Bill Sweeney

Refresh the Arlington Marching Band's Look

Arlington friends and family,

The Arlington Marching Band program has been accepted as a participant in the Pepsi Refresh Project for the month of December, with its eye on a $50,000 grant to support the design and purchase of a new set of uniforms for the band. The Refresh Project awards grants based upon the number of votes collected by each organization. In order for the Admirals to receive a grant, they must place within the top ten organizations in the $50K Category.

Voting began on December 1, and will run until midnight on December 31. The top ten will then be announced on New Year’s Day. The Marching Band is currently in 10th place – please help them by voting today and every day until December 31. Anyone can vote, so long as they are 13 years of age or older. Each person can vote twice daily – once online
at http://www.refresheverything.com/arlingtonband and once via text message by sending “110845” to PEPSI (73774).

Mark your calendar for October 7th 2012 for the 37th Annual Marching Band Invitational.

Thanks,

Laura

 

Invitation to the Dedication Concert

Dedication of the William J. Sweeney Performance Hall

Sunday, June 5^th, 2011 at 3:00pm

The Arlington Music Department will host a special concert and dedication ceremony on Sunday, June 5^th, beginning at 3pm, in the William J. Sweeney Performance Hall.  The concert will celebrate the new auditorium and will pay tribute to Dad and the many ensembles and programs that he created during his 32 years at Arlington.  The concert is free and open to the public, but we ask that you kindly send an email to krizzo@acsdny.org if you plan to attend, so that Arlington staff and the Band Boosters may have a better estimate on the number of guests to expect.

Rich Guillen, a current Arlington music teacher, reports “Jazz Machine, Wind Ensemble, Philharmonia Strings, Concert Choir and several small ensembles will all be performing in this dedication event. Lots of special things planned for this event!” 

Linda, Lauri, Jill, and Tara will all be traveling to LaGrangeville to attend the concert and dedication ceremony along with 20 other Sweeney family members—ranging in ages 4 to 75!  If you are in the area, we hope that you will consider joining us at this celebration of the new auditorium and of Dad’s contributions to music and music education at Arlington. 

Through Facebook, we have learned of many old friends who will be attending.  But we know that not everyone is hooked into Facebook, so please help spread the word.  Feel free to forward this link to friends, and let us know if you (or your family who might still live in the community) plan to attend so we can be sure to look out for you. 

Arlington High School Auditorium

We are delighted to share the news that the Arlington Central School District’s Board of Education voted to name the newly renovated high school auditorium in honor of Dad.  The William J. Sweeney Performance Hall opened earlier this year after a multiyear renovation, which gutted the Dome to the studs, and it has hosted numerous wonderful concerts throughout the year.  The text of the proposal that was unanimously adopted by the Board reads:

Whereas Mr. William J. Sweeney pioneered and created many music programs for the Arlington Central School District as Band Director and Music Coordinator of Arlington High School beginning in 1968, and

Whereas Mr. Sweeney built a music program, which began with just 20 students, but grew to include five bands, three orchestras, a competitive marching band, an award-winning jazz band, and numerous ensembles involving more than.600 students, and

Whereas Mr. Sweeney created unique and enriching concert events, such as PRISMS, the Guest Conductor Program, Concert on the Lawn, the Elementary Christmas Tour, and the Wind Ensemble Concerto Program, and founded in 1976, the 1st Arlington Marching Band Invitational, and

Whereas Mr. Sweeney began the jazz tradition at Arlington High School by establishing the nationally renowned Jazz Machine, participating in the prestigious Berklee Jazz Festival, and instituting the annual jazz “Cabaret”, and

Whereas the Board of Education, Superintendent of Schools, faculty, staff, students and parents will be forever grateful for his commitment and dedication and his positive impact on thousands of Arlington students,

Now Therefore Be It Resolved that the Arlington Central School District does hereby name the auditorium at Arlington High School as the William J. Sweeney Performance Hall as a permanent and public recognition of Mr. Sweeney’s contribution to Arlington and its students.”

We know that many of the students, parents, and colleagues who have posted on this site were among those who helped petition for this honor, and we extend our deepest thanks and appreciation for this recognition of Dad’s work.  Our connection to Arlington runs deep, even though we have all moved away from the Hudson Valley; so it is especially gratifying to know that the William J. Sweeney Performance Hall will tie us further to the Arlington music department and to the great community of educators, students, and parents that keep it thriving and growing today.

2009 Arlington Invitational

Well, we're heading home this weekend.  Thanks to the thoughtfulness of Arlington parent Sharon Warman, we were encouraged to think about coming to the Arlington Marching Band Invitational.  Linda and all three of us girls, and an assortment of grandchildren, will be spending the weekend in the Hudson Valley and attending the show.  Sunday. October 11. 1pm.  Please let us know if you will be there!

