Boston College High School - Forbian Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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B - 'Mufzk link Cbllflllfji The B. C. High Band has been a formal organization of the school since the fall of 1945. Its first appearance was made two weeks after its first rehearsal at the football game with Lawrence High School. The band made such a splendid and competent show- ing that it was taken to Portland, Maine, the following week for a never-to-be-for- gotten week-end of fun and football. Grad- ually it assumed the functions of the orches- tra. lt played the overtures for the school plays, Parents' Nights, and other occasions. The size of the band has usually wavered between 40 and 45 boys. After three years of pioneering the present band now has a full complement of musicians: trumpets, trombones, baritones, tubas in the brass section, and a sufficient number of sax- ophones and clarinets. There is never any lack of drummers. The repertoire of the band consists of marches, popular pieces of the day, light opera, medleys of various composers. To be explicit, the band folders have such pieces as Down Main Street, Men of Ohio, College Medley, Boogie Woogie March, Student Prince Overture, Rhapsody in Blue, etc. This year even more difhcult pieces will be tried, such asg selections from the con- temporary composer, Kahatchurian, which will be played in public at the annual con- cert. It can be said without boasting that any student musician after two years of rehearsing will acquire the ability to sense and play the rhythm of almost any kind of music. Since its inception Father Robert Tobin has been the Faculty Moderator, and Frank Mahler, Director. To the latter belongs much of the credit for the success of the band. Nothing but precision and mastery of rhythm satisfies Mr. Mahler. As a result the band has always turned in finished per- formances of which the first and second annual concerts were the highlights, and both the result of long and arduous practice under Mr. Mahler's baton. This year is the first year that officers were elected. Paul O'Brien, solo trumpeter, and Timothy Delaney, baritone, both char- ter members of the band, were elected Co- Captains. Leo Delaney of the Junior Class was named Sergeant-at-Arms. The Senior Class has furnished most of the charter members of the band. Those who were first to join it back in the fall of 1945 were: Paul O'Brien, Timothy Delaney, Alfred Walsh, Charles Smith, james Lawton, Rob- ert Ahern, Peter Keohan, Richard Gaulin, Owen Carroll, and until this year, John Lucey, who left school to go to the Stig- matine Seminary. Francis McCarthy joined us last year. Leo Lynch also gave many hours to rehearsal, as did James Ecker, who trans- ferred to Mt. St. Charles. This year's Senior Class truly deserves special praise for the loyalty of its members to our band. CHARLES SMITH MEMBERS OF THI2 BAND 51071

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THE RADIO CLUB The average radio listener regards radio as a deep and dark mystery. He is content merely to twirl a dial or, perhaps push a button, and sit back quietly and be enter- tained. If at anytime something goes wrong or it simply doesn't work, he must give up in -despair and call in a repair man to fix his radio. But to the members of the radio club this need not be so, many have progressed so as to be able to fix and better their radio at home. The radio club is the first in the minds of those who wish to aspire to a technical career because it combines the theoretical knowledge and pratical work of learn by doing which go to produce a good under- standing of radio and electricity. The success of the radio club is due to the sincere efforts of Father Murray, SJ. On Tuesdays he gave us many interesting and informative talks on the Funda- mentals of Radio and explained the func- tions and purposes of the various circuits. On Fridays we had shop', where we were able to build the actual circuits by the breadboard method with the aid of schematic diagrams. By building our own sets we were able to understand so much better the intricacies of radio. Each mem- ber started by building a one tube detector and adding two stages of audio-frequency amplication, and then two stages of radio- frequency amplication, and also building a rectifier which when all combined made up a complete six tube set. This being done it was then suggested by Father Murray, SJ., that each member build a set of his own choice, which resulted in a varied selection among which were a five tube superhetero- dyne receiver, a three tube all-wave radio, a fourteen watt amplifier, and a Walkie-talkie set. The radio club has given us much. We have a better knowledge of tools and a more definite idea of how to go about putting things together. Through the radio club we have acquired also a more personal knowledge of the ever forward science of radio reception which has made the world smaller and has linked far-flung countries. The ofhcers of the club were as follows: Harold McAleer, President, David Cusick, Vice-Presidentg Salvatore Giglio, Treasurer, Francis Greene, Secretary. FRANCIS GRI2liNli MFMl3l'fRS OF THE RADIO CLUB First row, left to right: Hogan, Callahan, Cusick, McAlecr, Father Murray, Greene, Giglio, Mclntosh, O'NeiI. Second row: Gaulin, Loughran, Brodeur, Allen, Rogers, Rosati, Fianna. Third row: jones, Grimley, O'Connor. Roche, Delaney, Slifer, Doherty. N061

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THE MERRY MINSTREL MEN With a mixture of Southern tunes, rol- licking jokes, laughing, black-faced end men and a chorus of 40 odd darkies, the first Minstrel Show was presented at B. C. High in 1946. The show ran on the third and fourth of May, making hundreds laugh and applaud. It was a new experience for Father Murphy and Father Tobin as they set to work to select the cast. The elite of senior year were surveyed for those leading roles-the inter- locutor and the end men. However, even after eight seniors and two juniors were chosen, two lucky soph- omores won places as end men. They were George Burke and Barney Shine. With the end men and interloeutor positions estab- lished, a search for talent was started to add more laughs between jokes. It was then that John Di Anni came to the front with his A La Durante - a roaring success. The only non-upperclass- man in the musical Chocolate Chorus was Peter Walsh who gave his all on the melody end. Last, but not forgotten, sitting behind end men, interloeutor, Chocolate Chorus -everything but the back drop, was the entire singing cast with 10 of our fellow classmates sprinkled about. And so the 1946 minstrel show ended to the lively rhythm of Louisiana I-Iayridef' Come on down South, way, way down South were the first bars of the melody that opened B. C. High's second Minstrel Show last year. With that, ten high step- ping end men pranced on stage before the school band and 50 members of the chorus. This year Father Tobin and Mr. Mahler had to find eight new end men and line up specialty acts, an interloeutor and many different songs. The highlight of the 1947 show was The Seawolves and The Original Aquabelles of 1890 with their tintype costumes and bulging muscles. These 14 fellows, as well as ten end men, had been taught tricky steps by the danc- ing teacher, Miss Tobin. Dancers in the Aquabelles were Al Walsh, Dick Fallon, Mike Heffernan, Mat Butler and Pete Keohan. The shining black- faced end men with their southern accents and snappy jokes were completed when Pete Walsh stepped up from the previous Chocolate Chorus, John Di Anni left The Nose behind and Frank Chane joined the ranks. Veterans from the previous year were Shine and Burke with the spirit of the stage deep in their blood. Nine men from '48 sat in the chorus which rendered such bal- lads as Roll You Mississippi, Roll, Zip- a-dee-doo-dah, and closed this smashing success of 1947 with Blue Skies. GliORGli BURKE l 108 l