What would bring 60 musicians back to the IUP campus for a weekend of rehearsals and a culminating performance in Fisher Auditorium? The return of Jack Stamp (BS’76), director of Bands at IUP from 1990 until 2015, and the first performance of the Keystone Wind Ensemble in almost eight years!
Special thanks to Timothy Paul, who succeeded Stamp as director of Bands at IUP, for organizing this reunion weekend. Paul also shared in the conducting of the ensemble with Stamp.
“I am not aware of another facet of IUP that better embodies and celebrates our university's student-centric focus,” Paul said. “Current students perform alongside alumni and faculty, bringing Keystone's historic dedication to musical excellence full circle. They benefit from its legacy and prepare for the future continuance of this outstanding ambassador of music. Keystone Wind Ensemble is an enduring example of IUP's dedication to the arts and music, and I am excited to be a part of its important heritage.”
According to Stamp’s website:
The Keystone Wind Ensemble is a concert band comprised of approximately 50 woodwind, brass and percussion players, under the direction of Jack Stamp. The Keystone Wind Ensemble is sponsored by Indiana University of Pennsylvania and all members have a direct affiliation with the university as alumni, students, faculty or administrators. The ensemble, created in 1992, was formed for the express purpose of recording new and more traditional works from the concert band repertoire for national release on compact disc.
The Keystone Wind Ensemble recorded 22 compact discs for professional and educational purposes from 1992 through 2015. The band performed twice for the College Band Directors National Association conference—in 1998 at Pennsylvania State University and in 2001 at the University of North Texas. They performed at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles conference at the University of Cincinnati in 2009, and in that same year, they performed at the International Trumpet Guild conference held at Messiah College. The last performance of the Keystone Wind Ensemble was held at IUP on April 26, 2015, on the occasion of Stamp’s retirement.
Until the first weekend of November 2023 . . .
The first rehearsal was held on Friday evening, November 3, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Band members began arriving in Fisher Auditorium almost two hours beforehand, including members traveling from Arizona, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kansas, Texas, Connecticut, California, and Wisconsin. There were lots of hugs, lots of laughs, lots of stories shared from “the old days,” and lots of notes to be rehearsed.
Rehearsal continued throughout the day on Saturday and the concert was held on Sunday, November 5. The performance can be viewed online.
Among the sixty faculty, alumni, and students who participated in the Keystone Wind Ensemble reunion concert were:
- 11 founding members of the ensemble (who were part of the band during the first recording session held in 1991)
- Two current or former Assistant Deans of the College of Arts
- Two former chairs of the music department
- Five current or former Assistant chairs
- 12 current or former music faculty
- Three students who are currently enrolled in the music department
- 41 alumni who received their Bachelor’s degree from IUP
- Eight alumni who received their Master’s degree from IUP
- 38 faculty or alumni who received a Master’s degree from a different institution
- 19 faculty or alumni who received a doctoral degree
- 53 teach music privately and/or in an institution
According to Stamp, “What makes this group distinctive, apart from the high performance level, is that this ensemble is truly one of a kind. No other university in the United States can boast of an ensemble such as this—and especially one that reaches the highest professional standards.”
The concert was dedicated to the memory of Bruce Leek, a long-time friend of the Keystone Wind Ensemble and Jack Stamp. Leek was an internationally renowned recording engineer who was instrumental in the creation of the Keystone Wind Ensemble. According to the concert program, Leek “produced, engineered and/or mastered over 16,000 recordings, which have garnered more than 30 Grammy Awards and countless nominations. The phenomenal breadth of his experience ranged from the Beatles to the Philadelphia Orchestra and from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants.” Leek recorded all the recordings of the Keystone Wind Ensemble.
Regarding the weekend, members of the ensemble made these comments:
Easily one of the most memorable performances of my professional career. I'm so humbled to have been asked to be a part of this ensemble. Not only was the performance level very high, but the camaraderie among the members offered an environment that can only happen with the Keystone Wind Ensemble.
I am grateful to have been asked to play with this unmatched group of individuals. It was truly an honor to be on stage with so many people who have called Indiana home. My musical soul was revitalized. My alumni love for IUP, the place, the mentors, and the people who make up so much of who I am, was refreshed. I will carry this feeling with me for a long time.
For me personally, I really needed this camaraderie with playing together and making great music. The COVID years really hurt the performance of live music, so being able to make this happen and see wonderful friends and musicians and teachers, it was the highlight of my fall.
The experience of having students develop into peers, colleagues, and friends is truly a privilege, which is embodied by the Keystone Wind Ensemble legacy.
It's difficult to say in few words how magical it was to be an IUP music major. Keystone weekend brought all of those old feelings back into vivid detail. Somebody should write a book about this place!
The number of musicians who have gone on to earn master's and doctorates is amazing, I believe that it's the commitment to excellence and each other that makes Keystone unique. In most organizations, you prepare your music, show up, perform, and go home. With Keystone, no one wants to be the one who makes "that mistake" that makes everyone have to stop and do it again. We truly appreciate the skills and personalities that make up the ensemble. It's an experience like no other.
Plans are already underway for the next performance of the Keystone Wind Ensemble! Visit the IUP Department of Music website for information about this and other music department events.
A complete list of the compact discs released by the Keystone Wind Ensemble can be found online.