The local musician community will be paying a tribute to Ron Holleman, a longtime member of the Oak Park Huskie family and former director of the jazz program at OPRF.
The “jazzy tribute” will take place Saturday, June 8 from 1:30 to 10 p.m. at the Madison Street Theater.
The event will feature an 18-piece alumni band that will be directed by Holleman. Gavin Wilson, class of 1981, is one of the event organizers.
“They had a party when he retired, but we had always thought he deserved a tribute to thank him for the years,” Wilson said.
The event will be bringing together alumni from OPRF and giving them a chance to play again.
“Lots of people doing things, who haven’t sung or played their instruments much at all and others who are playing daily,” Wilson said. “It will be a little bit of a curve but that is what is fun about it.”
Wilson said the evening will be a combination of “old musicians and young,” which he finds inspiring.
“There was a period where jazz was dwindling but I am pretty sure that it is on a curve in the other direction,” Wilson said.
The evening will also encourage improvisation, said Wilson, adding there will be a moment for other musicians who bring an instrument to join in.
The event was supported by the Oak Park Area Arts Council, which made a $1,825 donation to the theater to help with the organization of the performance.
“We are supporting the event by a donation to the theater to make the event possible,” said Camille Wilson White, executive director for the Oak Park Area Arts Council.
Bill Sullivan, a board member at the Oak Park Area Arts Council, was a former student of Holleman in the 1980’s.
Sullivan said a group of OPRF Fine Arts alumni decided to bring Holleman back to OPRF to celebrate his legacy as well as his 80th birthday.
“This is the fourth in a series of events that we have done to honor previous faculty members at Oak Park and River Forest High School,” Sullivan said.
Previous events included a choral concert, a book, and another reunion back in 2012. The events have been organized by a group of fine arts department alumni who have been working together to put on the events.
Sullivan said the events have been a way of honoring “OPRF heroes” who have taught students throughout the years.
“Before Ron got too far up in age, we decided we wanted to do something to honor his legacy,” Sullivan said. “We have had a tremendous amount of interest in the event.”
The event will also serve as a way to present OPRF 2024 graduate, Trevor Schonman, with the OPUS Scholarship. Schonman is a vocal jazz performer who will be studying at NYU this upcoming fall and received a $1,000 alumni association scholarship.
The OPUS scholarship was created in 2001 to help students who were going to study fine and performing arts in college.
Donations made toward the OPUS scholarship are encouraged, Wilson said.
“It is going to be an evening of love, laughter and music and a celebration of all things that are best about the Oak Park and River Forest high school fine and performing arts department,” Sullivan said.
The concert performance, which is free and open to the public, will start at 7:30 p.m.