John Cross has developed a prolific music career for himself over the years.

If there is a science behind seamlessly traversing the worlds of music performance and music education, John Cross mastered it long ago.

An educator, performer and winner of multiple awards throughout the course of more than three decades, Cross has distinguished himself as the preeminent “music man” in the immediate area.

Initially a self-taught clarinetist, the Erie, Pa., native received his first formal music education when he entered high school and joined his school’s concert band — whereupon his teacher informed him that he was, in fact, playing the instrument upside down. It was at this moment, Cross said, that he decided he wanted to help instruct future students on how to play their own instruments, a revelation that led to his eventual decision during his senior year to become a music educator.

IN THE CLASSROOM

Cross pursued his music education degree at Edinboro University, from which he graduated in 1981. Later that year, he applied for and was offered a position in the Cassadaga Valley Central School District’s music department, where he worked until his retirement in 2015.

He said one of his first orders of business at his new post was to form a jazz band at the school, as he had learned and enjoyed much from his own jazz band experience in high school and college.

“I wanted to do something with Cassadaga Valley, which is a smaller school, and I figured if I could just get about 20 kids together we could really get something going,” Cross said. “I had so much fun forming that, and I’m proud of the fact that the jazz ensemble kind of became the premier group that was in the public eye. I mean if anything was going on in and around Chautauqua County, the jazz band was there supporting that event.”

Of all he experienced as the head of Cassadaga Valley’s music ensembles, he said he most enjoyed the opportunity to perform in competitions at the state and national level throughout the years, as well as the trips he and the students made.

“One of the things I really cherished was our participation in national festivals,” he said. “We would take the concert and jazz bands and put them right up against the best in the country, and that always motivated them to do their best. The joy of my career as an educator was sharing all of that life experience and opportunity with the students.”

The CVCS jazz band has performed for the Dairy Princess, Sinclairville 76ers, Heritage Village, St. Columbans, The Resource Center, Lyons Club, Kiwanis, Sinclairville Park, BOCES, Midway Park, basketball games, softball games, football games, community dinner-dance Concerts and at Disney World. In 2015, the jazz band was given the opportunity to perform on the Steamboat Natchez in New Orleans, La.; their second appearance there.

Cross’s jazz and high school concert bands have consistently received gold medals and first-place awards in national festivals held in Pittsburgh, Orlando, Williamsburg, Hershey, New Orleans, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. In 2008, the bands received national recognition in Chicago, Ill., receiving the High School Grand Champion Award and the Music Showcase Festivals Grand Sweepstakes Award; being ranked as one of the top 12 highest scoring band performances in the United States. Cross and Cassadaga Valley Central School received the Chautauqua County Legislature Commendation Award for the second time for bringing this honor to Chautauqua County.

He also received several individual awards during his tenure for his exemplary educational approach.

In 1997, the Fredonia Chamber Players selected Cross as the Outstanding Instrumental Music Educator in Western New York. In 2012, he was the second recipient of the Ed Turner Memorial Award for a “career of excellence in band directing.”

In 2015, he received the RIT Distinguished Teacher Award, which was received by 34 teachers in all disciplines from across the United States. Former French horn band member and top RIT Scholar in Engineering, Andrew Greeley, nominated Cross for the award. Greely gave a testimonial during the award ceremony in which he stated: “Mr. Cross inspired all his students through his passion for music, his positive outlook on life and his drive for success. He was a great role model and helped me to understand what it takes to accomplish all my goals.”

IN THE LIMELIGHT

One would be hard-pressed to find another resume as loaded as the one Cross has developed across his career of live performance.

As an active performer on flute, clarinet, saxophone, flugelhorn and percussion instruments, he has performed over 6,000 concerts; including involvement in over 200 different musicals. He has jammed in jazz clubs from Chicago to New Orleans, in addition to his engagements with The Temptations, Don Menza, Grover Washington, Jr., Marian McPartland, the Bellamy Brothers, The Manhattan Transfer, Vassar Clements and the 10,000 Maniacs.

Cross served as the music director for the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival for 20 years, beginning in 1992. Cross also performed with Paula Poundstone, Ellen DeGeneres, the Smothers’ Brothers, Bob Newhart and Lucie Arnaz, as well as numerous other national celebrities. His jazz orchestras, The Babalu Band and Chautauqua Big Band Swing, continue to perform many engagements throughout the regional area.

He has performed with the MFO Orchestra, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and has been a featured soloist and arranger with the Bemus Bay Pops Orchestra and the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra. He composes and arranges several compositions for concert and jazz bands every year.

AT THE FOREFRONT

Cross has also played a key role in the establishment and formation of several performance groups and series throughout the area, and has taken a leadership role in several organizations.

He is the founder and conductor of the Chautauqua Concert Band, through which he has enabled over 3,000 middle school musicians to hear and perform alongside this professional concert band for the past 23 years. He has served as the musician contractor and performer for the Summer Stock pit orchestras at the Struthers Library Theatre in Warren, Pa., from 1986 to 2004, and was the band leader and arranger for the Chautauqua Lake Idol/Voices shows in Bemus Point from 2004 to 2015.

Cross was co-founder of the Jazz Vespers series, and was an artist in residence for five years at Chautauqua Institution. He has been featured with guitarist-vocalist Bill Ward in “Jazz Contribution to Christian Praise,” and as a jazz soloist for several Sacred Song Services at the amphitheater. His performance highlights at the amphitheater include opening for national recording acts Waylon Jennings, Diamond Rio, Loretta Lynn, the Gatlin Brothers and Bob Newhart.

He leads a music ministry with the IHS Dixieland and IHS Big Bands, and enjoys performing at local nursing homes. He has been the jazz director at the Chautauqua Institution Music Camp since 1999. He is the director of the Infinity Big Band, comprised of outstanding high school and college musicians throughout Chautauqua County, which he said filled a need in the county as many school districts don’t have the means of supporting their own individual jazz ensembles. He also hosts the Infinity Visual and Performing Arts’ monthly jazz concert series, which features regional talent on the last Friday of the month.

IN THE WORKS

In his post-retirement career, Cross has not yet showed any signs of slowing down. He has, however, demonstrated a greater emphasis on composing and recording.

He said he is currently doing a lot of composing and arranging for various jazz and concert bands, and also recently finished recording 500 songs for NBC’s recording library.

“Most days I’m recording all kinds of styles of music on the clarinet, flute and saxophone; so my new life is writing, recording and playing at night,” Cross said. “So my life is very interesting. The biggest thing for me is that I’m constantly searching for growth and making more opportunities available for people — especially youth — throughout the county. I never think of my playing as being done, it’s always moving and going forward. I’ve been so blessed with music, I just want to continue sharing it and doing new things.”