Reigning UW-Madison band director, Michael Leckrone, announced the upcoming academic year will be his last, leaving behind a 50-year legacy at the university.
On August 25, Leckrone, 82, announced that the 2018-19 academic year will be his final year at UW-Madison. Leckrone has been directing the UW-Madison Marching Band since 1969.
Leckrone said he made his decision a few weeks ago but waited to make a public announcement until he could tell the current band members personally.
Each year, the UW-Madison Marching Band has 300 members: This means that over the course of his career Leckrone could have directed, mentored and inspired roughly 15,000 students.
Leckrone has always had a special relationship with his band members, being rumored to remember the names and instruments of all past members.
“It’s the band — all the students from all the years — who deserve the credit. I just happened to be the guy standing in front,” Leckrone said.
His band members are not the only people Leckrone made an impact on. Students, alumni and UW-Madison community members alike took to social media to show appreciation for Leckrone’s service to the university after the news of his retirement broke.
“[Leckrone] will go down in history as the best director of the Wisconsin band,” Dylan Mathiot said in a tweet on Saturday. “He will be very missed by the fans, players, students, and staff of UW.”
Over the course of his career, Leckrone received various awards for his excellence, including the “Outstanding Bandmaster Award” by the Wisconsin Chapter of Phi Beta Mu and the “Distinguished Faculty Award” by the UW Alumni Club. He has also been inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame as well as the Wisconsin Football Hall of Fame.
It is currently unknown who will replace Leckrone, but he said whoever succeeds him will receive the same freedom and respect he received when he started in 1969, following Ray Dvorak.
However, regardless of who replaces him, Leckrone and his 50-year commitment to UW-Madison will not soon be forgotten.
