Tony Brown’s story is amazing. He wouldn’t admit that, but it is. Success for Tony has been a marvelous combination of incredible hard work and wonderful serendipity. As he says, “There’s no reason for me to be here doing what I’m doing and having the career I’ve had...Every ounce in a while along the way, I have been lucky.”

He grew up in inner city St. Louis, where his father was a physical education teacher and football coach (now in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame).  Tony naturally played football, from the age of 8 all the way into high school, but music was also an influence.  His grandfather annually played at a big brass band festival and Clark Terry grew up in his church.  When it came time for band, his father’s old clarinet was still in the house, and Tony began playing as a “pull-out” experience in elementary school. 

In the first of a series of what might seem to be divine interventions, Tony was one of a few students sent to Mehlville High School as part of a new desegregation program.  The band director there was Don Kinnison, who would become one of the most important figures in Tony’s life.  In Tony’s sophomore year, he became a drum major with the band and, at the same time, ruined the middle finger on his right-hand playing football (they had to sew it back on!). Suddenly band became Tony’s focus; he wanted to be good and was willing to work for it.  Mr. Kinnison saw the talent and desire in Tony, and they began to have long conversations, eventually engendering Tony’s desire to become a band director.  

Mr. Kinnison also connected him with Warren Bellis, a retired clarinet teacher at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Tony began to study clarinet with him.  Mr. Bellis would become another huge influence, often giving Tony 2–3-hour lessons.  By his senior year, Tony had become an excellent clarinetist, “but I didn’t know.”  He applied to several schools around the country and eventually accepted a scholarship offer to attend the University of North Texas, one of the finest music programs in the world. 

Tony wanted nothing more than to become the band director at a large, competitive Texas high school.  He started his career in the little town of Sinton, Texas (near Corpus Christi), but wasn’t happy.  He says today that he was probably “too intense” for them!  In another fortuitous moment, Mr. Kinnison’s assistant director at Mehlville left that same year, and he encouraged Tony to return to Missouri, obtain “big school” experience, and then return to Texas.  So, Tony came home. When he started at Mehlville the following fall, he met a senior flute player in the band, Jennifer, who was also headed to the University of North Texas.  Several years later, the two began dating and were later married.  Today, Jennifer heads the middle school program at Mehlville. 

Over the next thirty-three years, Tony built the program at his beloved alma mater, accomplishing everything he ever wanted to with the band and simultaneously influencing thousands of young people and sharing his love and passion for music.  As Tony reflects on the crazy path that brought him to today, he says, “The grit was important. I was willing to sacrifice.” He also feels there is a sense of defiance that he has, a sense of pride, that leads to this grit. 

Grit and Grace is intended to honor both aspects that were so influential in Tony’s life, the grace of serendipitous occurrences, and the sheer grit that took advantage of those moments.  The work draws some of its influence from the setting “Angels,” by Cynthia Liggins Thomas.  This song has been a favorite for Tony and, according to his wife, Jennifer, the song is “him” because of its chorus, with references to having an angel watching overhead.

The piece is structured as a series of alternating sections of Grit and Grace that gradually build in dynamic and intensity, much as Tony’ career developed and grew. The work begins with an initial shout of the Grace material, then the ensemble sings quietly while a clarinet and flugelhorn introduce an important melodic phrase. These two instruments represent the voices and early influence of Mr. Bellis and Mr. Kinnison (who was a trumpet player). A percussion groove enters, and the first Grit section begins with the low instruments at a soft dynamic, followed immediately by another passage of Grace.  Then comes the first of two interlude sections, this one featuring the flute (as a reference to Jennifer). After another Grit/Grace collection, now in the middle voices and becoming stronger and more confident, a second interlude follows, featuring the horn (as a reference to their daughter, Eva).  Before the final and most powerful Grit/Grace collection, there is a brief return to the introductory materials, but now it is the ensemble singing the melody, while the clarinet and flugelhorn have moved into the sustained background; Tony and the Mehlville Band program have emerged into their own. 

Grit and Grace was commissioned by the Mehlville High School Symphonic Band to honor their longtime director, Tony Brown, upon his retirement.