| We may have complained about the endless sectionals and practices and "going down the line" sitting in utter fear, but I definitely appreciated and will continue to appreciate his passion for music and the drive he instilled in us to be the best of the best. Thanks for the incredible music education you gave us all, Gunga Din, and my red lobster. PHS's famed Studio Band director, 'Dr. B,' dies
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| By: Jeff Milgram , Staff Writer | 12/30/2003 | |
A teacher who inspired students to take up careers in music.
Anthony J. Biancosino, the director of Princeton High School's award-winning Studio Band who lost a battle against cancer Saturday, was remembered Monday as a teacher who inspired students to take up careers in music.
"His impact was huge," Princeton Regional Board of Education President Charlotte Bialek said Monday.
Known as "Dr. B" to students, parents and staff members, Dr. Biancosino, 57, was a music teacher for 35 years, 26 of which were in Princeton.
He was an inspiring teacher to "thousands of students," Ms. Bialek said.
"Many of them went off to careers in music. He was an incredibly inspiring teacher," she said.
The best known may be John Popper, the leader of Blues Traveler, who has said that his success in the music industry is due to Dr. Biancosino's mentoring.
"Obviously, we are all saddened by the news, even though we knew he was ill and had undergone surgery," Superintendent Claire Sheff Kohn said Monday. "He had such an incredible love of life and enthusiasm. ... He'll be a great loss."
Dr. Biancosino conducted his last concert with the Studio Band in June, when he announced he would retire. He had been on leave while battling colon cancer, but had returned sporadically to conduct the jazz band, which had played at two presidential inaugural balls.
In 2002, Down Beat magazine, the Bible of American jazz, presented him with an Achievement Award for Jazz Education.
"With the enthusiasm that Tony Biancosino exudes for jazz and its contribution to American musical culture, it's no surprise that ensembles from Princeton High School's music program win first place awards at festivals and get invited to play at presidential inaugural balls," Down Beat said in June 2002.
"He was wonderful and the students really loved him," Ms. Bialek said. She said Dr. Biancosino taught music at PHS at a level typically taught in college.
Dr. Biancosino was the founder and conductor of the American Heritage Wind Ensemble.
Dr. Biancosino's younger brother, Joseph Biancosino-Downey, will be the Studio Band's new conductor.
In April, the Studio Band beat eight other ensembles to be named the best band at the Dunellen High School Invitational Jazz Festival.
"They couldn't have done it any better," Dr. Biancosino said at the time.
At a concert in June 2002, Dr. Biancosino pointed to the Studio Band and said, "I always felt they were an extension of my family ... and that's how I treated them."
Before the June 2002 concert, Dr. Kohn said, "Tony Biancosino is an enthusiastic teacher, band director and person. I feel fortunate to have had him in my career and in my life."
Dr. Biancosino said the school has a duty to teach music and the payoff is what it does to the students. "They give everything," he said of his students. "At the end of the process, their lives are changed."
Trained as a classical musician, Dr. Biancosino told Down Beat, "When I entered teaching, I found a huge void about American music, specifically jazz. Many schools pay lip service — they'll have the ensembles that do jazz in the evenings, but they're not part of the curriculum."
He said if students can do jazz improvisation, "they can do anything." Members of the ensembles learn to apply music history, theory and improvisation to what they're playing.
"It comes right through the ensembles, right through the arrangements we're doing whether it's Count Basie or Les Brown, whatever we're doing," Dr. Biancosino told Down Beat.
And he uses jazz education as a base to teach other music, such as clas- sical symphonic works.
"My philosophy is if you can play a refrigerator, if you tell me you can play one, bring the refrigerator in. I want to hear it. And if you can play it, you're in. There should be no exclusion of any student because of the nature of the instrument. We're here to teach children. Let's give them an education," he told Down Beat.
Former student Peter Winarsky said he learned perseverance, confidence and discipline from Dr. Biancosino. "He really does care about the students more than anybody I've seen," Mr. Winarsky said in June 2002. He was one of about 200 students who belonged to PHS's Meat Club. Dr. Biancosino was the faculty adviser to the club, which held an annual steak dinner.
"He definitely has a great sense of humor," Mr. Winarsky said in 2002. "The humor just shines through. We bust each other's chops, but it's all in fun."
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