Band leader marched many to excellence

If there's a marching band in heaven in need of a director, it's a good bet Frank Piersol already has auditioned and won the job.

This Iowa Band Man, who died Friday at age 98, left a legacy of teaching and making music that reached around the world. Unlike the con man Harold Hill in Iowa native Meredith Willson's famed “Music Man” production, Piersol was the real deal.

The Minnesota native and Rockwell High School (Iowa) graduate took the long and winding road to prominence after earning degrees at Grinnell College and the University of Iowa. There were school band jobs at Stanley, Maynard, Osage and Waterloo West before he took the baton at Iowa State University for 19 years, then the same position at the University of Iowa for 13 more.

It was during Piersol's time at the UI that he also made his mark on the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band. As director for 22 years before retiring in 1993, Piersol helped the local group gain a reputation as one of the finest community bands in the Midwest.

There was more. So much more. Guest conductor, lecturer, music contest judge, music camp director and music festivals - all told, he brought his skills and passion for marching band music to 40 states, Europe, Canada and Mexico. He wrote and published more than 90 works of music and a series of concert marches.

He was accorded many state and national honors and served in leadership roles with several band and music organizations, including the American Bandmasters Association.

No less important than those many achievements was how he interacted with and affected those he met along the way.

“He treated everyone he played with like he was talking to his best friend, that's the kind of person he was,” Bob Sadilek, a former music teacher at McKinley Middle School in Cedar Rapids and a 60-year member of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Band, told a Gazette reporter.

“ ... He had a knack for bringing the best out of everyone.”

Marcia Welch, whose husband, Myron, followed Piersol at the UI, said their Iowa City neighbor of 40 years “ ... just had this energy, it was just ongoing, it took all of our breath away. He had such a wonderful warmth to him. He was so funny, and so few people who knew him got to see it.”

We're thankful so many music students, band performers and concertgoers benefitted from Piersol's dedication and talent. He set standards that will be difficult to match. His example should inspire future generations to strive for excellence in music and other endeavors that enrich life for all of us.