7 p.m. Oct. 20

Where: Greenwood United Methodist Church, 525 N. Madison Ave.

Cost: Free