Scholarship Established to Honor Whitwell Retirement

Gerald Spry, president of the MSU Alumni Band Association, (right) presented Whitwell with a plaque that will list recipients of the John L. Whitwell Band Scholarship.

After announcing his retirement this past spring, John Whitwell stepped down from the podium as the Michigan State University director of bands, a position he has held since 1993. “To [have] become part of the MSU family, in the legacy of Leonard Falcone and Kenneth Bloomquist, is something I will treasure forever,” Whitwell wrote to the readership of the MSU Alumni Band Association’s newsletter, Encore. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Alumni Band who have been so extraordinarily gracious in making Carole and me feel at home during our years in East Lansing.”

On April 23, 2006, at the spring concert of the Alumni Band and MSU Symphony Band, the official announcement of the John L. Whitwell Band Scholarship was made. Gerald Spry, president of the MSU Alumni Band Association, presented Director Whitwell with a framed certificate and the plaque where each annual scholarship recipient’s name will be engraved. The scholarship is intended to serve as an encouragement to students who have demonstrated the initiative, motivation and capacity to achieve demanding educational and professional goals. Students who perform in any of the MSU bands are eligible for the award.

“It’s been a pleasure getting to know Professor Whitwell and being able to perform under his baton each spring at the annual Alumni Band concert,” said Joe Levine, MSU professor emeritus and clarinetist with the MSU bands from 1959 to 1962. “I’m very pleased that the MSU Alumni Band Association has chosen to honor him with this new scholarship. John Whitwell certainly deserves recognition for the spirit and professionalism he has brought to the MSU band program.”

For anyone interested in making a gift to the John L. Whitwell Band Scholarship, please send your check, payable to “Michigan State University” and note “Whitwell Scholarship” on the memo line. Mail contributions to School of Music Development Office c/o MSU Bands, 105 Music Building, East Lansing, MI 48824.

Whitwell responds to the audience after conducting the Symphony Band.