John Hightower
Host of Brass, Reeds and PercussionBorn in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1951, John moved to Huntsville in 1975, where he worked for a communications training firm. From 1997 to 2022, John worked for the Lanier Ford law firm. During his tenure, He served as Lanier Ford's law librarian, marketing specialist, trainer, and professional recruiter.
From 7th grade to 12th grade, John was involved in band (he played flute and piccolo), a fact that explains his fascination with band music.
John graduated from Mississippi State University (MSU) with a degree in communications and from the University of Mississippi with a law degree. While attending MSU, he worked in professional radio in Starkville for WSSO and WSMU-FM (sister stations). While attending law school in Oxford, John worked for WSUH and WOOR-FM (sister stations). .He served as program director at both sets of stations. Radio was always a lot of fun for him, and he said, "I can't believe how lucky I am to be working in radio again."
John says he has big shoes to fill in following Darryl Adams as host of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion. Darryl passed away on October 18, 2011. But since that time, John has continued a Huntsville tradition at 1 p.m. every Saturday on WLRH.
Thank you, Darryl Adams, for the many wonderful years you dedicated to WLRH. You are missed!
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Variety is the watchword for Brass, Reeds, and Percussion—and this edition is no exception. This edition includes jazz standards, Hungarian marches, a popular song from the 1920s, music from a 20th century movie, and music from a 19th century ballet. This edition also features original classical wind band music: a partita composed by Carl Stamitz, who lived from 1745 to 1801. He was born in Mannheim, Germany, where his father was the leader of the Mannheim court orchestra. As a youth, Carl Stamitz was employed as a violinist in the orchestra, but at the age of 25 began touring Europe as a virtuoso violinist. -
To provide a preview of the Seraph Brass before their concert in Huntsville, this edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features music recorded by this outstanding brass quintet with Mary Elizabeth Bowden and Raquel Samayoa playing trumpets, Layan Atieh playing horn, Lauren Casey-Clyde playing trombone, and Robyn Black playing tuba.
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This is the St. Patrick’s Day edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion. We are going to begin the show with two compositions by Percy French, an Irish composer and songwriter who lived from 1854 to 1920. He was also a author and painter, but began his adult work life as a civil engineer working for a railroad after graduating from Trinity College Dublin. He soon became the inspector of drains for the Public Works Department of County Cavan in Ireland. We will begin the show with one of his most famous tunes: “Come Back, Paddy Reilly.” The song is based on the life of a real person who emigrated from Ireland to Scotland is search of work.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features marches composed by the German march king Hermann Blankenburg, who may be the prolific march composer in the world with over 1,300 marches to his credit. Blankenburg learned to play a number of wind instruments—ranging from the highest to the lowest; in other words, from the piccolo to the tuba. He also played the violin and the bassoon. He was a member of various German military bands and played in bands of the German Army Reserve during WW I, as well as playing in numerous orchestras. He also worked as a police officer and a bricklayer. Today’s edition opens with Blankenburg’s personal favorite march “My Regiment.”
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This is the Mardi Gras edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion. “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is one of the hottest of curret New Orleans talents. His grandfather was Jessie Hill, who lived from 1932 to 1996. In 1960, Hill had a big New Orleans party-song hit: “Ooh Poo Pah Doo.” In recognition of Mardi Gras, New Orleans, and its contributions to American music, today’s edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion will open with “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” as performed on the television series Treme by this grandsons: “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and his brother James Andrews. It will be followed by music from the soundtrack of Tune in Tomorrow, a 1990 film set in New Orleans. The music was written by another hot New Orleans talent: Wynton Marsalis.
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This edition features music composed by a Slovenian and music composed by the Swedish march king. But this edition opens with a march by Herman Ludwig Blankenburg, a German composer who was born in 1876. He may actually be the most prolific of all march composers with over 1,300 marches to his credit. Although he was a member of German Army bands, a British music publisher made his marches famous when Blankenberg won a march contest in 1904. Blankenburg’s favorite instrument was the one he learned to play first: the piccolo. But he also learned how to play the bassoon, tuba, and violin. He conducted his school orchestra when he was 10. He played in and conducted community bands for much of his adult life and also performed in orchestras.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features Hungarian music and Hungarian composers. Born in Hungary and famous for his operettas, Franz Lehar has a strong wind-band heritage. Truth be told, he's actually Franz Lehar, Jr., the son of Franz Lehar, Sr., the bandmaster of Regiment 50 of the Austro-Hungarian Army. After attending the Prague Conservatory, Franz Lehar, Jr., became an assistant bandmaster in his father's band at age 18. But 2 years later, he became the youngest bandmaster in the Austro-Hungarian Army. Then he became a bandmaster in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Yes, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had a Navy because it was not land locked. It accessed the Mediterranean Sea mostly through the port of Trieste, now part of Italy. The Austro-Hungarian Empire controlled most of what is now the northeastern corner of Italy and much of the Croation Coast.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion opens with what has been called the most famous of Franz Schubert’s works: his March No. 1 in D Major, also known as the Marche Militaire. The original composition was for piano four-hands. This march has been arranged for both orchestra and wind band, not to mention other combinations of instruments. In addition, the melody has been borrowed by such other classical composers as Stravinsky and Liszt. It was used in Autolite commercials during the 1940s and 1950s and in the more recent video game Challenger.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features official German military marches based on themes from operas. But this edition opens with a triple play of a jazz standard written by Jelly Roll Morton in 1906; namely, “The King Porter Stomp.” We will begin with the first recording of the tune, the one made in1923 with Morton himself playing the piano. Then we will hear the 1935 recording by the Benny Goodman band, a recording that became a big big band hit. The third version will be a 1955 recording of the tune arranged by Pete Rugolo, obviously made with better recording equipment.
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This edition of Brass, Reeds, and Percussion features original classical wind-band hunting music from the 1700s and 20th century movie music composed by John Williams. This edition opens with two German military marches. As required by a 1817 decree of Prussian King Fredrich Wilhelm, the Prussian Army adopted a list of official marches to be played at military ceremonies. This practice continued when the German Empire was formed and continues to this day. There have been three different editions of the list of official marches. The first is a parade march from the first list and was written by the military musician Julius Mollendorf. The second is also a parade march written by Princess Princess Charlotte of Saxe-Meiningen and can be found on all three lists.
