Keith Ward’s Legacy of Preparing Musicians to Meet Tomorrow’s Challenges, Channel Music to Serve the Greater Good

Lamont School of Music Director Keith Ward prides himself on diligently working to cultivate and sustain a culture “in which good things happen.” He also insists that “my success is based not only on a principled, service approach to my role but also on the generous work of others in this vibrant community.” 

As he moves toward retirement at the end of spring quarter, Ward expressed gratitude for the robust program he inherited from his predecessors, including Joe Docksey [Lamont’s director from 1988-2011] and Nancy Cochran. 

From the beginning of Ward’s tenure in fall 2018, he set broad, future-oriented goals including elevating Lamont’s national prominence, enhancing resources, channeling curriculum toward training “the 21st century musician” and integrating Lamont more fully within the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS).

“I am deeply grateful to Keith for his passionate and outstanding direction of the Lamont School of Music over the last seven years,” said CAHSS Interim Dean Rachel Walsh. “He has unwaveringly voiced measured and thoughtful leadership, especially throughout our CAHSS Chairs & Directors advisory meetings. We will miss his constant care and support.”

Ward credits Lamont’s success in hiring outstanding faculty who perform nationally and internationally with garnering greater attention for the school. “These are award-winning faculty members such as Grammy-Award-winning Assistant Professor Remy Le Bouef and Associate Professor of Music Theory Mitch Ohriner, who won the Wallace Berry Award from the Society of Music Theory, one of the highest honors in his field.” 

According to Ward, Lamont faculty members and students perform in a variety of high-profile national venues including ensembles, prominent national conferences, jazz festivals, the American Chorale Directors Association, Big 12 Trombone Conference and others. Lamont’s streamed concerts — first launched during the pandemic — have expanded the school’s presence worldwide.

Ward cites the “outstanding CAHSS development team under Executive Director of Development Jennifer Garner with helping enhance Lamont’s resources. “They are truly exceptional professionals. I am so happy that under my watch we have added nine new scholarships, two new visiting artist performance funds, provided additional funding for student development, underwritten a guitar festival and generated more stable funding for opera, among other accomplishments.”

He characterizes his approach to meeting the emerging needs of the 21st-century musician as “geared more toward evolution than revolution.” To that end, under Ward’s guidance, the school has created an online performance degree, incorporated entrepreneurial and community content into undergraduate curriculum, added post-graduate certificate options and a new Bachelor of Arts in Music Studies degree. 

During Ward’s tenure, Lamont has continued to respond to an increasing nationwide expectation that academic institutions expand career development opportunities for musicians. “This is why you see a growing emphasis on entrepreneurship and additional business class offerings in music programs,” he said. “For us, it has included initiating collaboration with the Entrepreneurship program in Daniels College of Business along with a new entrepreneurship/community engagement requirement in curricula.” 

He added that careers in music today can go in ever-expanding directions. “Providing excellent training in music and preparing students for their next steps toward diverse careers is a balance we continue to work on.” 

Ward points to Lamont’s interdisciplinary collaboration with the CAHSS Critical Race & Ethnic Studies (CRES) program as an example of increased efforts to integrate Lamont more fully into CAHSS. “I encourage and support Lamont faculty in team teaching or cross listing courses with other departments, submitting grant applications that reach beyond Lamont to departments throughout our college and partnering with other universities,” Ward said. 

He has encouraged and welcomed initiatives by Lamont faculty in community engagement. Lamont students perform in schools and assisted living facilities, hold side-by-side concerts with Denver Public School’s School of the Arts and bring students in to perform monthly at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado. 

Throughout his career, Ward has harnessed the inherent, compelling power of music as an expressive art and as a subject of deep scholarly work.

 “As an art, it can touch the heart, build bridges, heal and connect people across divides,” he said. “You can articulate through sound profound truths about what it is to be human. Music can communicate joy, provide a sense of purpose, be simple or complex. It can promote connections, engage our hopes and fears and express something beyond words. I recall during my work in the 1990s related to HIV/AIDS how music offered testimony to both rage and hope.” 

As he concludes his work, Ward hopes he has contributed to Lamont’s “vibrant ever becoming. This school has a long, revered tradition and an obligation to provide an education that speaks to the developments of today’s world. I think we’re doing that well. Lamont is flourishing but we must always be looking at ourselves critically and asking questions to make sure that continues.”

He will miss Lamont’s people — students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors — many of whom have become good friends. “I will also miss working with Lamont’s exceptional, professional staff who provide the school’s backbone — without whom we would fall apart.”

As for the future, Ward hopes to see “more people crossing Iliff Avenue to partake of all that Lamont has to offer our community.” He’s confident that Lamont’s new Director Brian Pertl, slated to step into his role July 1, will continue to guide the school through challenging times while nourishing Lamont’s dynamic culture and promising future. 

“I look forward very much to Brian’s leadership,” Ward said. “He is a thought leader in the profession, an experienced and skilled administrator and a passionate advocate for music and music excellence. He values community. Lamont will be in good hands.” 

Pertl calls Ward “one of the most highly regarded national leaders in our field. I have known Keith for nearly 20 years as a friend, colleague and mentor. He is an astute listener and a visionary leader who puts the needs of the students, faculty and staff at the center of his decision-making process. It is a privilege and honor to be carrying on the great work Keith has done at the Lamont School of Music.”