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All photos by Rick Morales
Rick Van Pelt
Trumpet / Flugelhorn /
Vocals
Rick Van Pelt started taking piano lessons from his mother, a piano teacher,
at age 5. He was introduced to the cornet at age 10 and graduated to the trumpet by age 14. Throughout his school
career he performed with the bands and orchestras offered by the West Aurora (IL) School District as well as Waubonsee Community
College, where he played lead trumpet in the jazz band for 4 years. He credits Jim Hatch and Duane Wickeiser for the
desire to pursue music. While in college he had opportunities to perform under the direction of Henry Mancini and Francis
Acousch. Additionally, while attending a collegiate festival with Waubonsee Communitiy College Jazz Band he received
group instruction from famed trumpeter and orchestra leader, Doc Severenson. In the summer of 1970 Rick played under
the direction of University of Illinois future Director of Music, Dr. Harry Begian.
He performed with the American
Legion Band Post 84 from 1970-75, winning first place in national concert and marching competitions. In addition to
the Legion Band, Rick also played with the Aurora(IL) Union Band from1971-74, and the Fox Valley Symphony from 1970-75.
Rick joined AUGUST in June of 1974 as second trumpet. After AUGUST temporarily disbanded in 1976, he continued
with the band Liberty Road until 1980. He has also performed in various theatrical pit orchestras throughout
the Fox Valley.
He has given private trumpet lessons and since 1994 has been the choir director for Resurrection
Lutheran Church.
Mike Fagan
Trumpet, Flugelhorn
A well known music teacher and school band director in the Aurora (IL) area for 34 years, Mike Fagan
joins AUGUST with a wealth of experience. Beginning with the cornet at age 10, his love of performing has lasted over
4 decades.
He studied cornet/trumpet for ten years with several brass instrument teachers and played in West Aurora
(IL) schools bands and orchestras beginning in the 5th grade and continued through high school. After completing his
schooling and during his tenure as band director in various schools, he continued performing with numerous bands throughout
the Chicagoland area.
In addition to trumpet, Mike also plays flugelhorn and valve trombone. He accepted
an invitation to join AUGUST in August 2006.
Chuck Garland
Trumpet / Arranger
Chuck began playing trumpet at the age of 10 in numerous school bands and although he did not take private
lessons as a child, in college he did study with Dr. Michael Ewald at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
His musical instrument prowess has branched out to include keyboards, which he uses for music transcription and arranging.
He performed with the symphonic, jazz, marching and pep bands while in high school. In addition to rehearsals
and performances with his school bands, Chuck was also a member of the pit orchestra for two shows, "The Music Man"
and 'My Fair Lady". While at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana campus) he performed with the symphonic
band and the nationally renowned, Marching Illini. In 2004, he was an integral part of the pit orchestra
for the University of Illinois' Spring musical, "Anything Goes".
Early in his career Chuck occasionally
performed with the Tony Barron Orchestra, a 1920's to 1940's dance orchestra based in the Mishiwauka, Indiana, area.
After graduation, music degree in hand, he began teaching instrumental music, which he began in 1995. Chuck has also
worked as a marching and maneuvers instructor as well as chief arranger for the Bolingbrook (Illinois) High School "Marching
Raiders" band.
Chuck brings his expertise in performance, arranging and transcription to the band's
horn section.
Cipriano "Cip" Garcia
Alto
Sax
Cip Garcia began his self-taught musical journey in third grade at age 9 with the
trumpet. In junior high school he began to dabble with the alto sax, all the while continuing to play the trumpet in
his high school band. In addition to the trumpet and alto sax, Cip also has had a brief stint playing bass in a band
with his older brothers. After high school he made the complete switch to alto sax and performed with many bands
throughout the Fox Valley area including the AUGUST extension band, Liberty Road. He has performed on two contemporary
Christian recordings with Rose Schulz and on the Paul Lewis CD's. One performance of note was his "jamming"
with Buddy Miles and John Allen. His performing stopped when he was stricken with arthritis. In May 1990
life returned to normal when his arthritis was healed while attending the First Assembly Church of God. In August
2006, he was invited to join the horn section of AUGUST. With his return to the music scene as the alto saxophonist
of AUGUST, he also rejoins some of his Liberty Road Band mates. 
