One of the best college jazz bands in the country will be in Leelanau County next week, and for one local music teacher, the visit is a full-circle moment.

Dante Billeci is the band teacher for grades 5-12 at Suttons Bay Public Schools (SBPS), a job he stepped into just this school year. He is also an alumnus of Michigan State University (MSU) – and perhaps more importantly, a proud former member of MSU’s Jazz Orchestra I. Nicknamed “the Be-Bop Spartans,” the instrumental group is considered not just the crown jewel of MSU’s jazz studies program, but also one of the top college jazz ensembles in the entire U.S.

The Be-Bop Spartans are described as “a young, swinging college band playing the repertoire of the great jazz masters as well as a wide range of soul, swing, blues, and gospel.” The 19-piece group includes saxophone, trombone, trumpet, bass, drums, piano, guitar, and vocalists, and is conducted by Rodney Whitaker, a renowned bassist and recording artist who has played with everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Diana Krall to Crosby, Stills & Nash.

In 2022, the Be-Bop Spartans scored best-in-the-nation honors at the Jack Rudin Jazz Championship at Jazz at Lincoln Center, a jazz showcase that pits 10 of the country’s most well-regarded college ensembles against one another. Billeci played as part of that award-winning group (pictured).

A California native, Billeci graduated from MSU in December 2022 and decided to stay in the Mitten, ultimately taking the job as SBPS middle school and high school band director last August. Now he’s drawing his college and professional worlds together by bringing Jazz Orchestra I to Leelanau County.

Next Saturday, March 30, the Be-Bop Spartans will be at the Suttons Bay High School Auditorium to perform for students, faculty, and the community. The ensemble will be joined by guest artist and jazz legend Bobby Floyd, both for an open rehearsal – from 12:30-1:30pm – and for a concert starting at 3pm. 

Billeci tells the Leelanau Ticker he’s been working to arrange a Jazz Orchestra I visit since the moment he was hired. He recalls fondly seeing how young students would react to hearing the group when he was a member, and is excited to bring that same experience to his students.

“This band tours around Michigan and plays concerts at schools to get kids excited about music,” Billeci explains. “The band usually even works with the students in a clinic setting; they’ll hear the high school kids play and then work with them. It’s such a valuable, inspiring experience, and it feels so exciting to me to be able to bring this band that I’ve been a part of – and that I’ve seen do really great work – and now they get to come up and get the kids at Suttons Bay excited about music in a new way.”

Billeci intended to have Jazz Orchestra I come north earlier this year, but that trip had to be rescheduled. Now the band’s visit will unfortunately coincide with spring break for SBPS and most other local school districts. While the change-up will mean no clinic time for SBPS bands to work with Whitaker and the members of the Be-Bop Spartans, Billeci still thinks the experience will be valuable.

“What we're doing instead [of a clinic], since a lot of students won't be able to make it, is we're going to have an open rehearsal, so students or other community members can come and watch the MSU Jazz Orchestra rehearse,” Billeci says. “They'll be able to see this professor giving high-level music education to a high-level group."

One silver lining to the spring break model, Billeci says, is that the event will be open to the whole community, including students from other area schools who happen to be in town. Proceeds from ticket sales, which are $5 for students and $10 for adults, will go toward the SBPS music programs.

As the Leelanau Ticker reported in the fall of 2022, SBPS is in the process of rebuilding its music and performing arts programs after years of decline, much of it precipitated by the district’s declining enrollment. At that time, the district had already made hires focused around theater, choir, and elementary music, and Superintendent Casey Petz told The Ticker the next step would be finding a band director. Billeci, as that hire, says he’s dedicated to helping SBPS recapture its former glory.

“There is actually a really great history of strong bands [at SBPS], but unfortunately, due to COVID and other reasons, we need to rebuild that program now,” says Billeci. “These kids are just so eager for something more, so we're using this this concert experience to try to inspire them and help them learn – and hopefully, keep these kids in the program and working on music, so we can bring the band program back to life.”