Michael leckrone biography

Michael Leckrone is the.
Michael “Mike” Leckrone (born July 30, 1936) was the director of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band from 1969 to 2019.
Leckrone was to be the third marching band director in a three-year span.

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As an Artistic Associate of Four Seasons Theatre, Professor Mike Leckrone brings his considerable knowledge of jazz, musical theatre, and popular music to FST audiences through the Listening with Leckrone Podcast. In addition, Professor Leckrone and FST staff are collaborating on the development of an original Great American Songbook show for next season.

Recently retired after 50 years at the helm of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, Mike Leckrone is a legendary showmen, conductor, and educator whose musical arrangements, halftime shows, UW Varsity Band Spring Concerts, and popular music history courses have been enjoyed by thousands. His many accolades include the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music in 2007, the “Spencer Tracy Award for Distinction in the Performing Arts” from the Wisconsin Historical Society in 2010, and the Michael St. John Lifetime Achievement Award from the Madison Area Music Association in 2013. Leckrone was featured in a 2019 PBS Wisconsin film, “Mike Leckrone: Wisconsin’s Showman,” that documented his

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A commercial that turned into a toe-tapping anthem for loyal Badger fans
The Fifth Quarter
Stop at the top
Zahh!
“Eat a rock”
The tap step
Knee bows
A gigantic pep band concert
To any former band member, the list above needs no explanation. These are some of the innovations, ideas, and expressions brought to the Wisconsin Band by Michael Leckrone.

When Leckrone arrived on the Madison campus in the late summer of 1969, interest in the marching band was at an all-time low. The causes for that predicament were varied. Leckrone was to be the third marching band director in a three-year span. Consequently, veteran band members had experienced very little community, stability, or loyalty to a specific program. Moreover, the Wisconsin football team was in the throes of a horrendous 22-game losing streak, in which they had not won a game and Saturday afternoon in Camp Randall had lost a great deal of fun. As if these reasons were not enough, from 1968 to about 1971 campuses all across the nation were experiencing a period of unrest and protest. Wearing a u

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Michael Leckrone

Michael “Mike” Leckrone (born July 30, 1936) was the director of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band from 1969 to 2019. He is noted for his extraordinary ability to remember the names of all the past and present members of the band, as well as where they were from, and what instrument they played.^[1]

Background

Leckrone grew up in North Manchester, Indiana. His father, Harold Leckrone, was the high school band teacher, but never pressured his son to follow in his professional footsteps, which included a contribution to the score of the 1986 film Hoosiers.^[2] Instead, Leckrone entertained thoughts of becoming anything from a basketball coach to a chemical engineer.

A native of Indiana, Leckrone received his bachelor and masters of music at Butler University where he played basketball his freshman year, backing up Bobby Plump, who was the real life hero on whom the character Jimmy Chitwood in the movie Hoosiers was based. He then studied at the doctoral level at Indiana University. He eventually became the director