Keith Karlson ’98 came to UMass and the Minuteman Marching Band to study with George Parks and became one of the UMMB’s most versatile musicians — performing on tuba and snare drum, as well as with the Symphony Band, Jazz Lab, and Hoop Band.
But some of Keith’s most important contributions to the Minuteman Band came after graduation. For much of the past decade, he has been one of the band’s “secret weapons,” arranging and transcribing music and helping turn original recordings into the music heard on the field. His decades-long association with the band also includes bringing the UMMB together with Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers for their hit 2009 music video as well as a special concert following George Parks’s death in 2010.
Today, he produces music for television and advertising, with work heard on Netflix, Hulu, HBO, the Olympics, the NFL, and many other platforms. Keith has also arranged music for bands at the University of Alabama, the University of Oklahoma, and Widener University.
Keith continues to give his talents back to the band that helped shaped him.
Huge congratulations to Keith! One of our best!