Joliet Township High School Orchestra commissions special music for 120th anniversary

Joliet — In 1905, Joliet Township High School – now Joliet Central – started a student orchestra program.

To celebrate that rich history of students making music, the Joliet Township High School orchestra is commissioning a custom piece of music for students from both of the district’s schools to play for its 120th anniversary.

Orchestra director Peter Lipari, who has been teaching at Joliet Township High School District 204 since 2007, said he first reached out to composer Kirt Mosier last summer about creating a piece for the Joliet orchestra because the students have enjoyed playing his other compositions.

“He writes a lot of music for young people,” Lipari said. “I told him we were playing a piece of his and asked if he was interested in writing something for us. I told him about our different sections, and he’s writing us a big piece for the whole orchestra.”

Although the deal to commission the piece was first reached eight months ago, the music department just met its fundraising goal to pay for the piece.

“It sounds crazy to commission something and then eight months later do the fundraising,” Lipari said, “but we were confident we would be able to raise the money. We fundraise all the time for everything. We’re a school orchestra. It’s how we survive.”

The cost of the custom composition was $5,000. Lipari said the Orchestra Parents Association, the group’s booster club, gave the group half the cost for the upfront payment.

“I honestly have no idea what to expect from the piece until I open it, which is kind of exciting.”

—  Peter Lipari, Joliet Township High School orchestra director

A fundraising page went live at the end of January to raise the $5,000 needed to pay back the boosters and make the final payment upon delivery of the piece.

“We just crossed the finish line last night,” Lipari reported Feb. 13. “It took just over two weeks. We’re very pleased. It’s so exciting. None of the money is from the kids. Our boosters did most of the work. I don’t know what I would do without them.”

The fundraiser is officially still open on Givebutter.com, a new online fundraising platform created by Joliet Township High School music teacher Don Stinson.

“Don made all the stars align for us,” Lipari said. “The paint is barely dry on his website, and he volunteered to put this together for us.”

The finished musical piece is set to be delivered in May, and orchestra students, including incoming freshmen, will have the opportunity to practice it during summer orchestra workshops.

“I honestly have no idea what to expect from the piece until I open it,” Lipari said, “which is kind of exciting.”

For the orchestra’s 110th anniversary in 2015, Lipari commissioned two pieces of music for the different sections of the orchestra, including one that the composer took inspiration from the city’s history for and titled “Stone and Steel.”

The new piece is set to debut at the orchestra’s first concert of the 2025-26 school year at Joliet’s Bicentennial Park during the last week of August, alongside the 110th anniversary pieces and other selected works.

The Joliet Township High School Orchestra comprises about 120 students each year from both campuses playing together.

Throughout the year, the group puts on about 10 concerts, including one with members of the junior high bands in Joliet Public Schools District 86 who will be joining the program in the future.