Donald Stahlberg received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Southern Illinois University. After teaching in Zeigler and West Frankfort, Illinois, Mr. Stahlberg became Director of Bands in Skokie School District 73.5 in 1963 where he remained until his retirement in 1996.
Mr. Stahlberg’s bands at McCracken Middle School, formerly Oakview Junior High School, received thirty-two consecutive Division I ratings at the Illinois Grade School Music Association District Contest and twenty-five Division I ratings at the IGSMA State Contest. He attributes his students remarkable eighty-five percent Division I success rate at Solo and Ensemble contest to an in-house solo and ensemble pre-contest and recital he instituted early in his career.
Donald and Pat Stahlberg recently celebrated their sixty-third wedding anniversary. Together they raised a family of nine children, including three sets of twins. In addition to being obviously proud of his family and band program, Mr. Stahlberg feels fortunate to have lasting relationships with many of his twelve hundred plus students and their parents, his twenty-five student teachers and hundreds of teachers, staff, administrators and school board members.