Retiring music professors recall more than 40 years of KU bands

Two longtime music professors Robert Foster, left, and James Barnes will both be retiring after more than 40 years of teaching at Kansas University.

In more than 40 years teaching music and leading bands at Kansas University, James Barnes and Robert Foster have ushered in many changes.

As both are now retiring, they say they are confident they’re leaving the School of Music as good as it’s ever been.

“The future’s bright here,” Barnes said.

Two longtime music professors Robert Foster, left, and James Barnes will both be retiring after more than 40 years of teaching at Kansas University.

Barnes, professor of music theory and composition, came to KU as a student in 1967 and started teaching full time at the university in 1974, he said. He was associate director of bands for 27 years.

Foster, professor of music education, schooled in Texas and came to KU as director of bands in 1971, a position he held 31 years.

Event planned

A retirement party is planned for Kansas University School of Music professors James Barnes and Robert Foster.

Doors open at 6 p.m., with a buffet dinner at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16, at Maceli’s, 1031 New Hampshire St. Cost is $25 per adult, $7.50 for children ages 5 to 10, and free for children 4 and younger. RSVP online at kuband.org.

Photos and reminiscences may be shared at kualumniband@gmail.com.

KU Endowment is collecting donations for initiatives honoring Foster and Barnes, which can be submitted online, also at kuband.org.

When they first met, Barnes was one of Foster’s students — a good one, Foster said, a standout tuba player who was already writing music for the marching band his sophomore year.

As they retire, after decades of working closely together, the two men can finish each other’s sentences.

“Bob and I are very different, but we had one thing in common,” Barnes said this week. “We wanted the band to be good.”

That mission played out over several major changes.

One of the most historic was admitting women to the marching band in the early 1970s.

At the time, many in the all-male band did not want that to happen, Foster said.

“A lot of them simply didn’t believe girls were physically able to keep up with them,” Foster said.

His approach was to prove those men wrong, in part by raising the standards for everyone, Foster said.

They sped up the music. They practiced longer. And long hair — everyone’s long hair (recall, this was the ’70s, Foster said) — was required to be tucked up into caps.

“The result was, the band got better,” Foster said.

Foster and Barnes saw KU’s conference morph from the Big 8 to the Big 12, bringing with it bigger competition for the marching band, particularly the huge marching bands from Texas.

They saw the transformation of KU’s Department of Music into a School of Music, which both said has helped it flourish.

“For the first time our top administrator is a music person who understands what we need, understands what we do,” Foster said.

They saw the birth of KU’s jazz ensembles, the rise of KU’s Wind Ensemble to national acclaim and an increase in high quality graduate students, in addition to undergrads.

Both Foster and Barnes said they will miss those students. They won’t, however, miss the clock professors must live by, they said.

Dean of Music Robert Walzel commended both for their influence at KU.

“For the past 40 years, Bob Foster has been the face of KU among band members across the globe. He has positively impacted the lives of thousands of KU students during his tenure as a Jayhawk,” Walzel said in a written statement.

Walzel said Barnes has proven exceptional from the day he entered KU as a “wide-eyed” freshman.

“His musical compositions are performed with regularity around the world,” Walzel said. “As an alumnus, he has made KU proud. As a faculty member, he has served the School of Music and his students with distinction.”