Ron Harrigan named Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s first music educator of the year
Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s annual gala typically celebrates the performing arts organization’s achievements, but this year’s event also will honor someone else’s accomplishments.
Soaring Strings on April 26 at Olympia Fields Country Club includes the presentation of the inaugural music educator of the year award to Ron Harrigan, director of bands at Southland College Prep Charter High School in Richton Park.
“We partner with many of the schools and we find there is a lot of great work being done in the Southland,” said Roosevelt Griffin, education and community engagement director for the Park Forest-based orchestra.
The inaugural honoree was determined by Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra executive director Christins Salerno, Griffin and his fellow Education and Community Engagement Committee members, including the namesake of the Marilynn Tannebaum Youth Music Education Institute.
Judging criteria included impact within the school and community as well as ongoing display of musical excellence, especially the actual process of music making.
“I was ecstatic, shocked, honored and felt extremely humbled,” Harrigan said. “I felt an expectation or a larger duty that I need to uphold the honor. It motivated me to push myself a bit more, do more research for the students, study more, study harder.”
When Southland College Prep opened in 2010, Harrigan was the band director for two years while also teaching at Huth Middle School in Matteson.
After being full-time director of bands at Huth, Harrigan returned to Southland College Prep part time in 2017 as associate band director and became full-time director of bands in fall 2020.
“His way of teaching is such an engaging transformation. Within the confines of an actual classroom he is able to get the most out of his students,” Griffin said. “He’s a great example and mentor for a lot of newer teachers who don’t have a lot of funds and are looking to do the same thing with their programs.”
Born and raised in the British Virgin Islands, Harrigan leads 130 Southland College Prep students in five main troops: marching band, wind ensemble, concert band, jazz ensemble and percussion ensemble. The school also has smaller chamber groups including bass ensemble, flute ensemble and clarinet choir.
The Southland College Prep Charter High School marching band and Lady Eagles were invited to WorldStrides’ Orlando Heritage Festival at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida, where students performed Saturday during the first overnight trip the school had for the band.
“We establish a structure of leadership within the band itself where we have different leaders teach others around them and uplift those around them,” Harrigan said. “It goes beyond learning how to play an instrument or learning how to sing. They learn how to work with each other when problems arise.”
His wife, Diana Wiley-Harrigan, is choir director at Bloom High School and Bloom Trail High School, both in Chicago Heights, and was choir director at Sauk Elementary School in Richton Park.
Their oldest son, Nathaniel Wiley-Harrigan, is a top high school trumpeter pursuing a career in jazz trumpet performance and their youngest son, Noah Harrigan, plays violin and is learning piano through Suburban Youth Symphony Orchestra.
“Sometimes teachers have a lot of challenges so not only do we want to actually celebrate what they’re doing to encourage students but we want to encourage other educators and teachers,” Griffin said. “We see what you’re doing. What you do matters. You’re making an impact. We want to celebrate you.”
The black tie optional Soaring Strings celebrates Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s 47th season via a silent auction with online bidding, The CoverGirls Violin Show, cocktails at 6 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. and music and dancing until 10:30 p.m. on April 26. Proceeds benefit the orchestra’s artistic and educational programs.
“Attendees of the gala believe in Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra’s mission because we believe in education. We want attendees to know not only the great work we’re doing within our education department but all the great educators making an impact with students,” said Griffin, of Matteson.
Harrigan, of Crete, also made history with Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in March, when he conducted Southland College Prep Charter High School jazz ensemble’s first opening act performance in the Ozinga Chapel Grand Lobby in Palos Heights before the orchestra’s concert at Trinity Christian College.
Another way Harrigan helps students is by hosting historically Black colleges and universities auditions at Southland College Prep for his students and others in the community while music educators and musicians are in Chicago for the annual Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference.
“We thought it would be a good idea to get them all in one place to hear students in the south suburbs as well as Chicago,” said Harrigan, who has taught music collectively for nearly 18 years.
Harrigan explained that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School in Chicago also serves as a HBCU band audition site during The Midwest Clinic, which typically takes place in December.
“Part of our goal at Southland College Prep is to prepare the kids to go to college. Unfortunately. some of our students don’t have the means to fly out of state to do some of these auditions,” Harrigan said. “We try to do everything in-house for our students especially those who are in need.”
According to Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, its educational programming reaches more than 4,000 schoolchildren of all ages each year through offerings such as Artists in Schools, Meet the Maestro, Meet the Musician, coachings and guest artist visits.
Upcoming programs include All-Star Wars Youth Concert, recommended for third graders to eighth graders, at 10 a.m. and noon on April 22 at Governors State University’s Center for Performing Arts in University Park.
Soaring Strings
When: 6 p.m. April 26
Where: Olympia Fields Country Club, 2800 Country Club Drive, Olympia Fields
Tickets: $200
Information: 708-481-7774; ipomusic.org
Jessi Virtusio is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.