>> Dudley Birder has worked
around Green Bay for half
a century.
>> This was a match.
>> He's built a life.
>> It's been a wonderful ride.
>> And he's left a legacy.
? ?
>> Ah, come on!
Think!
? Gloria ?
>> For decades, Dudley's made
a career out of
molding musicians.
? Gloria ?
But the musicians that first
inspired him were closer
to home.
>> I grew up as--
My mother and dad were
wonderful musicians.
My mother is the best pianist
I've ever heard.
She was marvelous.
And my dad was a professional
singer, a tenor.
I studied music.
I started piano when
I was five and I played until
I was in seventh-grade.
And I took music theory,
I took piano.
I was pretty good
for a little kid.
>> Through the years, sports
and studies pulled Dudley
away from music.
He studied criminology
and sociology until
marriage drew him back.
>> I was in love,
and I wanted to get married
and I did get married.
My wife said, "You know,
you belong in music."
And she said, "Go back to school
and get your music."
So I went back to Notre Dame
and made up two years of
undergraduate music
and got a Master's Degree
all in about 2-1/2 years.
>> Those years of training
led to a job teaching
college in Green Bay.
>> And so I came
to St. Norbert's just on a whim.
I had never heard of
St. Norbert college.
I was the only act in town.
I began music theater in 1962.
There was no way to do a
musical.
I did it at St. Norbert's.
I began the choir.
Everybody who wanted to do
something came to my activities,
'cause there was no other one,
no other place to do it.
Everybody sing it,
but very, very softly.
>> In the half-century
since Dudley arrived
the arts community in Green Bay
has blossomed.
Dudley's choir has grown into
the 150-member
Dudley Birder Chorale.
And Dudley has guided thousands
of local musicians,
combining high standards--
>> You have to watch me!
>> --with a sense of humor.
>> I'm the only one that can
keep you together.
It's like a bad marriage.
[laughter]
>> When I do that I expect them
to do what I say
or what I suggest to them
and they respect me
not because of me
but because if they--
They're here to be one.
They want it to be right.
>> Although he's retired
from teaching, Dudley is
still a fixture on campus.
? Sleep in heavenly peace ?
And an icon in the community.
He conducts several
concerts a year,
including an annual
Holiday Pops concert
that draws thousands.
? Sleep in heavenly Peace ?
>> There's nothing more fun
than conducting.
You know, it's--
That's what it's all about.
This is what--
This is the end result of all
that has gone into it,
and either you make it
or break it
on the performance itself.
Give them their note so
they hear them.
Basses, do you hear your note?
One, two, ready, go!
>> But for all those
public performances,
Dudley's love for music
still starts at home.
>> Well, as I get older,
I realize that things that
are important are family
and the people that
you work with.
Because without
all my singers,
without my family,
what would I be?
? So climb down the chimney ?