Tribune Chronicle – The Ticket By ANDY GRAY Tribune Chronicle Thursday, June 10, 2010
What started out as a band of colleagues has become a family affair for Dr. John Vlad.
The Top Notes evolved out of the Dixie Docs, a musical group made up of 11 area doctors that first performed in 1960 at a medical society gathering.
Vlad, a pediatrician, is the only doctor still in the big band, but he has an even stronger connection with many of its members. Two daughters join him on stage — Melanie Vlad on piano and Jenny Annandono on trumpet.
“The girls have been with the Top Notes since they were little kids,'” he said. ''They were forced to listen to our music. It was just sort of natural with Melanie getting a major in music…it was natural for her to come in and for Jenny the same way.”
They also brought their husbands with them. Melanie's husband, Steve Schubert, joins his father-in-law in the saxophone section, while Jenny's husband, Brian Annandono, plays trumpet alongside his wife. Brian's father, Joe Annandono, also is in the Top Notes, playing guitar.
Many of the 18 spots in the Top Notes are filled by long-time W.D. Packard Concert Band members, area band directors and one-time students of educator/conductor Robert E. Fleming, who led the Top Notes for years.
The rest of the band features Daniel Carioti, Sam Core and Rich Bartunek, saxophones; Don Stimple, Ken Young and Dominic Feorene, trumpets; Jim Jackson, Tom Brucoli, Leslie Core and Rocco Criazzo, trombones; Shawn Marko, bass; and Tony Pushcar drums.
Vlad said the band averages about a dozen concerts a year, playing everything from weddings to charity events.
Friday the Top Notes will kick off the Friday Night Specials concert series sponsored by the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County at the Warren Community Amphitheatre. The band first played the outdoor venue in 2008.
“We enjoyed it, but it rained like heck,” Vlad said.
Despite the weather, a lot of people gathered under umbrellas near the Kinsman House and stayed until the end. ' “We like to play any place, any time,'” Vlad said. '“For us it really doesn't matter (how many people are there). It’s easier to play for a full house, but enjoy playing for even a small number of people as long as they enjoy the music. And there are people who come to hear us who like this kind of music.”
The band's Web site lists a repertoire of more than 300 songs, primarily drawn from the big band era.
Vlad said earlier this week he was still working on the set list.
“There will be music from (Count) Basie, from Duke Ellington, Harry James, any number of the big bands,” he said. “For Friday I had some idea of maybe playing some of the big band tunes that were sung by some of the more notable singers (of the era).” And just as the pediatrician won’t single out any children as his favorite patients, he is hesitant to choose any specific songs as favorites that the Top Notes play.
“I like them all,” Vlad said. “I like the Basie style. I like the up tunes as well as the ballads. I don’t have any real favorites. I just like to play music. I think that's why most of the guys are still there. They enjoy playing.”
Tribune Chronicle Saturday, July 10, 2009
Noon in the Park • July 9, 2009 • Courthouse Park • Warren, Ohio Photos by Tribune Chronicle CU Staff
Dr. John O. Vlad, director of the Top Notes
Cara and Caitlyn Annandono at Noon in the Park. The sisters are daughters of band members Brian and Jenny Annandono and granddaughters of Dr. John O. Vlad
Hiram Magazine Class Notes Hiram College 2009
John O. Vlad – Class of 1956
In October 2008, John O. Vlad ’56 was inducted into the Warren City Athletic Hall of Fame by life long friend Bill White ’56. On the heels of this honor, in November, Vlad Pediatrics, Inc. was awarded the 2009 Small Business Philanthropy Award by the National Society of Fundraising Executives for his support of the Trumbull County Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) and many other local non-profit organizations. Proud family members include: Mary Alice (Roberts) Vlad ’56, Melanie A. Vlad ’87, Steve Schubert, Jennifer (Vlad) Annandono ’90 and Brian Annandono ’90.
Top Notes pay tribute to big band era By ANDY GRAY Tribune Chronicle July 10, 2008
The last of the Dixie Docs is counting off the beat for The Top Notes.
The
long-running local dance/big band got its start in 1960 as the Dixie
Docs, a band filled with doctors who also were musicians. Its first
performance was a holiday party sponsored by the county Medical Society.
Dr. John Vlad was part
of that original band and has been the one constant as it evolved into
the The Top Notes under original bandleader Hank Suchanek and later
under the direction of Robert E. Fleming. Vlad, who plays saxophone and
clarinet, became music director in the mid-'90s and will lead the band
when it performs Saturday
at the Warren Community Amphitheatre as part of the Summer Night
Specials series presented by the Fine Arts Council of Trumbull County.
Dr. John Vlad at the Warren Community Amphitheatre on July 12, 2008
“As
the only original doctor member there, the others in the band thought
it would be a good idea for me to continue on (as director) if I wanted
the job,” Vlad said. “It's no challenge because the people in the band
are excellent. They know what they are there to do, and all I have to
do is count off the beat.”
Vlad credited Fleming for making the band what it is today.
As the doctors dropped out, Fleming replaced them them with his
students from Dana School of Music, many of whom went on to become band
directors in the area and continue to play with the Top Notes.
Since the Saturday
concert lineup at the amphitheatre has been dominated by classic rock
tribute bands, Vlad decided to continue that with The Top Notes'
concert.
“We're going to make it a tribute to all of the big
bands,” Vlad said. “We’ll do music from all of the popular big bands,
starting in the 1930s and '40s and up to the present time.”
The
crowd can expect to hear songs by Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Duke
Ellington, Les Brown, Harry James and Stan Kenton, and The Top Notes
will even do a song by Jimmy Buffett.
“We have a very large
library of music and we try to stay current with current arrangements
of all the old tunes,” Vlad said. “It’s a diverse group. We're not
stuck on just playing dance music. We play jazz, swing and also current
songs.”
Vlad said he has seen big band music grow and wane in
popularity during his musical career, and he believes its enjoying a
resurgence now.
“This type of music hasn't been in the fore all
the time, but it keeps sticking its head back in,” he said. “The show
‘Dancing with the Stars’ has brought it back.”
