A new scholarship to encourage music educators
September 01, 2017
Written by Jeff Angileri | UW-Whitewater photos by Craig Schreiner
Former Warhawks running back Justin Beaver and UW-Whitewater director of bands Glenn Hayes catch up during the 2012 Homecoming football game at Perkins Stadium.
On football game days at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater — when thousands of fans pack Perkins Stadium to watch the six-time national champion Warhawks take the field — Glenn Hayes is easy to spot among the crowd.
Wearing an unmistakable purple blazer and with a baseball cap covering his shock of white hair, he moves across the sidelines with the energetic grace of a man who still loves what he does after more than 30 years on the job.
Hayes, affectionately known as "Doc," is director of bands at UW-Whitewater. He's most often recognized as the leader of the Warhawk Marching Band — a hardworking and passionate group that fills the game-day atmosphere with creative musical mashups and choreography, and encourages fans to dance and sing the "Warhawk Strut."
But to his student musicians, Hayes is their maestro, their mentor, and their champion. A father figure to many and one of the reasons they came to study music education in the first place.
Marching Band director Glenn Hayes ("Doc" to his student band members) enjoys a laugh with students as he presides at a full marching band rehearsal during Band Camp on Aug. 29, 2014. Marching band students arrive on campus a week ahead of classes to form sections, practice music and drill marching formations on the practice and football fields.
Christine, his wife of more than 40 years, is similarly beloved in the Whitewater Unified School District, where she teaches music at Lincoln Elementary. Her many accomplishments include leadership positions on the Wisconsin State and National Council for Music Education.
She's won prestigious fellowships and was named 2007 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year. Her dedication to students took her all the way to Ghana, Africa, where she learned drumming techniques from master percussionists in a remote village and brought that musical experience back to Wisconsin (pictured right).
"Christine and Glenn have a passion that's unparalleled," said alumna Carole Scharinger '56, a longtime friend of the Hayes family. "Christine introduces music to students in the right way — she instills the love of music in young people, and shows them it's something you carry with you your entire life. Glenn inspires and challenges his students, like invitational performances in England or at Carnegie Hall in New York — very few college musicians get those kinds of experiences."
Scharinger is honoring Glenn and Christine Hayes by endowing a scholarship in their name. This annual award will go to a declared music education major in the College of Arts and Communication.
"The costs of being a musician have gone up tremendously — everything from instruments to sheet music," Scharinger said. "It's an honor to do something for very talented young people who are having financial difficulties. I wish they'd had scholarships back when I was a student."
Growing up, Scharinger always wanted to play an instrument, but her family could not afford it.
"But I had a voice, so I sang, for more than 50 years — in army choirs, church choirs and the university choir," she said.
Carole Scharinger and Christine Hayes share a moment in New York during the UW-Whitewater Symphonic Wind Ensemble trip there to perform at Carnegie Hall in 2013.
Carole was the first female in her family to go to college, and she worked as a receptionist in an advertising agency to pay for her education. She earned a degree in business education, and her late husband Dale '57, an alumnus who returned to campus to teach human resource management at UW-Whitewater from 1964 to 1997, helped establish the university's MBA program.
She looks forward to the impact the scholarship will have on UW-Whitewater students.
"I hope some will consider teaching music. I want them to know that same passion that Glenn and Christine have for their work both professionally and personally in support of the community."