Kegeler one of 5 musical 'legends'

When she was about 10, a band director told Bonnie Kegler, Wisconsin Rapids, that she could never play clarinet.

Her mother, Jeanette Zettler, Auburndale, knew better.

On Sunday, Oct. 14, Kegler, 51, will be honored for her 25-year commitment to the UW-Marshfield/Wood County Symphonic Band during the “Musical Legends” Fall Concert.  The concert, at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Helen Laird Theatre at UW-M/WC, 2000 W. 5^th St., Marshfield, will honor five members of the band who have played for 25 years or more.  The UW-M/WC Jazz Ensemble will also perform during the concert.

“Playing in the band has always kept me going,” said Kegler.  She has lugged her clarinet, or bass clarinet depending on the band’s needs, from her home in Wisconsin Rapids to Marshfield weekly to attend rehearsals.  “I really enjoy the camaraderie and fellowship.  It’s such a joy.”

Kegler and her fellow musicians were each asked to choose a favorite piece for the concert.  She chose “Nimrod Variation,” form Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.”

Kegler’s name will be inscribed on a newly installed “Musical Legends” plaque that will hang in the lobby of the Helen Connor Laird Fine Arts Building on campus.

For Kegler, the award is particularly significant.  She was told she could never play clarinet, which was also the instrument her mother played, in the wake of an accident that resulted in the loss of several teeth.

“I was told I’d never have the right embouchure,” she said. “But my mother gave me her old metal clarinet and I started to work on it, regardless.  For Christmas when I was in sixth grade, my parents bought me a real one.”

Despite her band director’s disapproval, Kegler continued to play clarinet and bass clarinet throughout high school, earning A’s her senior year.  She attended Concordia College in Milwaukee and St. Paul, and taught herself to play baritone sax.  Somewhere along the way, she also taught herself to play piano.

“My mother made me take accordion lessons, too, because I had a cousin who taught accordion,” Kegler said. “I really didn’t care for it, but at least it taught me keyboard fingerings and such.”

Kegler credits her mother with much of her musical ability.

“She really encouraged me,” Kegler said. “Now, she wonders why I spend so much money on gas driving to Marshfield for band.  But I really do enjoy it.  It really keeps me going.”

Tickets for the “Musical Legends” concert are $7 and can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 715-389-6534. The event is sponsored by Festival Foods of Marshfield and the Laird Endowment Fund for the Arts.

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