He was also heavily involved in music education with the Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestra, and he had a 34-year career as a faculty member at Wittenberg University, with other stints in music programs at Xenia City Schools, Ohio State University and Central State University.
Polster’s colleagues and students reflected on his influence. Long before SSO conductor and music director Peter Stafford Wilson came to Springfield in 2000, he performed an arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s Broadway hit “West Side Story.”
“It was one of those transformative experiences that solidified my desire to pursue a career in music. The arranger was Ian Polster,” he said. “Ian Polster was an icon in the musical landscape of Springfield, and his presence is missed. Ian was a pillar in the foundation of and a driving force in the musical fabric of the orchestra, not only as an ensemble but as a vital ingredient in the community.”
It was 60 years ago that Denny Seifried moved to the area to teach and was relatively new to playing trombone. He encountered Polster in big bands in the Dayton area. A year later, Seifried found himself sitting next to Polster as second trombonist in the SSO.
“He was rough and gruff, but we got along well and I played on a lot of his works,” Seifried said. “He was probably one of the most creative musicians I’ve known because he covered so many areas, as a musician, an educator, a composer, and he did it so naturally he didn’t have to work at it.”
Polster had more than 100 commissioned works and multiple published arrangements. Some of these were performed in concerts at the Summer Arts Festival and Wittenberg, which Seifried performed in.
Ten years ago, Polster conducted a concert of popular American music in Kyrgyzstan. He also set a new standard as the SSO board’s first player representative.
A legacy of Polster’s is active in Springfield currently. As a youngster, Todd Stoll saw him lead the Springfield Symphony Big Band in a concert at Memorial Hall, and that’s what Stoll had in mind when he formed the Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra in 2019.
Stoll first encountered Polster in junior high when he was with the Springfield Symphony Youth Orchestra working alongside conductor John Smarelli. As a teen, Stoll’s instructor sent him to play alongside Polster, experiencing his gruff demeanor, but taking away much more.
“He was tough and demanding, and he taught me to be tougher. Ian set a very high standard for excellence and decorum, and I learned a lot about being a professional musician from him. When I went to Peter (Stafford Wilson) with what we wanted to do with the jazz orchestra, the Big Band was what stayed with me,” Stoll said.
Stoll said at the Jazz Orchestra’s March 23 concert he’ll likely salute Polster’s legacy.
Seifried, who surpassed Polster’s record of 50 years with the SSO with 53, also recalls his being ahead of his time in embracing technology, adapting to using a computer early on to help in his work.
He has several other good memories of Polster such as doing “crazy stuff” during rehearsals, of working on their cars together and his love of dogs, naming them Lenny after Bernstein and Miles after Miles Davis.
“There’s not another Ian,” Seifried said.
Wilson also saw Polster’s lighter side.
“He had an amazing sense of humor, showing up at one rehearsal with a red plastic trombone. When I asked him to tone it down a bit, he showed up with the identical instrument in blue,” he said.
“Whenever I received praise from Ian for a particular performance, I took that accolade to the bank as Ian was tough on conductors. Despite that, we maintained a very cordial relationship, and I always felt he approved of the direction I was taking ‘the band,’ despite the fact that I think he realized that his artistic confidence was beginning to subside,” Wilson said.
According to Polster’s obituary, there will be no memorial services and donations can be made to the SSO, Wittenberg University School of Music, The Ohio State University School of Music or Hospice of Ohio.
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