Dan Bielenberg
Tenor Sax / Flute / Soprano Sax / Vocals
Dan Bielenberg brings the following credentials to
the AUGUST horn section: performer, vocalist, composer and arranger. Dan grew up in Stuart, Florida, near West Palm Beach, and
started playing tenor sax in middle school, adding the flute and the soprano sax
in high school. During college he included the guitar to his list of instruments
and discovered his “voice” as he began singing as well. Music lessons began in high school and continued with his college music professor, Greg
Lawson, at Florida State University at
Tallahassee, where he majored in music through his sophomore year. Currently one of Dan’s goals is to
stretch himself by returning to taking private lessons when his kids are out of
high school.
Beginning in high school and continuing for a few years after
that, Dan sang and played sax in Blic, a local
South Florida band that enjoyed a modest following. Since the late 1980’s he has been very active in church music.
In 2006, he recorded a contemporary Christian CD, “More Than
Anything”. This compilation of original compositions and arrangements, which is
available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/bielenberg, as well as iTunes, features Dan singing and playing guitar as well as the saxophone parts. He has
also performed on various CD projects of friends.
His musical influences range from Stevie Wonder,
through Chicago and Blood Sweat and Tears,
to Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull and into the jazz masters of Chick Corea, and Count Basie. His sax “heros” include Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker and
Joshua Redman.
Jim DeSalvo Baritone
Saxophone
Jim’s musical journey began with private piano lessons at age 7. In fifth
grade Jim moved to the alto sax and the following year jumped to the baritone. He took private lessons for 8 years from Mr.
Bill Edwards, a band director, and continued taking lessons into his college career. In addition to private lessons, he attended
jazz band summer camps throughout high school at Western Illinois University. In addition to the baritone sax, Jim also plays tenor, alto and
soprano sax, clarinet and flute.
While attending Holy Cross High School in River Grove, Illinois, he
kept very busy performing in the school’s concert, jazz, marching and pep bands as well as in the school’s pit
orchestra for school plays. Outside of school, he played in “Unity”, a horn rock band from 1974 through 1981,
where they had garnered quite a following from colleges, high schools and clubs. A volunteer musician at Willow Creek Church for 10+
years, Jim worked with many different musical groups that regularly performed for the church’s weekend services. This
work also included backing up bands for many of the contemporary Christian recording artists that were brought in. He is currently
a volunteer musician at Harvest Bible Chapel as well as an “on call” musician for various local Chicago area bands. He has performed on 3 CD’s: “The Paul Langford Project”,
“24-7-365 Promiseland Music”, and, “The World’s Most Dangerous Church Band”, the Willow Creek studio band. He lists
some of his musical influences as: Tower of
Power, BS&T, Average White Band, Earth,
Wind & Fire, Tom Scott, Richard Elliot, Paul Langford, John Carlson and the big
bands of Buddy Rich and Maynard Ferguson. Jim took over the baritone sax spot for AUGUST in March of 2009.
Rick Johns
Trombone
One of the founding members of AUGUST, Rick was exposed to music at an early age by his band director father
and began playing trombone at age 9. He took lessons for 3 years and performed in most of the bands offered through
the West Aurora (IL) school system, concert band, jazz band and jazz group.
In 1970 and 1971 he performed with
other members of AUGUST in a previous horn band, The Gathering. Rick was attending the University of Illinois
in Champaign, IL, when AUGUST was formed in 1972, and literally hitch-hiked home weekly with his trombone in tow to perform
with the band. He "retired" from AUGUST in the winter of 1973-74 because of school conflicts.
