[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 24, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING GREG JASEK AND THE HIGHLAND COMMUNITY BAND'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. FRANK J. MRVAN

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 24, 2022

  Mr. MRVAN. Madam Speaker, it is with great respect and admiration 
that I take this time to recognize the 30th anniversary of the Highland 
Community Band and to honor Greg Jasek, principal conductor. Due to the 
global pandemic, the anniversary celebration was cancelled in 2020, but 
a concert and presentation will take place this year on Thursday, May 
26, 2022, at Main Square Park in Highland, Indiana.
  Born and raised in the Hegewisch neighborhood of Chicago, Greg Jasek 
first heard the siren's call of music in third grade when he began 
taking trumpet lessons. Those lessons were supplemented with visits to 
Chicago Symphony Orchestra performances, as well as watching Leonard 
Bernstein on television. He continued his studies in conducting with 
Michael Morgan, then-assistant conductor of the Chicago Symphony 
Orchestra. Later, he was accepted to Tanglewood, which is the summer 
home of the Boston Symphony. While at Tanglewood, Greg studied with 
noted conductors such as Andre Previn, Leonard Slatkin, Maurice 
Abravanel, John Williams, and Leonard Bernstein.
  In 1991, Greg became assistant conductor for the Northwest Indiana 
Youth Symphony Orchestra, and in 1992, he was named cover conductor for 
the International Arts Chamber Orchestra. By 1994, Greg arrived at 
Carnegie Hall to attend the Solti Orchestra Project; however, Maestro 
Georg Solti had a different plan in mind and asked Greg to assist with 
the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra during recording sessions for London-
Decca. Subsequently, Maestro Solti and Greg collaborated in the 
orchestration of Bartok's Romanian Christmas Carols.
  Prior to these outstanding achievements, Greg had already begun to 
make what would prove to be an indelible mark on the Highland 
community. It was in 1989 that a young baritone player named Michael 
Griffin approached Greg Jasek with an idea to begin a community band in 
Highland, Indiana. Musicians from Northwest Indiana and Northeastern 
Illinois gathered together, and the Highland Community Band gave its 
first concert in July 1990. As fate would have it, Greg met his wife, 
Kerry, a flute player in the band, during this time. The couple would 
later add two wonderful children, Benjamin and Samuel, to their family.
  In 2011, Greg was initiated into the Sigma Alpha Iota International 
Music Fraternity as a National Arts Associate, which is a national 
recognition for distinguished contribution to the arts. Later, in 2021, 
in recognition of his 30 years as principal conductor of the Highland 
Community Band, Greg was honored with the Distinguished Hoosier Award 
by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues 
join me in honoring Greg Jasek and in celebrating the 30th Anniversary 
of the Highland Community Band. For his musical influence and 
innovation and his dedication to the community of Northwest Indiana and 
beyond, Greg Jasek is one man who most truly can be called maestro, and 
he is worthy of our admiration and the highest commendation.

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