Dan Cervone:
CLASS OF 1967
Meadville Area High SchoolClass of 1967
Meadville, PA
Dan's Story
After I graduated from Meadville Area Senior High, I enrolled at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. I graduated in 1971, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education and received a Master of Music Degree from Duquesne in 1973. When I first arrived at college, my trombone teacher (the legendary Matty Shiner) recommended I switch from tenor to bass trombone - which I did and have never regretted. During my tenure at Duquesne, I had the opportunity to play trombone in virtually every one of the university's music ensembles. I also played professionally in the Pittsburgh area, backing up such notable artists as Wayne Newton, Sonny and Cher, Nancy Wilson, and the Supremes, among others. As a Graduate Assistant, while working on my masters degree, I conducted the Duquesne University Concert Band and was, simultaneously, an Adjunct Professor and Director of the Jazz Ensemble. After receiving my masters degree, my life took off in a significantly different (but not unanticipated) direction. I had attended college on an Air Force ROTC scholarship - and the time had come to "pay the piper."
I was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Force in 1971, when I got my bachelors degree; however, the Air Force granted me an educational delay to work on my master's. Consequently, I actually entered active duty in 1973, and spent the next 24-plus years in a variety of places and assignments. Some of my favorites included Monterey, CA, where I was Associate Dean of one of the language schools at the Defense Language Institute; San Antonio, TX, where I was an Investigations Officer (think "JAG," the TV show - very rewarding but not nearly as glamorous as you might think!); and Colorado Springs, where I was an Assistant Professor and taught Music Appreciation and other music survey c...Expand for more
ourses at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Interestingly, I never served overseas, even though I was a volunteer for overseas assignments. (This was due, mostly, to the fact that my primary specialty was Education and Training, and there were virtually no overseas positions in that field.) I think most people realize the military life is not for everyone; it has both its good points - and bad. One of the benefits is that it enabled me to retire as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1997, at the relatively young age of 47. When I taught at the Air Force Academy in the early 80's, I fell in love with Colorado; so, about a year after I retired, I moved from San Antonio back to Colorado Springs.
Other than my stint teaching music at the Air Force Academy, my musical career was on hiatus while I was on active duty; although I usually sang in the church choirs at my various assignments. So, when I retired, one of the first things I did was take up the electric bass (commonly referred to as "bass guitar"). I also started playing the bass trombone, again, and got serious about writing music. I currently play both bass and tenor trombone, professionally, in the Colorado Springs area and am the staff music arranger at a large church with a 100-voice choir and a 25 to 30-piece orchestra. Most of my musical arrangements are jazz or R&B in style - kind of like a jazz band with strings and woodwinds! You might think it a bit strange to have jazz or R&B arrangements of the old hymns and gospel favorites, but the congregation just loves it. I also do arrangements for local bands and artists and am now branching out into the college arena. In fact, I have recently done a number of jazz band arrangements for Allegheny College, in Meadville, three of which were featured recently in a concert at the college.
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