Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-2

2 CHICAGO TRIBUNE METRO SECTION2 By Ellen B. Pritsker Special to the Tribune Where the rest of the world sees an empty football field, former computer engineer Mitch Rogers sees a vast musical stage upon which 150 marching musicians weave in and out of complex formations. It has been that way since he was a teenager. Rogers, 45, designs drills for marching bands around the world. The Evanston clients include high school bands that spend thousands of dollars mounting productions they present during halftime at football games and in band competitions.

Nearly 100 top high school bands will participate in the annual Bands of America competition in Indianapolis Thursday through Saturday. Three of Grove High School from Indiana, Ronald Reagan High School from San Antonio and Stephen F. Austin High School from Sugar Land, march to drills choreographed by Rogers. Rogers has been obsessed with the creative possibilities of band drill design since he was 15 and encountered the community drum and bugle corps now based in a public stadium on North Side. He was a trombonist with the marching band at Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook, and the summer of 1977 was a defining moment.

had never experienced a live marching band of their Rogers said. was thrilled by the pageantry, the intensity of the musical sound and the intricacy of their moves. I was To the drawing board Encouraged by his high school band director, Rogers began drawing drills. The next year, he helped design the routine that Glenbrook North used in competition. Still, he chose to major in computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Drill design seem like a sensible career choice. He also played the trombone in the U. of I. marching band. preferred band rehearsals and half-time shows to any engineering he said.

officially designing, but I would doodle band drills on class notes, and listen to drum corps march music in the dorm when I did engineering Eager for more band time, Rogers joined the Cavaliers, riding a bus from Urbana to Chicago one weekend a month to rehearse. He played baritone bugle and toured with them during summers. In 1984, after graduating with an engineering degree, Rogers was hired by Rolling Meadows- based Northrop Defense Systems, now Northrop Grumman, to help design computer hardware for defense systems. But the Cavaliers had also promoted him to field instructor. was more focused on my position with the Cavaliers than on my engineering Rogers recalled.

was also doing drills for Glenbrook North, and my mind was pretty much always on the kids and the In 1992, Rogers was a key part of helping the Cavaliers win their first Drum Corps International championship, said Gordon Henderson, now director of the UCLA BruinMarching Band, who in 1992 was music instructor for the brass section. was energetic and charismatic and got the members of the drum corps to perform at their highest Henderson said. Encouraged by that success, Rogers bid farewell to engineering, leaving a new job with in Lisle to become a full- time drill designer. Now he lives in Evanston with his wife and two young daughters and works from home. He is booked months in advance by clients planning for upcoming marching seasons.

Rogers charges up to $12,000 for a drill that will translate into a 10- to 12-minute production. One drill can involve as many as 200 different formations expressed as 200 computer-gener- ated pages. Drill designs respond to a central theme and to specific music. Many bands hire a separate choreographer for the color guard, 10 to 50 non- musicians who carry flags, rifles, sabers or other props. A high school or drum corps production can cost as much as $100,000 including costumes, scenery and special effects.

From Indiana to Asia Dean Westman, orchestra director for the Avon, school system, has worked with Rogers for years. They are collaborating on a show for the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps of Casper, Wyo. Westman said that Rogers just a designer, also an enthusiastic teacher. know for a fact he has had a life-changing impact on thousands of young Westman said. work extends to Asia.

Using his drill formations, the 105-member Aimachi Marching Band and Color Guard of Nagoya, Japan, has won seven All-Japan Band championships since 1998. In late October, Rogers spent a week in Nagoya refining Aima- presentation for the Dec. 16 nationals. Their theme is Holiday in New To music that includes Love by Naoki Sato and Coast by Nigel Hess, this multigenerational band will maneuver around props resembling skyscrapers. Rogers sees himself as an artist wielding his laptop as paint, brush and canvas.

A drill is a set of charts directing band moves during every beat of the music. Brass, woodwinds or percussion sections must be strategically placed so the entire band projects sound. tell bands where to move, and the band director tells them how to he said. Once a client assigns him a theme and music, he follows a personal ritual. First, he surfs the Internet for plays, movies, books, ballets, operas and articles about the topic.

