Shelly Sulser

Executive Editor

Nancy Steely had no idea when she went to her son’s home for Thanksgiving last month that there was more in store for her than just turkey and time with her grandchildren.

After Dr. Robin Steely and his wife, Adell, pulled Nancy aside and showed her a video filled with faces and voices from her past life as the band director at Battle Creek Academy and Pennfield High School before that, she could not contain her happy tears.

The original composition (which they commissioned for her) by Mark Grauer called “March Grand Dame” and that they played to celebrate her Nov. 20 90th birthday left “Ma Steely” speechless and weepy.

“I was so stunned,” she said via telephone from her residence at Northpointe Woods in Battle Creek. “It was kinda fun.”

It all began in July when former student from the Battle Creek Academy Class of 1991, Denisse Santos, (now Santos English), brought her new husband, Rich, back to her hometown of Battle Creek from Charleston, S.C. not only to show him around but to introduce him to the woman who had such an impact on her life.

“I called and told her we were coming,” said Denisse, who had stayed in touch with Nancy off and on over the years. “We spent a couple hours together socially distanced. We hadn’t seen each other in years and my husband got to meet her.”

After that visit, Denisse, who followed in Nancy’s footsteps, realized it was time to honor the woman who went above and beyond for her school students and her private lesson pupils and their families.

As Nancy Paddack before married life, Nancy majored in music at Indiana University before going on to teach in Illinois. When her family moved to Battle Creek, she began 15 years at Pennfield High School.

“Saxophone is my instrument but I can doodle around on all of them,” she said.

Nancy is also known in Battle Creek as a 25-year usher for the Brass Band of Battle Creek and in Ely, Minnesota, where she has a cottage, as a summer time member of the City Band.

“She played in the pit orchestra at KCC for theatre, she played at the Community Prayer breakfast, she’s played all over the U.S.,” said Robin Steely. “She’s kind of a dynasty.”

Robin Steely was also one of her students when the Pennfield High School band was ranked among the best in Michigan, he said.

“I started on sax and clarinet,” recalled the local dentist. “She switched me to bassoon because the band needed a bassoon and then I played tuba in marching band.”

Denisse moved to Battle Creek with her family when she was seven, enrolled in Battle Creek Academy and left Battle Creek when she enrolled in college at Andrews University in Berrien Springs.

“She was my music teacher from sixth grade to 12th grade,” recalled Denisse. “I was a sax player, just like her and I took private lessons from her. She was more than just a music teacher, She really cared for her kids. We were her kids and I remember growing up in the summers I’d get hand written cards from her, ‘I hope you’re having a great summer, keep practicing’ and it would be signed ‘Ma Steely.’”

Nancy gave her students opportunities to play where most high schools don’t, said Denisse.

“She saw extra opportunities for us to showcase the band and had us playing music beyond what you would think regular high school could play,” said Denisse. “And, she also cared about our lives, she’d ask us how we were doing, listen to us when we needed to talk, she hung out with our families on the weekends, she did music camps, summer camps and she really cared about us as people as well as musicians.”

Denisse said when people would ask her if she was going to grow up to be “the next Mrs. Steely,” she would say, “No, she’s too hard on everybody,” she chuckled about Nancy’s seemingly direct manner of speaking. “She has never been one to hold back on what she thinks and tell you straight up which I love about her. But after I started college, starting out with plans to major in psychology or business, with music being my minor, after a year and a half I decided music was going to be my major.”

Denisse went on to VanderCook College of Music where she earned her masters degree in music and then went back to school later to earn her doctor of musical arts from Boston University, graduating in 2017.

“I’ve been a music teacher since I graduated college the first time,” said Denisse. “I’ve been a band director 22 years and just a year and a half ago, I took on a job as visual and performing arts coordinator for Charleston County Schools.”

As it turns out, she did grow up to be the next “Mrs. Steely.”

“I think people knew it before I knew it,” she said of how her life would turn out.

Now, Denisse supervises 200 teachers in the school district’s various music education programs, she said.

When Denisse heard from Robin that Nancy would be turning 90 in November, she made a decision.

“Afer that in July I said ‘we need to do something for her,” said Denisse. “This woman is amazing. I had thought about maybe commissioning a piece, something big.

“So we put the idea together,” she continued. “I have a friend who is a composer. I reached out to him to see if he’d be willing to put a piece together.”

At first, Denisse considered aiming for Battle Creek Academy’s alumni weekend but the current pandemic has postponed that event, she said.

“So when I heard she was turning 90, I was like, ‘this has to happen in November,’” she said.

Denisse recruited Nancy’s former students and colleagues via a private Facebook group to appear in the video either giving a special greeting or playing the music or both.

Composer Grauer and professional videographer, Titus Davis got the ball rolling.

In all, nearly 50 people appeared in the birthday surprise.

“Mark and Titus were so generous to do this free of charge,” said Denisse. “And that’s how we got the final product.”

Denisse chose a march kind of number because Nancy always included marches in her band’s playlists throughout the years.

“And whenever she would go through another band’s repertoir, she’d say, ‘where’s the march?’ if there wasn’t one,” noted Denisse.

In the final product, Denisse appears in the opening scene with a personal message of her own and appears during the musical number acting as conductor.

“Hi, Nancy, for your birthday this year, I got a few friends together to show how much we really love you, appreciate you and care for you,” she says, “and everything you’ve done for us over the years. We have a special surprise for you and we hope that you really enjoy it. And, at the end of this video, we have another very special suprise. We hope you enjoy it. Happy birthday.”

Denisse, who also coordianted with Robin, added that the alumni musicians dusted off their instruments and “tried to put our chops back in place,” to create the video performance.

Each musicians appears in a separate video they created and sent to Denisse, who in turn supplied them to Titus Davis for the compilation performance.

As Nancy watched the video for the first time, her family live streamed her reactions.

“Happy birthday to my favorite whip-cracking band teacher,” says Esther Perkins in the video.

Even some of her own grandchildren participated in the surprise “Nancy Steely Project.”

One woman appeared “from a tiny band room in Washington,” a couple greets her from Pennsylvania and others appeared from their respective homes from across the U.S. including from Battle Creek.

Another woman says nothing and instead, plays a few bars of happy birthday on her piano.

Face after face appears to wish her a happy birthday and to thank her for her legacy, memories, encouragement and music.

“It was last Saturday that that her family Facebook live streamed it,” said Denisse of the Nov. 28 reveal. “I was tied up at the moment so I watched it a couple hours later. I sat on couch and grabbed some Kleenex because I knew I would need it.

“It was emotional to watch her watching it,” she said.

Nancy said she was especially pleased and surprised to see her “first student,” Steve Leeser, now of Houston, in the video, too, she said.

“Love you so much,” he says, before playing multiple instruments in the March for Grand Dame.

Two other women throw confetti as they wish her a happy birthday in unison.

Yet another woman who doesn’t give her name mentions that they’re both celebrating 90 years, and, “We’re going to reach 100 together.”

Robin Steely said the composer is sending to Nancy the signed, original score for the now published composition, which Denisse hopes to have performed live at the next Battle Creek Academy Alumni banquet.

Nancy, who continued to play music until about three years ago, said last week thatt the video appeared to include a total of 50 to 70 people.

“It was an amazing production,” she said, adding in a recorded response to the group: “Thank you to everybody. That was a treat beyond expectations.”

 

See the heartwarming tribute, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-4bZ1X-FH4&fbclid=IwAR2nqOg1QkRSxP8MMAAGMg2jYS9jFizS2n499aptozzZ7sMzdAf1LNEluzA