Sisters bids adieu to band director Cranor

An emotional Tyler Cranor directed his final big show for Sisters School District at the Spring Band Concert Thursday, May 26, at the Sisters High School auditorium.

Cranor, who is leaving after eight years in the district to take a job in Fort Myers, Florida, sprinkled in thank-yous and appreciations throughout the evening that included students from grades 6-12.

Cranor’s colleagues Steven Livingston (middle school music), Melissa Stolasz (fiddle club), Julie Cash (music assistant), and Rick Johnson (high school choir) joined him for the evening.

The 2022 state high school jazz band champions got things off to a toe-tapping start, performing four numbers to the delight of the audience. Cranor acknowledged senior members of the jazz band, including Nick Manley, Oscar Rhett, Chase Frankl, and Bo Beaver, some of whom had been jazz band members since middle school.

The middle school fiddle club, which started this year as an early-bird class under the tutelage of Melissa Stolasz, shared three songs.

“These kids are learning to play the fiddle by ear, which makes their quick success all the more remarkable,” said Stolasz.

Livingston then stepped to the director’s stand and conducted the sixth-grade band, some 60 strong, through three short pieces that were played strongly and in tune. He then finished with a rousing piece from “Pirates of the Caribbean” by the seventh- and eighth-grade band.

The high school wind ensemble completed the evening’s performance with four pieces, including one of Cranor’s personal favorites “Amparito Roca,” to wrap things up…well, not quite.

Cranor took the microphone and asked, “Can we do one more song?”

The crowd responded heartily, and the jazz band members jumped right in to “Don’t Stop Believin.’” The audience stood up to sing along.

Following the concert, Cranor said, “I feel grateful, and quite frankly spoiled, to have spent eight years teaching in Sisters. It has been fun and rewarding to rebuild the band department into an award-winning program once again.”

Over his tenure, the jazz band placed at, or near the top, of the state nearly every year.

“I will treasure the time I spent getting to know the students and families of Sisters, and I will use what I have learned to rebuild the program in Fort Myers,” Cranor said.