Wallingford-Swarthmore honors Jack Hontz
NETHER PROVIDENCE » A double-barreled salute to the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District’s former musical director ran the gamut from a high-powered halftime performance to a concert featuring students, alumni, faculty and even the Princeton University Band.
The district dubbed this the Jack Hontz Memorial Weekend and lined up numerous ways to pay tribute to the longtime educator, who died last June 23 of a heart attack.
One enduring recognition will be the renaming of the pedestrian bridge that crosses Providence Road and links Strath Haven High School and Middle School. Going forward it will be known as Jack Hontz Way and placards will be put in place to mark the designation.
Given the crucial role the West Chester resident played in building up and leading the high school’s marching band over the course of nearly three and a half decades – and the fact that the 400-plus-member unit crosses the span on its way to practices and home football games – a committee determined this would be a fitting honor.
The high school instrumental music room will also be dedicated to the memory of Hontz. A plaque to that effect will be mounted at the entrance and includes a quote from Aristotle that embodies his philosophy: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
Another means by which Hontz’ legacy will be celebrated is the creation of an endowment in his name. It will provide grants to district students to take part in district music and art programs, as well as scholarships for deserving students seeking to continue in music performance and/ or music education at the post-secondary level.
The endowment got a significant boost when, during the concert Saturday afternoon, leaders of the Wallingford Swim and Racquet Club presented a check for $6,500. It represents the proceeds of a “Celebration of the Arts Festival” held at the club on Aug. 30 in appreciation of Hontz.
Monies raised by the concert and by the sale of commemorative items will also benefit the endowment.
What’s more, a junior each year will carry a flag at the head of the band bearing a logo designed to remember Hontz. It features a distinctive “JH”; the head of a panther, the district’s mascot; and the number 12, recalling Hontz’ desire that the band serve as the “12th man” for the football team.
But all of those announcements notwithstanding, music was the focal point of the tributes.
Alumni members joined the marching band for Friday night’s game against Garnet Valley to perform songs that included Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” and the “Minnesota Rouser,” the band’s fight song throughout Hontz’ tenure.
On hand for the game was Hontz’ widow, Cindy, and three of their children. A fourth, Jack Hontz Jr., could not be present because he was busy following in his father’s footsteps, directing the marching band of Henderson High School in West Chester. He was, however, in attendance for the concert on Saturday.
One of the announcers webstreamed broadcasts of Strath Haven football games, Brian Carroll, described it this way: “Fantastic, fantastic night … there could not be a more perfect way to pay tribute to a man who gave his personal and professional life, and his family’s,” to the district’s music program for 34 years.
Carroll added that “the question from Mr. Hontz was always, ‘If you’re not in the band, why not?’ We’re going to miss him terribly.”
Prior to game, Cindy Hontz spoke to the marching band in the high school auditorium.
“Mr. Hontz would be so proud to see all of you committed to the band even without him,” she said. “You are in very capable hands, and he would be very upset if you were not involved with the band. …
“We want you to go out there tonight and know that Mr. Hontz is watching. He will know if you are making mistakes. We want you to go out and play your hearts out, and not only for Mr.
Hontz but for your school, for your program, for Mr. (Patrick) Murray,” the new band director.
“Jack really loved his job. You cannot think of many things he loved more in this world than teaching music and coaching baseball.”
She said she always knew to add an hour to the time her husband said he would be home because inevitably he would need more time to work with a student or fix an instrument.
“He never complained about putting that time in” and would be fine with eating cold pizza, if needed, Cindy Hontz said.
As for the concert on Saturday afternoon at the high school, district Superintendent Lisa Palmer told the several hundred attendees that the numerous performances would serve as reminders of the “fruits of his (Hontz’) astounding labors of love.”
And that they did, from the opening percussion numbers by the Wallingford Elementary School Orff Ensemble to a lush opera vocal by alumnus Travis Lucas to somber and uplifting harmonies from the Silvertones, the high school’s top choral group.
A stark contrast to softer numbers were the four songs performed by the Princeton University Band, whose members wore outfits festooned with orange and black, the Ivy League school’s colors. In addition to all of his other activities, Hontz served as a musical advisor for that band for almost 30 years.
Strath Haven Middle School Music Director Henry Pearlberg, who attended West Chester University with Hontz, was a lifelong friend and emceed the concert, said the Princeton band passed up performing at the Tigers’ football game Saturday afternoon against Lafayette University to take part.
There were also two video-recorded tributes to Hontz by former students: Jonathan Eng, who graduated in 2016 and is attending the music program at the University of Rochester, and David Buck, Class of 2000, who is the principal flutist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Said Eng: “I was inspired every day by the example he set.”
State Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky, D-161, was at the concert and read a resolution that she and state Rep. Carolyn Comitta, D-156, sponsored in the House of Representatives in recognition of Hontz. She presented the resolution and a flag that recently flew over the state Capitol in Hontz’ honor to Cindy Hontz.
The audience gave the Hontz family a standing ovation at the close of the concert.
Hontz was for decades the driving force behind the band and the music program. He arrived at Wallingford-Swarthmore in 1983 fresh out of West Chester University’s music program and soon after recruited a fellow graduate, Pearlberg.
A decision was made by Hontz that the band would not become a competition unit so as to maximize student participation. In line with that approach, practice demands were structured to allow members to take part in other activities.
All told, about a third of the school’s population participates in the band.
Under Hontz’ tutelage, the district’s music program, in 2013 was chosen as a semifinalist in the Grammy Foundation’s “Signature Schools” program. It was one of about 130 schools nationwide to be designated for the honor.