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Peter Deneen spent 32 years at the helm of the band program at Traverse City East Middle School. Now he\u2019s ready for his second act \u2013 and hopes other locals are ready for theirs, too.<\/p>\n
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Deneen has been hired by the Traverse City Philharmonic to lead a brand-new endeavor for its Community Music School: an adult beginning band program called \u201cAct 2.\u201d <\/a>Geared toward \u201cadults with little to no prior musical experience who are interested in learning how to play a band instrument,\u201d Act 2 will \u201ccover the fundamentals of reading music, proper instrument handling, basic technique, and ensemble playing.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n In Deneen\u2019s eyes, the class is a second chance for anyone who ever wished they\u2019d taken band back in their school days \u2013 a sentiment he says he heard quite a lot throughout his career.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cThat came up so often in the 32 years I was at East Middle School,\u201d Deneen says \u201cThere\u2019d always be parents of my students saying, \u2018I wish I\u2019d played in band in sixth grade.\u2019 Or maybe it was, \u2018I stopped playing in band after middle school, and I wish I\u2019d stuck with it.\u2019 They would see how much their child was enjoying band, and they would wish they\u2019d taken advantage of those opportunities when they were a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Music education opportunities are widely available in Traverse City for young people, but are harder to come by for adults. Addressing that gap is one of the goals of TC Phil\u2019s Community Music School, which launched in 2024 when the orchestra moved into its new digs at Cherryland Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cThe Community Music School really grew out of a strategic planning process TC Phil did a few years ago, where we rewrote our mission statement and made education and community outreach equal pillars of our organization, along with bringing great symphonic works to the community,\u201d explains Angela Aleo, the school\u2019s director. \u201cPart of the intentionality [of the school] has been making sure that we’re servicing all of our age groups. It always draws a lot of attention when you do things for children, but maybe not as much of attention and effort is given to adult programming, which is exactly where this Act 2 idea came from.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n TC Phil has long offered programming for seasoned musicians; an example is Encore Symphonic Winds, the organization\u2019s adult semi-professional band program. But programming for adult beginning musicians \u2013 or for people who played in middle school or high school but haven\u2019t touched an instrument since \u2013 hasn\u2019t been a priority.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n For years, Aleo says TC Phil didn\u2019t have a space to host classes \u2013 especially large musical ensembles. Setting up shop at Cherryland removed that pain point, and happened to dovetail with two other factors that made the time right to break into a new market.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n \u201cFor one thing, there are programs similar to this nationwide, and there\u2019s real growth in this area of adults wanting to learn new hobbies and new interests,\u201d Aleo says. \u201cAnd then, as we started to develop this idea, it was a serendipitous moment where Peter Deneen was retiring. Even before he retired, it occurred to me that he would be the best person to lead this class, because he is such a great teacher and so well-known and loved and respected in the community. And then when he announced his retirement, I was like, \u2018Oh, this is the perfect opportunity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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