After graduation, he performed with a band at a local children's park before leaving the music business.
When
the call went out late in February 2006 that AUGUST was returning he immediately signed on and became section leader and "GO
TO" liason for the horn section. 
Guest
Performers
Roland Schuetz
Alto / Tenor / Baritone
Saxes
Music lessons from his father began at the age of 6 for sax man, Roland
Schuetz. Beginning with the accordian, his instrument perfomance list is an impressive read: trumpet, oboe, piano, and
his current instruments of choice, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes, flute. He is proficient at air guitar.
His high school music career saw Roland perform with the Marmion Military Academy (IL) Marching, Concert and Jazz
bands. Moving forward to college, he played and recorded with the Waubonsee Community College (IL) Concert and Jazz
bands beginning in 1969 and continuing to the present. Following college was a stint with the 5th and 4th Army marching
and concert bands at the Army, Navy and Marine School of Music.
After leaving the military, Roland performed with
numerous Chicagoland area bands including AUGUST in 1973-74. Other local bands include The Label (1969) Dealin'
(late 80's-current), Fatbone (1997-98)and has recorded with both Dealin' and Fatbone. For
a short time Roland had private music students.
He lists his musical favorites with an expanded list of influences
including Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Freddy Hubbard and Gerry Mulligan to name a few.
In addition to the AUGUST horn section, he continues playing around the Chicago area with various bands. In early 2009, Roland
chose to move himself to the band's Guest Performer and substitute roster.
Scott Lies
Baritone Sax / Various Reeds
Undoubtedly the most diverse of all of AUGUST'S musicians, Scott began playing the guitar at the
age of 12. His instrument play list is large: Alto, tenor and baritone saxes, B-flat and bass clarinet, flute, alto
flute and piccolo, acoustic guitar and electric bass.
While attending Waubonsee Community College he took sax
lessons from Duane Wickeiser. He has also studied flute and clarinet. Western Illinois University found him as
a saxophone perfomance major.
Scott performed in numerous rock bands during his teen years as well as high school
and college bands and orchestras including the West Aurora (IL) High School concert and jazz bands. He was a member
of the Waubonsee Community College Jazz Band when they were named the best collegiate jazz band in the U.S.A. in the 1970's.
A music teacher, Scott continues with may private students in sax, clarinet and flute. He has performed and
continues performing with many pit bands and orchestras for musical productions throughout the Chicago area on both wind instruments
as well as guitar and bass. He has performed on cruise ships as a member of the ship's show band.
Scott
completed the band's horn section in early September 2006. Because of traveling and other commitments, Scott chose to become
a Guest Performer in late 2008.
Jon Deiter
Tenor sax
Jon began his musical journey with the clarinet in the second grade. His studies continued for several years with the
highly respected West Aurora (IL) School band director, George Piechel. His high school years found him involved in
many stages of the West Aurora school system's music program. His onstage performances were with the high school
concert, marching and jazz bands of the late 1960's and early 70's. Throughout his college years he performed
with various local bands, most notably as a founding member of AUGUST. College commitments forced his early retirement
from AUGUST in January of 1973. He returned to the band in May of 1975 and remained an integral part of the band until
it's 30-year hiatus that began in 1976.
Since AUGUST'S self-imposed "long break" in 1976, Jon
has played sporadically, most notably a 2-year stint with the "Hope Swings Eternal" swing band of Long Grove (IL)
Hope Lutheran Church.
Interestingly, Jon recalls that as a high school student and member of the band Trusswell's
Wine and Spirit Merchants (1969-70), his parents allowed him to skip school so that the band could perform as the opening
act for THE FOUR SEASONS of "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry" fame in Indianapolis, Indiana,
in 1970. The school skipping incident resulted in an unexcused absence from school and a subsequent lowering of his
overall GPA.
Jon, an original founding member of AUGUST in 1972, is a guest performance member of the new
millenium AUGUST due to his residing in Arizona.
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