History

A History of the Penn High School Bands

Researched and Authored by Glenn Northern, Director of Bands and Fine Arts & Communications Academy Leader at Penn High School

Penn Township is located in the Eastern portion of St. Joseph County, between the cities of Mishawaka and Elkhart, in North Central Indiana. Prior to 1958, students who lived in Penn Township attended either Mishawaka High School, or Jimtown High School in neighboring Elkhart County. In 1955, it was announced that, due to overcrowding, Mishawaka High School would no longer be accepting students from Penn Township after 1959. This prompted Penn Township Trustee Vernon Freed to assemble a team of community leaders to assess the crisis. The result was the formation of the Penn Township School Corporation, with plans to build a new high school. On November 1, 1957, ground was broken for Penn High School at a cost of $3,600,000. The new facility opened on September 1, 1958 for Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors.

The history of the Penn High School Bands reflects the story of Penn High School itself. From a modest beginning in a rural community, Penn High School would grow into one of the largest schools in the state of Indiana. It would become a beacon of academic, artistic, and athletic achievement; the flagship of a school corporation that became the centerpiece of a sprawling suburban community. A community built by young families who relocated to Penn Township (and eventually Harris and Madison Townships) in order to give their children the best opportunities for their education.

The Penn High School Band began with 43 students and one teacher. Mr. Wilbur Eslinger was the only music teacher at Penn during the 1958-59 school year. Mr. Eslinger taught both band and choir classes. Mr. Eslinger graduated from Bremen High School and Ball State Teachers College. He led these students in numerous performances throughout the year for community events, concerts, and pep sessions, including the first performance at the school’s dedication program on October 26, 1958. The Penn Band would not have any uniforms until the following year. “Across the Field”, the Ohio State Fight Song, was adopted as the Penn School Song.

In 1959, Penn High School welcomed 912 students in four classes. The school also added another teacher. Mr. Russell Ruby joined Mr. Eslinger as both teachers taught sections of choir and band. Mr. Ruby was a graduate of Walkerton High School and Indiana State Teachers College. The band was now up to 60 members and premiered their new black and gold uniforms as the “Marching Kingsmen” performed at football games in its new home stadium. Music Theory was offered as a class during the 1959-60 academic year.

The 1960-61 Penn Band performed in the Studebaker Premier Parade, and at their first N.I.S.B.O.V.A. (Northern Indiana School Band Orchestra and Vocal Association) contest at South Bend Washington High School on April 15, 1961. Instrumental Solo & Ensemble performances took place earlier in the year at Warsaw High School. The basketball pep band was formed under the direction of Russell Ruby. All 73 band members were split into three equally sized pep bands that alternated performance responsibilities at games.

In the fall of 1961, the Penn Band had grown to 87 members under the direction of Mr. Eslinger and Mr. Ruby. Music Theory and Music Appreciation were offered in the curriculum, as well as a six-week course in organ during June and July. The 1962-63 Penn Band included 100 members.  The Band performed a concert in January, 1963, and hosted the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Solo and Ensemble Contest. In 1962, Harris Township joined with Penn Township to expand the school district’s size. In 1963, Madison Township also joined the district. This resulted in the current footprint of the school corporation, which now encompassed the entire Eastern portion of St. Joseph County, and the ultimate name of the district - the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation. This also resulted in a student enrollment of 1600 for the fall of 1963.

The 1963-64 school year brought some changes to the bands at Penn. The 126 band members were split into two concert bands for the first time. The school also hired an additional music teacher. Mr. Roy Scheuneman joined the faculty as director of choirs. Wilbur Eslinger and Russell Ruby were now teaching band exclusively. By the fall of 1964, Russell Ruby had become the band director while Wilber Eslinger took on the role “Director of Music” for the district. The band enrollment had grown to 168 students. The Concert Band and the Cadet Band performed at the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Concert Festival where both bands received Superior Ratings.  Roy Scheuneman was replaced as the choir director by C. Lamar Holoway. Mr. Holoway would spend the next 46 years at Penn, retiring in 2011.

In 1965, the Penn Bands welcomed Mr. Donald Kutchback as its new band director. The band enrollment was 181. The Concert Band and the Cadet Band performed for the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Festival on April 16th, where both bands received ratings of “Excellent”. The Marching Kingsmen also appeared in the Indy 500 Parade in May, 1966. In the fall of 1966, Wilbur Eslinger returned to lead the Penn Bands with the departure of Donald Kutchback. Mr. Joseph Randy Brugh joined the band staff as the conductor of the Intermediate Band and the Cadet Band, while Wilbur Eslinger conducted the Concert Band. Enrollment in the Penn Bands reached 226.

