The McHenry County College (MCC) Music Department recently purchased a bass clarinet for use in various ensembles using memorial funds provided by Grace C. Hajeck, a lifelong musician and educator.
The bass clarinet was purchased in August 2023 out of the provided program funds of $10,000 donated to the Music Department from Grace Hajeck upon her death in 2016.
In the early years of her career, Hajeck was an elementary music teacher in Crystal Lake as well as a church organist. After marrying Vernon Hajeck, she furthered her professional interests by taking a position as a special education teacher in Woodstock.
Upon her retirement from the public school system, Grace continued as a church organist and taught voice and piano part-time at MCC while also studying organ under instructor Pat Marks. Because there was no organ at the college, students used a rented organ at a local church for their lessons. When an old pipe organ in Ohio became available, Grace donated the cost of its repair and installation, making MCC one of the few community colleges to own a pipe organ at that time. This was done by Grace as a memorial to her then late husband and her late parents, all of whom were avid music lovers.
To show their appreciation for Hajeck, the Music Department honored her memory in November 2017 by naming the Fall Concert for Band and Chorus the “Grace C. Hajeck Memorial Fall Concert.”
The bass clarinet will be used during the MCC Concert Band’s upcoming concert on Sunday, April 21 from 3 – 4:30 p.m. at Crystal Lake Central High School. The concert is free of charge and open to the public.
“In the past, our ability to field a full concert band was dependent on having a student with their own bass clarinet,” said Paige Lush, who leads MCC’s Concert Band. “In that time, we frequently heard from students who had played bass clarinet in high school and wanted to continue at MCC but did not have their own instrument, as these expensive specialty instruments are usually provided by the high schools. Having our own bass clarinet now allows us to cover all musical parts, and most importantly helps us recruit more high school bass clarinetists.”
The Friends of McHenry County College Foundation has been working with the Music Department throughout to the years to find good uses for the funding. Remaining funds will be used by the Music Department as needed, including for instruments, sheet music, other needed equipment, conferences and seminars for Music Department staff and students, or guest musicians.