Brian Van Kley, Associate Director of Bands

As associate director of bands for Naperville North High School, Brian Van Kley likes to challenge his students with the new and the different -- the more obscure, the better!

“The kids here at North are capable of playing some really great music, and for the most part, they are open-minded enough to dabble in the weird... that makes it fun for me,” said Van Kley, who has been at NNHS since 2004. “I’ve found great enjoyment in performing obscure and unknown literature with the Wind Symphony at the Plainfield Fest every year. It always makes me feel good when we play a piece that a clinician has never heard before.”

While Van Kley, who earned his undergraduate degree in music education at Wheaton College and his graduate degree in music education at Northern Illinois University, can work with his students on obscure classical and jazz pieces, he also has great fondness for contemporary rock music and has been known to exchange CDs of favorites with students. He is also infamous in the music wing for his devotion to all things Star Wars and created his own legacy at North by staging a concert piece devoted to music from “Star Wars,” followed the next year with a rendition of songs from “Lord of the Rings.”

At North, Van Kley helps direct the marching band and all concert bands, as well as the Monday evening jazz lab. He also teaches music appreciation. A life-long trumpet player, Van Kley lives in Naperville with his wife. They are expecting their first child this fall.

Q&A with Brian Van Kley

Why did you pick your primary instrument? Ever wished you played something else? What’s your favorite instrument?

My primary instrument is trumpet. I picked it for the same reason every kid picks trumpet: it sounds cool! I sometimes wish that I had played horn or trombone because they get a LOT of really cool parts in 20th century orchestral literature... but then again, so do the trumpets. I play lots of other instruments (as does every band director,) but I'd have to say that aside from my trumpet and my conducting baton, my favorite instrument is actually one that I don't play: the pipe organ. Actually, I like the Theremin a lot too... and the Sitar... and the Chapman Stick... in fact, that's not really a fair question, because I have LOTS of favorite instruments. That's kind of like asking if you like sweet, sour or savory flavors the best; the answer changes depending on what you're hungry for.

Tell us about your personal performance – you as a musician – highlights (so far):

I've been making music for 26 years (24 of them in band,) so there have been many. The highlights that stick out in my memory revolve around performances of my own stuff, but I would have to say that the biggest one would be playing at my Grandfather's funeral service back in the fall of 2004. I've done a lot of difficult performances, but this one ranks as the most difficult and the most important performance of my musical career so far.

What five pieces of music will always be on your iPod (Or the low-tech version: What five pieces of music would you have to have on the desert island?)

Most of these are actually "desert island albums"...

Olivier Messaien's Turangalila Symphonie; this is a piece that I've recently discovered, and since I haven't memorized every note and nuance yet, it would definitely keep me from staring at hermit crabs to pass the time on my desert island.
Frank Zappa's The Yellow Shark because this CD opened my eyes to a fun, weird new world of "classical" music.
Dream Theater's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (that's cheating, because it's a double album...) Everyone that was around for 9/11 has some sort of touchstone that will forever connect them to that day... for me, it's this album.
Radiohead's OK Computer, which may be one of the most important rock albums of my generation.
U2's Achtung Baby, which may be the other most important rock album of my generation.

What musician -- living or dead -- would you most like to meet?

There are lots of composers, both living and dead, that I would like to meet, but I'd have to say that it I happen to run into Frank Zappa in the afterlife, I am definitely going to buy him a cup of coffee.