A newly created scholarship at Wartburg College will honor the 45-year career of former Wartburg band director Robert E. Lee.

The Dr. Robert E. Lee Endowed Scholarship was created with a lead gift from Don ’69 and Faith Weiblen ’71 Trapp. Many other band and music education alumni already have contributed to the endowed fund, which will support students studying to become instrumental music instructors, a vocation that Lee lived out at Wartburg for more than three decades and as a public school teacher before that. Those interested in contributing to this scholarship can visit www.wartburg.edu/give or call 352-8495.

“His impact on the Wartburg community is immeasurable when considering the thousands of students he taught during his tenure as director of the Wartburg Band, as well as those he taught in a variety of classes in the music education program,” said Alan Feirer, a 1991 Wartburg graduate.

Lee, a native of Scandinavia, Wis., earned his bachelor’s degree from Luther College, which later awarded him the Carlos A. Sperati Award in recognition of his distinguished career in musical arts. He also earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate from the University of Iowa. In 1990, band alumni honored Lee by donating more than $40,000 in his name toward construction of the Bachman Fine Arts Center. Among other accolades, Lee was cited by “The School Musician Magazine” as one of the outstanding educational conductors in the United States and Canada. He retired from Wartburg following the 1994-95 academic year.

The college and the band will celebrate the scholarship and Lee with a 1 p.m. reception in Chapel Commons prior to the Wind Ensemble Concert on April 15. Lee is expected to attend the event.

“I first heard of Dr. Lee in the fall of 1979, when I met two of his students as I began my master’s work at the University of Iowa. All they could talk about was the Wartburg College Concert Band and Dr. Robert E. Lee. I set my sights at that time on the Wartburg Band – it only took me 16 years for that prayer to come true,” said Craig Hancock, Wartburg’s director of bands. “Twenty-three years later I’m happy to say that so much of Dr. Lee’s legacy still lives on in the Wartburg band program. That would only be possible because of the solid foundation this great man gave it. The incredible network of his students, created by 37 years of teaching at Wartburg, and their willingness to honor him through the creation of this scholarship is a testimony to his legacy.”