By Gary Cook

Tele Lesbines, best know for his distinguished career as timpanist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 1969 to 1999, died on November 9, 2015 in Milwaukee. His 30 years as timpanist with the Milwaukee Symphony included world tours and recordings with the greatest conductors of our lifetime. The Koss Classic CDs Tele recorded with Zdenek Macal from 1989 to 1992 represent some of the finest in recorded orchestral music archives. Always a strong supporter and advocate of PAS, he presented clinics at PASIC and appeared as guest artist at Days of Percussion around the country.

Many of his students from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, the University of Milwaukee, Lawrence Conservatory, and Alverno College have pursued successful music careers. Likewise, private students he taught in his home studio praised his passion for music making and commitment as a teacher together with his intellect and humanitarianism. His wisdom as a master of his craft and his curiosity and dedication as a consummate musician (always playing calfskin heads) and educator will always be an inspiration.

Telemachus “Tele” Lesbines was born October 29, 1928 in Middletown, Connecticut to parents of Greek heritage. He was named for Telemachus, the “distant warrior” of Homer’s The Odyssey. Tele’s first inspiration to be a drummer came around age 5 when his father took him to a parade and he heard a fife and drum corps. He started playing more in junior high, receiving instruction from a friend who was taking drum lessons. His friend showed him the basic cymbal beat, foot patterns, and basic rudiments, and soon Tele was practicing on a chair playing along with recordings.

In high school Tele was inspired by his band director, Leo Betancourt, who gave Tele drum lessons after school. He set up a basic drumkit and played piano while he showed Tele the various patterns that went with the various styles of the day—a truly perfect introduction to making music with drums. Soon Betancourt let Tele join the band. Tele recalls running to the band room for band practice and being very proud of the first blister he “earned” by playing field drum in his first parade.

When the band was scheduled to do a concert at the theater downtown, Betancourt showed Tele how to play the hand-tuned timpani. Tele remembered that the calfskin heads were always going up in pitch due to the stage lights. (Despite the challenges presented by calf, Tele played calfskin heads throughout his career with the Milwaukee Symphony with impeccable pitch.) Soon Betancourt suggested that Tele go to Hartford to take lessons with Bob Schultze, who played in the pit orchestra at The State Theatre and taught at the C.G. Conn store. In 1942, Tele bought his first drumset: a Leedy “victory model” with all wood hardware (because metal was reserved for products needed to support the WWII U.S. war efforts). As a gifted young drummer studying with Adolph Cardillo, he won third place in the National Finals of the Gene Krupa Contest in New York after placing first in the District Finals. Among his competition was Joe Porcaro.

Betancourt put together a 7-piece dance band that played for high school dances all over southeastern Connecticut and later for USO shows and others. Tele was able to get steady work at various clubs and in the Connecticut National Guard and played in the Catskills in the summer. Tele’s love for the drums led him to become a fine percussionist, but his real gift as a timpanist became apparent later on.

Tele began concentrating on timpani, eventually studying with Alexander Lepak, Vic Firth, Fred Hinger, and Saul Goodman. He became a member of the Hartford Symphony while he attended the Hartt School of Music. After attending Hartt for three years Tele transferred to the University of Connecticut, where he earned a degree in psychology. Lepak often turned timpani gigs over to Tele while loaning Tele his own timps. While Tele was teaching at the Hartford Conservatory he used their timps for gigs but soon began purchasing his own. During that time he performed a lot of contemporary music and made recordings with Bert Turetzy. He gained valuable experience playing timpani with numerous orchestras in the area: New Britain, Waterbury, Bridgeport, New Haven, and Springfield. He played various cantatas in churches and performed with the New London Dance Festival and Hartford Chamber Orchestra Contemporary Concerts, to name only a few.

All of Tele’s playing experience paid off in 1969 when on Easter Sunday Tele flew to Milwaukee to take the MSO audition under the baton of Kenneth Schermerhorn. From world tours with Schermerhorn, Lukas Foss and many others, to numerous recordings, including all the Dvorak symphonies and tone poems on the Koss label with Macal conducting, playing full time with a symphony orchestra was for Tele a dream fulfilled. Tele put his heart, mind, and soul into it every moment he was on stage behind those singing kettles. He worked hard to get the timps to sing, and remained extremely proud of his wonderful 30-year career with the MSO from which he retired in 1999.

In addition to his career as a performer he was a dedicated teacher. He never passed up an opportunity to educate young or old, whether it be playing in a local school, coaching the Milwaukee Youth Symphony, or teaching at numerous universities mentioned above. He presented at one of the first Ludwig International Percussion Symposiums in Madison in the late 1970s and performed at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago with the Project CREATE High School Symphonic Percussion Ensemble in 1987. Tele repeatedly volunteered for PAS Days of Percussion throughout the midwest and presented his famous “Seven T’s” of timpani performance at PASIC 1997 in Anaheim.

Tele was honored on April 11, 1999 with a retirement celebration titled “A Lifetime of Dedication” sponsored by the Drum Instructor’s Guild in Wisconsin. Several prominent members of the profession, friends, and former students paid tribute to Tele Lesbines for his passion and artistry making music, for his dedication in teaching, and in recognition of his intellect and compassion for life. Tele Lesbines is survived by sons Andrew, Christopher and Gregory, daughters Diana and Melissa, and several grandchildren.