Beginning in the fall of 1968, Freshmen were housed in the two new middle schools (Schmucker Middle School and Grissom Middle School), and Penn High School was now a 10-12 building. J. Randy Brugh was now leading all of the Penn Bands. The Marching Kingsmen participated in their first N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Contest and received a Division II rating. The Penn Bands also hosted the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Organizational Contest for the first time, where the Symphonic Band received a “Superior” rating. The Marching Kingsmen would go on to participate in the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. marching contests again in 1969 and 1970 where they received Division I ratings.

With the departure of J. Randy Brugh in the summer of 1971, Wilbur Eslinger once again led the Penn Bands with the assistance of Dale Taylor. Mr. Taylor was a Penn Band alumni who was teaching choir at Schmucker Middle School. In 1972, Ronald Elmore was hired as the band director. Mr. Elmore would spend one year at Penn, taking the Concert Band and Symphonic Band to the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Organizational contest in April, 1973, where both bands received a “Superior” rating.  G. Keith Rudolph was hired during the summer of 1973, and would spend the next 38 years at Penn. In the fall of 1973, the Marching Kingsmen received a Division I Rating at the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. marching contest, and placed fifth in the very first Indiana State Marching Band Finals Contest. This would begin a consistent record of Division I ratings for the marching band that continues to the present.

Through the 1970s, the band enrollments grew gradually. The Symphonic Band would often attend the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Festivals in the spring. The jazz ensemble program evolved with more consistency and began attending the N.I.S.B.O.V.A. Jazz Festivals held each winter. By 1979, the band program had grown to include two jazz ensembles. 

In 1981, the two associations that sponsored music festivals in Indiana, N.I.S.B.O.V.A. and ISMA (the Indiana School Music Association) merged to form the Indiana State School Music Association, or ISSMA. Throughout the 1980s, the Penn bands were consistent participants in ISSMA Marching contests, solo and ensemble contests, jazz events, and concert organizational events. The bands received consistent Division I ratings in these festivals. Also, in the early 1980’s, the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation began creating the infrastructure to begin and support an orchestra program. String instrument instruction was first offered in 1986 in the middle schools and at Penn. By the early 1990s the P-H-M orchestra program was beginning to thrive.

By the early 1980s, it was clear that Penn High School had outgrown its original facility. While the building was barely 20 years old, the enrollment had grown more than anyone anticipated. What had once been a “farm school” had evolved into a densely populated suburban area that clearly needed an upgrade. Plans were made to renovate the entire school in phases. The renovations began in the mid 1980’s, and would touch every square foot; making the original building unrecognizable when it was completed in 1991. The renovated facilities included new rehearsal rooms for choir, band, and orchestra; a new auditorium; a studio theater; a scene shop; two dance studios; and six art classrooms; in addition to practice rooms, dressing rooms, offices, and storage space. This allowed for curriculum expansions in art and theater, as well as the beginning of a dance curriculum. 1990 also marked the return of the freshmen class to Penn High School. Since 1968, freshmen had been a part of the two middle schools. The newly expanded high school could now adequately serve grades 9-12. 

During the mid 1980s, as the building renovations began, the Penn Band was also undergoing a transformation. Enrollment numbers were dropping from the two middle school bands, which affected the high school band enrollment numbers. There were several contributing factors, including staffing concerns and offering adequate instruction time to the fifth grade beginning students across eleven elementary schools. The solution to this came in the mid 1990s with the addition of a third middle school and the adjustment of starting band and orchestra students in the 6th grade, when they were already in the middle schools. This allowed for daily class instruction, since music students were now in four buildings, rather than 14 buildings. In 1996, the school corporation also began to offer a three week summer program for beginning band and orchestra students that is still in place today.

In 1989, the high school bands added an assistant band director position. Dan Burton joined the faculty from a similar position at Warsaw High School. In 1995, Murray Weaver was hired as an assistant band director at Penn. This was done in anticipation of the opening of Discovery Middle School in 1996. Dan Burton would be assigned to the new middle school with a partial assignment each day at Penn High School. 

Two events in 1993 and 1994 gave the band program a boost, and also served as an indicator of what was in store for the Penn Bands. In the spring of 1993, the Symphonic Band qualified for the Indiana State Concert Band Finals for the first time in school history. Qualifying for this contest is difficult, as only the top 16 scoring bands are selected from the many district sites statewide. In the fall of 1994, the Marching Kingsmen also qualified for the Indiana State Marching Band finals for the first time since 1973. The Marching Kingsmen would go on to qualify for the state marching band finals four more times over the next seven years; in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001.

