Conductors 

Current Short List of Conductors

CONDUCTOR HISTORY

       The first Rotary-sponsored band concerts were held at Carver Park at the east end of town under the direction of John Beery who was Director of Bands for Marshall Public Schools (1972-1984). John submitted a proposal to the Marshall Rotary Club to fund the organization of a summer community band. The band was to perform outside concerts during the months of June and July. The Club accepted his proposal and John did all the work necessary to produce those first concerts in 1979. He continued the program with Rotary support for the next five years until he left Marshall to teach at Manchester College in Indiana. John Berry, who currently lives in Interlochen (Michigan) has returned to Marshall Rotary Band four times as a guest conductor (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006).

  The yearly Rotary support continued under the organization and direction of David Conklin when he became Director of Bands for Marshall Public Schools in 1984. Because of town noise, the concerts were moved to Cronin Park behind Marshall Middle School. The program announcer, Morris Stulberg, would use the portable speaker system owned by the Marshall Rotary Club and Rotarian, Eric Sullivan, would set it up for each concert. These concerts were performed using a portable band shell (purchased with Rotary Foundation funding) that was set up for each concert by the City of Marshall. That band shell is still used every year for outdoor Marshall High School graduation ceremonies and the Rotary Band concert at Brooks Fountain. David Conklin, who now lives and taught school band in Gettysburg (Pennsylvania), has come back nearly every year since 2004 to conduct that patriotic concert at Brooks Fountain where he also plays a magnificently difficult cornet solo.

  Duane Sitkiewicz replaced David Conklin as Director of Bands for Marshall Public Schools for the 1996-1997 school year, and he conducted Marshall Rotary Band for the entire 1997 summer season. That was the last season where every concert was conducted by the same conductor. Since then, the Marshall Rotary Band Board of Directors has invited a variety of conductors for each season. In addition to John Beery and David Conklin, these conductors have been on the Marshall Rotary Band podium: Ross VanNess, Ken Bauman, Phil Clissold, John Madden, Christien Rupp, Ed Zentera, Marty Erickson, Alison Shaw, Dick Day, Dan Phillips, David Larzelere, Jeremy Root, Tony Bush, Tom Evans, Dan Alt, Jeananne Nichols, Josh Eash, Brooks Grantier, Brian Shetterly, and Amanda Burdette.

David Conklin, Ed Zentera, and Ross VanNess have made the most repeated appearances. Dr. VanNess made his first guest conductor appearance in 1998 and was a regular cornet player in the band for many years. Ross VanNess was Director of Bands for Marshall Public Schools from 1961 to 1968, and was a featured cornet soloist  in 2013. David Conklin and Ed Zentera made their first guest conductor appearance in 1999. Ed Zentera (retired Kellogg Community College music professor) has conducted more Marshall Rotary Band concerts than any other guest conductor-27 concerts at the end of 2012.

  The $87,500 Frances Stevens Stuart Band Shell ($25,000 from Marshall Rotary Club and Marshall Rotary Foundation) provided Marshall Rotary Band a permanent home for the conductor’s podium in 2004. Most Marshall Rotary Band concerts are now performed at the band shell located at Stuart’s landing on the banks of the Kalamazoo River. In 2010, due to the variety of talented conductors in the area and their abundant interest in conducting a summer concert in Marshall, the Marshall Rotary Band Board of Directors decided to invite a different conductor for each concert. This new policy has provided a happy dilemma, since there are now more favorite conductors than there are concerts to conduct each season.