Musician and professor all rolled into one
Dr. David Klee, associate professor of music at BVU, is a man of many traits. Whether its opening a recording studio or starting a new degree program, he gives his projects all he has while managing to keep a smile and cheerful attitude about him.
Like many other students, Klee started college after he graduated from high school. However, he found himself drifting toward the jazz music scene. By the age of 19, he was playing professionally in Florida.
“I eventually quit college and just did music,” Klee said.
Throughout his professional career, Klee has been to many places, including the Bahamas. He took a spot with Razzy Baleey, an RCA artist. This was when he did a great deal of touring in Georgia and places in the Southeast.
“It was at this point when I decided to go back to school to finish my education,” Klee said.
Klee has a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Flute Performance from the University of Georgia, a Master of Music Education Degree with an Emphasis in Flute Performance from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and Flute Performance from Mercer University, which is located in Macon, Georgia.
In 1990, Klee opened a recording studio.
“I have had a long background of performing in recording studios. I have also had experiences in music production and technology,” Klee said.
Before Klee came to BVU, he was the Director of Bands and the Assistant Professor of Woodwinds at Peru State College in Nebraska. He has also held faculty positions at Mercer University and at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia.
Klee has also worked to get the new degree program in music technology and production approved.
“When I first came to BVU, a group of guys approached me about putting this program together,” Klee said. “I put a package together, and the new program was approved four years ago.”
Currently, Klee plays principal flute with the Fort Dodge Orchestra and is a freelance musician throughout the Midwest.
“I am a musician; I have dedicated my life to that instrument,” Klee said.
Klee has released a total of six CDs, including two that contain his original works. His latest release is titled River of Emotions, which is a combination of light-jazz and new-age music.
Klee’s current recording studio is located in Cherokee, Iowa. The building has three floors. The top floor is where he lives with his wife, the second floor is her bakery and the basement is his studio.
“The community loves us being there,” Klee said.
In the future, Klee would like to perform at more university concerts and corporate events.
“I want to promote my professional self as a performer,” Klee said.
Klee has some simple tips for aspiring musicians.
“First of all, you have to be good,” Klee said. “Once you are good, you are literally thrown in with everyone else and you have to fight your way to the top. Second, you do not give up on yourself, no matter what happens.”
-Rachel
The Ramos legacy continues
Ruben Perez Ramos, born in Sugarland, Texas, is currently the head of a family legacy that has been going strong for over 80 years. This legacy, also known as El Legado, is heavily influenced by traditional Mexican routes and is now seated at the top of Tejano music.
According to the Ruben Ramos Web site, the Ramos musical legacy began in post-World War I Texas. Ruben’s uncles began performing in 1919 as Juan Manuel Perez and the Serenaders. Between 1919 and 1941, the Serenaders, also known as Los Serenateros, included all nine of Ruben’s uncles during various years. When World War II began, five of the Perez brothers entered the military. Ruben’s grandmother proudly displayed a small banner with five stars, each one representing one of her sons that served during the war. This is when the Serenaders took a break.
During this time, Ruben’s father, Alfonso Ramos Sr., worked the cotton fields and the railroads. At family gatherings, he played the fiddle while his mother, Elvira Perez, played the guitar. At the end of World War II, Ruben’s uncles returned and continued the family legacy. Uncle Justin reformed the band as Justin Perez and His Ex-GIs. After only a few years, the band had established themselves as top-notch; they had sit-down horns, dark suits and a sound that fit well with the times. This was the end of any regular day-job for Ruben and his five siblings.
When Inez, Elijio, Alfonso, Ruben, Joe and Roy came along, picking cotton was how the bills got paid. However, the talent that this group possessed led them to a career in music.
In 1947, Ruben’s sister Inez became the band’s singer. In his early teens, Ruben’s older brother Alfonso Ramos Jr. became the next sibling to join the group. The band became known as the Alfonso Ramos Orchestra in the mid-1950s. Ruben continued to sing with the band on weekends, even after he landed a “good job” at an insurance company in the state of Texas.
In 1969, Ruben’s brother Roy made the effort to spread the family’s legacy. Soon after, Ruben joined him as the new band’s lead singer. According to the Web site, Alfonso’s orchestra was at the height of its success, and Ruben had the ability to make the most out of the talent of the Ramos brothers. He formed what would later be known as the Mexican Revolution. It was at this point when he began to realize that he had to either quit music or go into it full-time.
“He jumped into it all the way and never looked back because music was and is his life,” Emilio Hernandez, a long-time friend of Ruben’s and a previous singer in the band, said. “Music was what he grew up loving, and this greatly influenced his decision.”
In a previous interview, Ruben picked the name Mexican Revolution “because, among other reasons, the ’70s saw the emergence of the Chicano and civil rights movements.” During this time, the band played the Chicano circuit that ran from Dallas-Fort Worth to the Rio Grande Valley and recorded many albums under independent record labels. By 1981, the term “Tejano” had become the new name for the music, and Ruben changed the band’s name to the Texas Revolution because, according to the Web site, “he felt Tejanos were getting an identity in Texas.”
According to Hernandez, the name was changed back to the Mexican Revolution in 2004.
“He did this to remind himself of the beginning,” Hernandez said.
Ruben and his band have been the recipients of many awards. In 1998, Ruben was inducted into the Tejano Music Awards Hall of Fame. That same year, he was the winner of the Best Male Performance award at the Tejano Music Awards. He was given the Video of the Year in 1999 for “Como un Suspiro.”
-Rachel
