ENID, OK - Twenty-three years and 800+ students later, Dale King is passing the torch along to the next generation of guitar, bass, and ukulele instructors in Enid, Oklahoma. Guitar Tuna will say goodbye to the current students at the end of November this year. When Dale started working at Jensen’s Music in 1997, he noticed how often the staff was asked who they would recommend for guitar lessons. He took the next step and started teaching on Monday nights after work. Soon he had a full schedule and began to expand to other nights of the week and Harvest School of Music was born. Later known as Guitar Tuna, the studio grew exponentially. Isaac King, a skilled musician, soon joined his dad teaching guitar. He was lost to us in a tragic car accident in 2006, but many students commented how they would always remember his welcoming smile when they entered the upstairs studio on East Randolph.
At one point, the dad and son teaching team were seeing over 80 students each week, varying in age from 6 years old to over 80 years old. Recitals were held in the Enid Symphony Hall. At the peak of the studio’s growth, there were far too many students for all of them to perform in the spring recital, so a fall recital was added. Edgar Cruz and Brad Richter each held a master class for Dale’s students.
Dale, a music education graduate from SWOSU, saw many of his students excel, accumulating many superior ratings and Outstanding Soloist Awards at The Tri-State Music Festival. Luke Buthman received a classical guitar college scholarship. After graduating, Luke joined Dale in teaching guitar for one summer. Tanner Bryant became a guitar teacher at Daddy O’s in Stillwater while attending college at OSU. Ashlynn Streck from Hennessey is now a successful music teacher in Edmond. Ben LeRoy went on to study guitar in Los Angeles and perform with touring bands. Countless students joined their church worship bands or formed bands with other musicians in Enid.
When asked about his favorite memories, Dale said there is one that stands out in his mind. After losing Isaac, he was in his office when one of his students, Alicia, stopped by for a chat and to see how he (Dale) was doing. They talked and cried together. As she was leaving, she turned and said, “You know, you teach more than guitar here.” Dale said, “Those words are still precious to me.”
At the end of the interview, Dale said, “I want to thank all of the parents of students and all of the students former and current, young and old, for 23 great years. You supported me and my family as I did my best to share my passion for music with my community. I will miss all of the great relationships and the fun moments that grew out of our mutual love of music, and ultimately, our love for each other.”
