Above: Dr. Jaeschke leading a symphonic band rehearsal. Photo by Winston Hutson.

The Jazz and Symphonic bands at St. Ambrose have new directors for the semester, while Dr. Nicholas Enz is on sabbatical. Dr. Rick Jaeschke has taken the lead of the symphonic band, while Dr. Edgar Crockett is directing the jazz band. 

Dr. Jaeschke, or “Dr. J”, as he told the band to call him, recently retired as band director from Augustana College in Rock Island when Dr. Enz contacted him to conduct for this semester. 

“He [Enz] went on sabbatical and he invited me. So that’s why I came to two rehearsals to see what I was up against.” Jaeschke said while laughing. 

On the other hand, Dr. Crockett previously taught Jazz Appreciation, and has currently been teaching SAU’s Music Theory classes.

After his music theory course last fall, he was asked to conduct for the Jazz Band, “Once I was on with Music Theory they said ‘We know you do jazz, would you be interested in doing this while Dr. Enz is on sabbatical?’.” Crockett accepted the position happily, “It was very copacetic.”, he said while chuckling. 

Students and both Dr. Crockett and Dr. Jaeschke say the process of both bands appears to be going well so far. But an adjustment period is inevitable.

Sophomore trumpet player Sydney Shapkauski says she’s content with the experience so far, “It’s been a very good experience overall. It’s definitely taking a while to become fully used to everything. The new directors seem to be willing to adapt with students well. It’s nerve wracking that we don’t know for sure what we’re playing after a couple of weeks though.” Shapkauski has played under Dr. Enz, in both the jazz and symphonic bands since her freshman year. 

One band member who has had an interesting experience with the new directors so far is Senior, Cora Schultz.

“When he [Jaeschke] visited us last semester to figure out what we sounded like and everything, I already knew I was gonna like him. I vibed with his dry sense of humor and I liked his rehearsal style.” 

She says playing for Dr. Crockett can be demanding while carrying a full class load. She describes how she was already finished with jazz after two rehearsals and how drained she felt. 

“My energy levels at the time were pretty low because of my class load and he drained my energy moreso,” Cora stated. 

However, Cora says doesn’t fully attribute her leaving jazz band to Crockett’s teaching style, “It was mostly a combination of the fact that it was jazz band which isn’t my favorite band anyways, and the fact that he’s not the type of band director that I vibed with.”

Cora goes on to explain that Crockett’s style wasn’t how she envisioned a jazz rehearsal to be like, compared to Dr. Enz, who she says has a more laid back approach to teaching and conducting bands.

Dr. Crockett described his experience with the jazz band so far as, “It’s great.There’s a lot of talent, there’s a lot of good players here. It’s a different scenario where you have a big big-band so it takes some adjusting in that regard…everything has to be more condensed. You have to tighten it up and shorten it up and things like that. So that’s just an adjustment that I’m making.” He went on to reiterate that he is having fun with leading the band and hearing the ensemble play.  

Next year, Dr. Jaeschke says he will be moving to Virginia after he is done with the band so he is doing his best to enjoy his time here. “Terrible it’s been horrible”, he says jokingly while describing his experience so far. 

“There have been some moments in rehearsal where I was filled up because the sound was just gorgeous.” Dr. J also talked about how he enjoyed the responsiveness of the band and how quickly they implemented his suggestions. 

Both directors and students say the adjustment period can be rough, but they believe it will work out for both bands as long as they work together.