John Keston - Scholar

Scholar

Eventually, Keston and his family settled in Bemidji, Minnesota, where he had been recruited by Dr. Fulton Gallagher to teach voice in the music department of Bemidji State University. During his career there, he was the preferred vocal instructor for many talented and ambitious students, many of whom went on to become accepted into graduate programs at the country's most prestigious music conservatories.

He appeared as The Jester in annual Madrigal Dinners, presented by The Bemidji Choir and The Chamber Singers under the direction of choral conductor Paul Brandvik. This role included the performance of Shall I, Mother, Shall I, a work by Brandvik for three choirs and tenor soloist. It tells the passion story from the viewpoint of a little child.

Keston presented voice recitals, performed with the Bemidji Opera Society both in full opera productions and in Opera Night (a sort of opera revue with Italian food), and continued to present his one-man show in the region. In addition to teaching private voice lessons, he gave classes in foreign diction for singers and assisted students with their voice recitals.

He wrote a thesis on composer Gerald Finzi, whose natural treatment of spoken cadence in his melodies appealed to Keston. His declamatory style of singing—appropriate for a Shakespearean actor—is well suited to Finzi's works.

While at BSU, he became increasingly serious about his running, and, between classes, sometimes trained by running up the five flights of stairs at Bangsberg Hall, the school's music and theatre facility.