Here Comes The Band (Director)
April 16, 2003 | General News
UW Marching Band Director Mike Leckrone, who once told his band to 'stay off the internet,' will join Badger fans in Badger Chat today at noon on UWBADGERS.COM. Chat with the ageless Professor Leckrone about the upcoming Varsity Band concerts, the countless number of UW sporting events he has attended or his favorite city besides Madison: Pasadena.
Leckrone, who tells his troops not to scoff at other bands on various internet sites and chat boards, would rather see his band out-perform other schools on the field. So don't expect the youthful Leckrone to speak his mind about OSU 's dotting of the I or Stanford's tomfoolery, but he just might indulge you on his thoughts about basketball or hockey refs.
A native of Indiana, Leckrone received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Butler University in Indianapolis and has continued his studies at the doctoral level at Indiana University. Before coming to Wisconsin he taught at his alma mater, where he developed one of the finest marching bands in the Midwest. He is in constant demand as a clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator for concert and marching bands throughout the United States and Canada, and his experience also includes considerable professional work as an arranger, composer and performer.
He holds memberships in numerous professional organizations, as well as such honorary fraternities as Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha, Phi Kappa Lambda, Phi Kappa Phi, and Phi Beta Mu. He is a 25 year member of ASCAP and has been elected to the American Bandmasters Association. In 1970 he was cited as an "Outstanding Educator of America" by the Outstanding Americans Foundation, in 1973 was awarded the "Outstanding Bandmaster Award" by the Wisconsin Chapter of Phi Beta Mu, and in 1986 was presented with a Citation of Excellence by the National Band Association. He is a recipient of the "Pat O'Dea Award", the "Blue Line Club Distinguished Service Award", the "Badger Basketball Boosters Distinguished Service Award," the UW Alumni Club "Distinguished Faculty Award," and the Wisconsin Newspaper Writers "Special Edition Award." Leckrone was recently inducted into the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin Football Hall of Fame, he has been commissioned a "Kentucky Colonel" by the Governor of Kentucky, named a "Badger Legend" by the Governor of Wisconsin and was named one of 10 Madison Musical Legends by Madison Magazine. The University of Wisconsin has also honored him with an appointment to a prestigious "John Bascom Professorship."
Leckrone has composed or arranged music for numerous high school and university bands, and over 200 of his arrangements and compositions for marching band and concert band have been published. He is also the author of two texts for use by marching band directors, a handbook for band arranging and a text dealing with popular music in the United States. Leckrone is now in his 33rd year as director of the Wisconsin Band.
Leckrone's bio courtesy of www.badgerband.com
