December 19, 1944–March 27, 2026
From an early age, music found its way into her life—and once it did, music underscored every facet of her life. The flute became her voice, her passion, her career, and the instrument through which she touched the lives of so many people.
She was an alumni of Pontiac Central (Class of 1963); attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts, University of Michigan Division in 1963 and 1965; and graduated from the University of Michigan with both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree with a Major in Flute and Instrumental Music (Minors in Music Theory, Music Literature, Music History, Education, and Psychology). She didn’t just study music—she lived it.
She taught instrumental music education as a band director for Dearborn Heights District Seven, a role that at the time few women held and helped pave a path rarely seen for her generation. Donna taught high school band, junior high and grade school band, marching band, jazz bands, ensembles, and vocal music. Under her guidance, the junior high program expanded from 35 to 220 students across four bands; and the high school band increased in size from 30 to 88 in two years. In this role, she also Instituted marching band camp and established band boosters club to assist in fundraising.
When Donna began teaching at Best Middle School, this position also put her on a trajectory to meet Thomas Olkowski. While many have heard stories, the kernel of the tale is they ended up together. Please defer to Tom and his nearly 49 years of marriage to speak on the balance and commitment required for a professional musician.
An accomplished and passionate flutist, Donna performed professionally for fifty-seven years with the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra. That’s more than half a century of music. During this career, she performed six concertos with both the summer orchestra and the symphony.
Donna spent over 40 years’ experience as an Adjudicator for the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) Solo & Ensemble Festival. She was also active in local flute associations and professional flute choirs as a performer, organizer, board memor, and competition adjudicator. In 1967, she was the founder and treasurer of the Michigan Flute Club which was instrumental in Initiating procedure to bring the National Flute Association Association Convention to Detroit in 1981.
She studied with Clement Barone of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and with internationally renowned flutists James Galway, Toshio Takahashi, William Bennett, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Marcel Moyse, Clement Barone, Nelson Hauenstein, Larry Teal, and Glennis Stout.
One of Donna’s greatest gifts was her flute studio. In 1984, she became accredited in the Suzuki Method, certified as a Suzuki flute instructor for books one through fourteen. The Suzuki Method is an internationally renowned music curriculum which posits that children can learn music as naturally as they learn their native language. It emphasizes early start, daily listening, parental involvement, and positive reinforcement to develop both musical proficiency and character. She happily taught children as young as four years old. That means some students learned music before they learned how to read. These decades were filled with the soundtrack of hundreds of thousands of lessons, recitals, holiday concerts, and music conferences would that would guide summer travel plans. She also organized workshops and masterclasses, bringing in teachers from across the United States and Canada.
In 2004, she became the conductor for the Dearborn Youth Symphony Intermediate and Advanced Flute Choirs and remained in that role until her last weeks.
For her students, learning music wasn’t just lessons—it was the greatest tool she could share.
