Whitefish Bay's Music Man Ready for Next Chapter

When Stan Luth first started as a band director at in 1984, he came home from work one day and told his wife, "Before I leave, I want to see a new facility."

Now that Luth is setting down his conducting baton 27 years later, it is fitting that he spent his last year conducting in a . Although he wasn't able to enjoy the new facilities for long, Luth said his advocating for the new facility was a great achievement in his life and will be a tremendous resource for future generations.

"For 24 years I pounded on everyone, and I never backed off. Finally a group of parents caught on and shared that vision," he said. "It's not that I built it, but I think I can say the vision was planted by me."

Luth's last high school performance was at the Sunday, capping off a 37-year career in music education. Before his 27 years in Bay, he taught seven years in Waupaca and three years in Somerset, a small Wisconsin village about an hour east of Minneapolis.

From an early age

Luth's love for music started at a young age, and he said he never thought twice about his career choice — he always knew he was going to be a music teacher. He started playing music in middle school, mostly on the french horn.

During college at UW-River Falls, Luth realized his true love was the trumpet. He has since performed in a variety of professional and community bands on the trumpet, but his main focus during his career has been teaching kids.

It was at UW-River Falls, in the pit orchestra for "Fiddler on the Roof," where Luth met a young woman named Kris, a fellow trumpet player who instantly became the love of his life.

"On our first date I knew we were in love," he said. "On the second date, I told her I loved her. On the third date, she told me she loved me. And on our fourth date, we decided we were going to get married. And a year and a half later, we were."

When Stan took the job as high school band director, his wife Kris took the job of administrative assistant to the director of buildings and grounds. They first lived in Whitefish Bay, then Shorewood, and then ended up in what Luth jokingly calls a "teacher's cottage" just a half block from the high school field house.

"It was kind of a dream life that we lived," he reflected. "Working in the same building and walking home together."

In 2002, Kris was diagnosed with cancer, and the couple quietly battled through the disease without telling their friends and co-workers for eight years. Kris passed away in July 2010.

"I admired her from the day we met to the day she died," Luth said. "We only had one argument, and that was who had the better deal. And now, I can finally say, I definitely got the better deal in that marriage."

After Luth lost his soulmate, the close-knit high school community came together and supported him in a time of mourning. At first, he said, he wanted to go through the grieving process alone, but then he learned to open up and accept the love from the community.

"I had to learn how to receive all of the support and love, and open up to that help," he said. "The help and support was enormous. It was just huge. More than I could receive."

A new beginning

Stan stopped playing the trumpet during Kris' illness, but in her last year, he picked it up again and started playing. Now that he is starting a new chapter in retirement, Luth said he plans to hone his technical ability on the trumpet, attend more International Trumpet Guild meetings and continue his research on trumpet methodologies, which may result in a book, he said.

He also said he's going to spend more time with his three children and nine grandchildren, and focus on living life to the fullest.

"I'm going to fully embrace life," he said. "I'm one of those people who wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and I'm ready to go. Teachers have to have that kind of energy because you're working with high-energy high school students."

Reflecting back on his 27 years, Luth said he gave it everything he had, and he has no regrets. He said he is leaving the Whitefish Bay Music Department in good hands.

"Whitefish Bay has as good as it gets for students, teachers and the involved and supportive parents, and it has as good as it gets for administration as well," he said.

"When you work at Whitefish Bay, it's something that's bigger than all of us," he said. "You're teaching in a diamond mine when you're working here."