In 2001, Glenn Northern was hired to replace Dan Burton at Discovery Middle School and at Penn. This position was still split between the two buildings, and would remain this way until 2007, when a full time position was added at Discovery Middle School, and Mr. Northern was assigned exclusively to Penn as an assistant band director. In 2002, the advanced concert band, now called Symphonic Winds, would once again qualify for the Indiana State Concert Band Finals. The Penn Symphonic Winds have qualified for this contest every year since 2002.

The 1990s and early 2000s witnessed unprecedented growth in the Penn Bands; from two concert bands in 1990 to five concert bands in 1997. From isolated appearances in state finals events, the concert and marching bands have improved to achieve consistent appearances in these events. In 2000, the Penn Marching Kingsmen were selected to perform in the Tournament of Roses Parade. Their performance, on January 1, 2001 was viewed as a crowning achievement in the history of the Penn Marching Band, and was viewed by millions across the country. Since 2003, the Penn Marching Kingsmen have qualified for the Indiana State Finals 14 times. In 2007, Bill Leather was hired to replace Murray Weaver as an assistant band director and director of jazz and percussion. Mr. Weaver became the band director at Discovery Middle School. 

In 2008, Penn High School celebrated 50 years of existence. For the Penn Symphonic Winds, this celebration included an invitation to perform for the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. Penn was one of only four high school bands from the United States that were invited to perform. The Concert, on December 17, 2008, featured guest soloist Pat Sheridan, and proved to be a most memorable event for the students in the ensemble.

In early 2011, after 38 years of leading the Penn Bands, G. Keith Rudolph announced his retirement. During Mr. Rudolph’s tenure at Penn, the band program evolved from a simple activity to an organization that created its own culture, in which students looked after one another, and took care of each other. Mr. Rudolph organized the band boosters into a powerful support system. He brought in world-renowned guest artists, and created wonderful experiences for students. Most importantly, he always took care of students, and they knew that he cared about them. Mr. Rudolph’s retirement celebrations included scores of band parents, former superintendents, and hundreds of alumni band members.

Glenn Northern was named as the director of bands in May of 2011. Chris Paulson was assigned to Penn as an assistant band director. Mr. Paulson had previously been the band director at Grissom Middle School.

Growth within the Penn Bands continued into the 2010s. The curricular offerings for band included five concert bands, two jazz ensembles, two percussion ensembles, and a chamber music class. Additional extracurricular opportunities included marching band, pep band, four winter guards, an after school jazz ensemble, solo and ensemble contest, and numerous honor band opportunities. In 2015, the Symphonic Winds were named as Co-Champion of the Indiana State Concert Band Finals Contest. This still remains as the one and only championship earned by a Penn Band. In 2016, Aaron Griesser was hired to replace Bill Leather as an assistant band director, and in 2017, David Landoll replaced Chris Paulson as an assistant band director. In 2024, Dakota Steele was hired in a brand new position as the Percussion Specialist for the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation.  In 2019, 2020, 2023, and 2025, Aaron Griesser led the Penn Advanced Jazz Ensemble to State Finals appearances. 

References

Glenn, A. (2008). Penn High School Remembered.  Flagship Custom Publications. 

Penn High School. (1959) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 1, 4-5)

Penn High School. (1960) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 2, 3)

Penn High School. (1960) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 2, 48-49)

Penn High School. (1961) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 3, 56-61)

Penn High School. (1962) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 4, 40-41)

Penn High School. (1963) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 5, 30-32)

Penn High School. (1963) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 5, 88)

Penn High School. (1964) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 6, 93)

Penn High School. (1964) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 6, 64-67)

Penn High School. (1965) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 7, 56-59)

Penn High School. (1966) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 8, 62-63)

Penn High School. (1967) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 9, 38)

Penn High School. (1968) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 10, 80-81)

Penn High School. (1969) Bittersweet Yearbook (Vol. 11, 84-87)

NISBOVA Results.(n.d.) NISBOVA Results, Retrieved June 16, 2021, from http://www.indianafallbandhistory.com/NISBOVA%20Results/1950_Participating_Bands.htm

History: Marching Band State Finals Results. (2021) ISSMA, Retrieved June 16, 2021. From https://issma.net/mbhistory.php

History: Concert Organization State Events Results. (2021) ISSMA, Retrieved June 16, 2021. From https://www.issma.net/orghistory.php

History: Jazz and Show Choir State Finals Results. (2021) ISSMA, Retrieved June 16, 2021. From https://issma.net/showchoirhistory.php