Sharon created this lovely tribute to dad, which will be in the program.  Many thanks!

Request for Photos

With special thanks to the Beazley Family, we recently received some additional photos of  Dad working with the Arlington Marching Band in the 1980s.  Snapshots like these are such a treasure for us.  If anyone should happen to sort through old photos and find a shot of Dad (or of him working in the background), please feel free to email it to us at: Sweeney.girls@gmail.com.

In addition, we have virtually no videos of Dad teaching or conducting; old VCR clips of him dancing around on the podium would be priceless.   

Lincolnshire Posy and Other Grainger Music recorded by Dallas Wind Symphony

We received the most amazing gift from David Lesser (Arlington '01, Eastman '05).  He is the principal hornist for the Dallas Wind Symphony, and they have just released a new recording of Grainger music.  For any of us who played in the Arlington Wind Ensemble, it is music that will bring you home. Lincolnshire Posy: Music for Band by Percy Grainger is available at the Dallas Wind Symphony Web site: http://www.dws.org/content/view/125/127/.

A Tribute

Many thanks to Darren Motise for creating this beautiful video tribute.  It is such a thoughtful gift.  

Obituary

William J. Sweeney, a dedicated and gifted music educator, died December 20, 2008, at the age of 68.   Bill was a teacher for the Arlington Central School District from 1967 to 1999.  During his 32 years of service, Bill was the director of Arlington’s extraordinary Wind Ensemble, led the Arlington Admirals Marching Band to championship victories in 1983 and 1985, and built one of the finest school music programs in the country as coordinator of music.  Hundreds of Bill’s students continued their musical education to become teachers and professional musicians, and so many more continued to make music an integral part of their lives.  He grew up in Gasport, NY, and was a graduate of SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. A resident of Canandaigua, NY, since his retirement in 1999, Bill served as a frequent guest conductor and as an instructor at Ithaca College supervising student music teachers. Bill was predeceased by his parents, William and Emma Sweeney. He is survived by Linda, his loving wife of 46 years; his daughters, Laura (Scott) Brophy of Canandaigua, Jill (Chris) Heuss of Yarmouth, ME, and Tara Sweeney (Vikram Capoor) of Atlanta, GA; grandchildren, Nora, Will, Ryan, Caleb, Rachel, Milan, and Leela; brother Bob Sweeney; and sisters Maryanne Sweeney and Diane VanBourgondien. Memorial donations may be made to Serenity House of Victor, Inc., 1278 Brace Rd. Victor, NY 14564 or the Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave., Box 704, Rochester, NY 14642. 

William J. Sweeney, 1940-2008

We announce with deep sadness that Bill Sweeney passed away on Saturday, December 20, 2008, surrounded by the love of his family.  We gain comfort in knowing that he is at peace after a very long, hard-fought battle. 

Service

A service was held on Sunday, December 28, 2008 in Canandaigua, NY.  We are deeply appreciative of the many friends, family, and students who came from near and far to help us celebrate Bill's life. We're gathering some of the remarks from the service now, and will post those that are appropriate when they are available.

Memorial Donations

Bill and Linda were thankful for the extraordinary care and support they received over the last five years. They have suggested memorial donations be made to Serenity House of Victor, Inc., 1278 Brace Rd. Victor, NY 14564 or the Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Ave., Box 704, Rochester, NY 14642. 

In addition, a few have asked if they could direct a memorial contribution to the Arlington Music Program, and that would be most appreciated as well: Arlington Band Boosters, Inc., PO Box 66, LaGrangeville, NY 12540.

 

A Heartbreaking Update

While we feel truly blessed to have had the last six months with dad, he has now taken a serious turn for the worse, and it is nearing the time to say good-bye.  His multiple myeloma has taken over, and he is in complete kidney failure.  Linda and Lauri are at his side at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, and Jill and Tara are both trying to make their way here in a fierce winter storm.  Please keep them both in your prayers for safe and speedy travel.

The photo above was taken in mid-October, as Rachel, Lauri, Linda and Bill made their way from Canandaigua to Portland, ME, for one last road trip to see Jill and her family.  Dad loves Maine and the ocean and it was a wonderful, wonderful trip.  We enjoyed good spirits, and dad enjoyed his favorites -- mussels -- at nearly every meal.  The photo of Bill and Linda was taken in front of a sculpture at the Dr. Suess Memorial in Springfield, Mass.  The words behind them are those of the book Oh, The Places You'll Go.  A perfect send-off at this hard time.  The full text can be found HERE.