Keith Rushing won Artworks’ Artist of the Year award. Courtesy | Keith Rushing

Keith Rushing won ArtWorks’ Artist of the Year title April 9 for his work conducting the Hillsdale High School band. 

The ArtWorks Artist of the Year award honors an individual in the Hillsdale community who has supported and contributed to the arts for many years, according to ArtWorks President Connie Sexton.

Rushing’s nomination cited his “healthy dose of creative chaos” that helped students enjoy learning.

“I had no idea I was going to get an award,” Rushing said. “They came in during my band class and gave the award to me with all my students watching. So that was meaningful.”

Rushing has been teaching music in Michigan for 30 years and teaches the trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet, and saxophone to middle and high schoolers. Rushing will retire from teaching May 2026.

Gayle Gambill, the mother of several of Rushing’s students, nominated Rushing for the award.

Her son, Brahm Gambill, said he loved playing under Rushing, also known as “Doc.”

“I played for Doc for eight years. He helped me grow my passion for music. Through his daily leadership, he helped me become a better leader myself,” Brahm Gambill said. “The attitude he approached learning with made you want to work harder and enjoy the process at the same time.” 

David Boswell taught with Rushing for 25 years, directing the high school’s choir while Rushing directed the band. Boswell said he was not surprised when Rushing received the award. 

“Keith is a great band teacher. The kids adore him, and he is able to get a level of performance out of them that challenges them. It’s very difficult music, and it’s well done. He is a very good musician,” Boswell said.

Rushing also started a jazz band at the high school in 2001. Rushing played jazz in college and said jazz is his favorite material to teach.

“One of the hardest things is what we call the rhythm section. Teaching, building, and developing that is hard,” Rushing said. “To start the jazz band, I try to find my best drummer and teach them. It’s really the most important part of the jazz band for me, because they lay down the baseline and have to know everything.”

Boswell praised Rushing’s jazz bands.

“He shows up every day with the same dedication to help those kids get as far as they can. And he’s had some really, really top-notch high school jazz bands,” Boswell said. “He even had a student who became the drum major of the University of Michigan marching band. He’s had some students with some great success.”

Rushing also plays jazz with Hillsdale College and sings and plays guitar at local coffee shops. 

“He’s an important part of the Hillsdale arts community in many ways, even beyond his teaching,” Boswell said.

Rushing was a founding director of Artrageous in the early 2000s. Artrageous was a three-day festival celebrating the arts, including jazz, poetry, and a large visual arts display. 

Sarah Walworth teaches at Hillsdale High School with Rushing and served on the Artworks board for several years. She said Rushing’s commitment to being involved in Hillsdale’s art scene out of the classroom sets him apart.

“My favorite thing about him is that he does not just teach it, but he’s a practicing artist in town. He’ll pop up at the pub here and there and play a gig. And it’s really fun to go watch him,” Walworth said. “He practices what he teaches, and I think that just gives him so much strength and passion.”

During retirement, Rushing said he plans to play his guitar, work on his house, and spend lots of time fishing on his pontoon boat.

“He definitely displays the characteristics of an artist of the year,” Walworth said. “He’s an overall inspiring teacher, passionate about his work, dedicated to his work, and he’s really made his program grow from the time he got there until now.”