Travesty!

I was a sophomore Saxophone player in the Platteville High School band.  Our band director thought it would be a good idea for me to play a 12 bar “improvised” solo in an arrangement of “Woodchopper’s Ball” that we used to play at basketball games.  I had no idea what to do, but our student teacher from UW-Platteville did.  He wrote out a 12 bar solo for me to play. (I still have the manuscript!)   I played that “improvised” solo for a year or so and then ventured bravely out on my own, with admittedly mixed results.  

Later, that student teacher hired a seventeen year old Saxophone player to play jobs with his band.  That allowed me not only to make some extra money throughout the remainder of my years in Platteville, but also to come in contact with a lot of interesting older musicians from all around the tri-state area.

Thus began my acquaintance of almost 50 years with Paul Hemmer; the beginning of many musical adventures.

Paul’s employment as Executive Director of Dubuque’s Grand Opera House was terminated Tuesday night at a meeting of that organization’s board with no explanation except the usual vaguaries about “the future direction” of the GOH and a canned statement from the president of the board with the obligatory “we wish him well”. (Can’t you just feel the sincerity!) 

When I was similarly “blindsided” three years ago, it was Paul who offered not only support and advice, but lots of playing opportunities at the Grand Opera House, allowing me more musical adventures with talented musicians and actors young and not so young.

One long-time, prominent Dubuque resident, who unlike many board members actually attends everything at the Grand Opera House,  commented to me just last night.  “Paul breathed life into that place” At the very least, someone should say “Thank you” to Paul Hemmer for:

1. providing a wide variety of theater experiences at the Grand in an attempt to broaden the attendance base;

2. making the best possible effort to “turn around” the dire financial status of the Grand Opera House which he inherited;

3. making the Grand a venue the entire Dubuque community and the tri-state area can be proud of;

4. providing a lot of work for area musicians;

5. and most of all, for providing through the High School / College All-Star summer musicals, the Grand Pops Orchestra, as well as his work with area high school students, opportunities for young musicians and actors to learn their art.

If the leadership of the Grand Opera House has any collective ‘brains” at all, they won’t allow these experiences to go away, but it won’t be the same without Paul.  I know that he too will “land on his feet”  but the whole unfortunate business is, for lack of a better word, a travesty!