Received word from Don
Stoyke Jr that is father passed away last night in Phoenix. That's about
all I know at this point
other than Don Jr. asked me to get the word out to any who might have
known his father.
Don Stoyke was one of
the pioneers of band directors in the Mpls. Public Schools. He directed
bands at
Southwest High School
for over 30 yrs. He retired around 1974 from Southwest High and continued
directing
bands at Lake Harriet
during the summer and was instrumental in organization of the
Richfield American Legion Band.
As a young teacher in
Mpls, I considered Don to be one of my mentors and will always remember him as
being
stellar musician and
wonderful friend. Respectfully, Denny Malmberg, former Director South High School
Richfield Symphonic Band History
A small notice in the newspaper combined with a flurry of phone calls brought out about 40 WWII and Korean War vets, in late 1979, to the Richfield American Legion Post, with a view to organize a Concert Band under the posts sponsorship. Reuben Haugen, a well-known U of M clinician and jobbing musician was chosen as conductor. Don Stoyke, a local music educator and performance musician acted as assistant conductor. Dick Strasburg, a primary organizer of the band, served as the band manager. A rehearsal schedule was set up and we where in business.
Professional musicians, from a wide variety of backgrounds, along with working and retired music educators, made up much of the early membership. Some are still active today. Members have included alumni of the old Minneapolis Symphony, Dick Long’s Curtis Hotel Orchestra, The Robert Shaw Chorale Orchestra, The U.S. Marine Band, a retired member of the Minnesota Orchestra, and a Whoopee John Band member. Early members included local jazz musicians Harry Blons, Dick Pendleton, Mark Strachota, and Percy Hughes.
Some of the conductors, in the years following Reuben Haugen were: Don Stoyke, Burt Johnson, Alex Wilson, Bob Northernscold, Dick Weber, Adam Sroka, Ken Ziemann, and Paul Maybery.
As a group principally composed of veterans, our performance schedule has reflected that heritage with appearances at The Minneapolis Veteran’s Hospital, Memorial Day observances at the Fort Snelling and Camp Ripley National Cemeteries, Veteran’s Day observances in the Twin Cities Area, the dedication of the WWII Veteran’s memorial in St. Paul, Minnesota Veteran’s Home, and an appearance with President Ronald Reagan. Our group also appeared at an annual meeting of the Minnesota Music Educators Association. The band was awarded 2nd place in the Senior Concert Band competition held in conjunctions with the National American Legion Convention in Minneapolis in September 1994.
Our sponsorship by the Richfield American Legion Post ended several years ago. The band is presently a freestanding group incorporated as a non-profit.
Our band was fortunate in acquiring a substantial amount of traditional Concert Band music from the bands that performed at Lake Harriet under conductor’s Don Stoyke, Al Rudd, and Elmo Lunkley. All through the band history we have continued to build our library of classic and contemporary literature of American Concert Band, Broadway Show medleys, and concert band treatment of “Big Band” selections.
Dick Strasburg, Roy Hanson, Al Moe, John Connors, Randy Olson, Dennis Opland, Tom Ryerson, David Butler, and Rita Bryan are former band managers. The current manager is Don Larson.