Next, he spends many hours at an Evanston coffee shop, where he plants himself on a couch and pulls his Cubs hat down over his eyes. let my mind just float while associations come he said. when I start to map out the actual drill, my concentration is intense. somewhat like playing start with an opening idea and move, and carefully plan where each going. But I have to keep the overall objective and strategy in mind every Ex-engineer turns energy to marching bands Evanston drill designer has global reach, teams in national contest Photo for the Tribune by Noboru Hashimoto Mitch Rogers works with the horn section of the Aimachi Marching Band and Color Guard in Handa, Japan.

The Evanston clients include three high school teams participating in a Bands of America competition in Indianapolis from Thursday to Saturday. preferred band rehearsals and half-time shows to any engineering Rogers, drill choreographer By Jo Napolitano Tribune staff reporter The family of a missing Plainfield woman will distribute fliers and hand warmers to hunters in Upper Peninsula on Wednesday to raise awareness about her disappearance and encourage hunters to look for her. Lisa Stebic, 37, was in the middle of a divorce when she vanished from her family home April 30. Her estranged husband, Craig, who was one of the last people to see her, is an avid hunter, and his family spent part of each year in the Upper Peninsula. He has been identified by police as a person of interest in the case, but he has denied any involvement.

Melanie Greenberg, Lisa cousin, said family members plan to distribute 300 hand warmers with picture and police contact information at a breakfast held each year in Crystal Falls, to kick off firearm deer hunting season. tells you when you are looking for a missing person that you need to look at the places where they spent the most Greenberg said. spent a lot of time up there. You just never Greenberg said she hopes the usually cover a wide stumble across information or evidence that will help police find Lisa Stebic. going places people been all summer and, with the change of seasons things that may have been overgrown could be more revealed Greenberg said.

are asking all hunters to please keep their eyes Greenberg said that she has had no contact with Craig Steb- ic but that he has complained in the past about the proliferation of fliers and billboards bearing Lisa the Chicago area as well as in the Upper Peninsula. He has said they upset the two children. Craig Stebic could not be reached for comment Monday. Missing Plainfield kin to seek aid of Michigan hunters Stebic A man who died in police custody after causing a disturbance on a Chicago Transit Authority bus was identified Monday as a South Side resident with a lengthy arrest record. Glenn Anderson, 44, of the 500 block of West 79th Streetdied early Sunday after being taken to the Gresham District police station.

Police said he was combative and attacked officers trying to arrest him for causing the disturbance on the bus near the 7900 block of South Vincennes Avenue. At the station Anderson was unresponsive. He was pronounced dead in St. Bernard Hospital. An autopsy Sunday by the Cook County medical office was not finalized, pending toxicology and other studies, the office said.

Anderson had about two dozen previous arrests dating back two decades, most for drug possession and trespassing, according to court records. The Office of Professional Standards, which looks into death of individuals in police custodyis investigating the incident. Man who died in custody had lengthy record Comments, questions and suggestions about articles in this section are welcome. Write: Tracy Van Moorlehem, bureau chief 616 Atrium Drive, Suite 200 Vernon Hills, IL 60061 Call: 847-918-2822 Fax: 847-918-9561 Or e-mail: HOW TO CONTACT US Family health care by Take Care Health Providers SM Diagnosis, treatment and prescriptions for common illnesses Select diagnostic tests, physicals and vaccinations also available Open 7 days, including evenings no appointments necessary Most insurance plans accepted HOURS OF OPERATION Monday Friday: 8 a.m. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday Sunday: 9 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Take Care Health Providers SM take a required break generally between 1:30 2:30 p.m. 1-866-TAKE-CARE (1-866-825-3227) TakeCareHealth.com Convenientwalk-in healthcare ABetterWaytoBeWell across Chicagoland At select FluShots Now Available Patient care services provided by Take Care Health Services, an independently owned professional corporation whose licensed health care professionals are not employed by or agents of Walgreen Co. or Take Care Health Systems, LLC.

Product: CTMETRO PubDate: 11-13-2007 Zone: Edition: HD Page: 2-2 User: mmccann Time: Color:.