Tower-Fall-2018

24 TOWER | FALL 2018 BACK TO CLASS WITH … DR. RICHARD WELLS BY NIKKI MURRY ’98 If you ask retired Kutztown University associate professor of Music and Music Education Dr. Richard G. Wells what he’s been up to, the answer would almost certainly circle back to music in some way. Wells, who retired from KU in 1997 after 29 years of teaching and directing several ensembles, believes wholeheartedly in a quote that he wrote and often recites, saying: “Human engineering is creating minds to develop and understand the values of life and to have a lifestyle filled with family, friends, happiness and music.” His affection for jazz and Big Band tunes began in his junior year of high school when he started his own jazz band, The Stardusters, playing the trumpet and acting as its director. The Stardusters landed gigs at weddings and other fire company social hall functions. That love of sharing and performing music extended into Wells’s college years when he enrolled at then West Chester State College, graduating with a bachelor of science degree in music education, and later earning a master of arts in music education degree from Columbia University in New York City. NEVER A JOB Though Wells established the Jazz Studies program at KU and was once in charge of all bands and instrumental ensembles, when you delve into discussing his days as associate professor and director, you get the impression that for him it was never a job. “I always wanted to be involved in all kinds of music. I wanted to give the students incentives and opportunities to be involved with music, too, because music is a great part of every life,” Wells said. Even beyond his teaching years, Wells continues to develop such opportunities for music students at KU. Through his KU Jazz Scholarship Fund established in 2002, more than 70 awards have been issued to those enrolled in KU Jazz Ensemble 1. Jazz music in particular is near and dear to Wells’ heart because as he said it allows students to showcase their talent and creativity through improvisation in solo opportunities within a group performance. “They can really make something their own,” he said. New in 2018, Wells has helped to establish the KU BANDS Fund for those students in need who are participating in any university band, be it concert, marching or jazz. The first award is yet to be made, but the fund is endowed. MAKING MUSIC AND MEMORIES His continued involvement at Kutztown University extends beyond his investments in funds and scholarships. In 2013, as part of a $20 million renovation and expansion of Schaeffer Auditorium, the large ensemble rehearsal space was named the Richard G. Wells Rehearsal Hall after KU alumni, students, faculty and staff raised more than $500,000 to honor him with naming rights. Appropriate since Wells is still a regular face on campus September through April, as he directs the KU Alumni Jazz Band, that he founded some 30 years ago. As with everything Wells does, the alumni band is a labor of love that brings about 28 of his former students still playing a horn instrument come together to perform Big Band music with twice-monthly practice sessions. “It’s a great music and social group,” Wells said. He admits he enjoys listening to stories about what the members are up to in life just as much as the music they create together. For Wells, music and friendship go hand-in-hand. The alumni band’s practices culminate in two concerts each year, usually around Christmas-time and in the spring when the ensemble plays free shows for schools, churches and at retirement centers. MORE MUSIC On the day of this interview Wells had to pause a few times, losing his voice a bit. Why? “I was singing in church choir (Mt. Carmel Church, St. Peters) this morning,” he said. “Gotta keep the pipes open.” It’s an activity he and his wife, Elizabeth, have enjoyed together for nearly 60 years. “She’s a soprano,” he said proudly. When he’s not on his way to church or practice with the alumni band, he might instead be headed to a meeting with his brother, James, also a music lover and co-founder and co-director of two of the brothers’ projects: Festivals of Music and Music in the Parks. Both programs are education-based and see elementary- to college-aged musicians invest in