Service of Remembrance to Be Held for David S. Boe</h1> <article> <h1>Service of Remembrance to Be Held for David S. Boe</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 20:52:34 +0000</p> <span>Service of Remembrance to Be Held for David S. Boe</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2020-06-05T16:52:34-04:00" title="Friday, June 5, 2020 - 16:52">Fri, 06/05/2020 - 16:52</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p></p> <p>A memorial service and music program for David S. Boe, emeritus professor of organ and ninth dean of 91ֱ�� Conservatory, will take place on June 14, 2020, at 4 p.m. EDT. This virtual event will be broadcast and streamed <a href="/conservatory/on-stage/live-webcasts/fairchild-chapel-live-webcast">live from Fairchild Chapel</a>, on the campus of 91ֱ�� College.</p> <p><a href="/node/246241">Boe passed away</a> in Chicago on April 28, 2020, due to complications from COVID-19.</p> <p>Reverend Jimmy Madsen, retired pastor of the First Lutheran Church in Lorain, Ohio, will serve as officiant for the service of remembrance. Boe served as organist and music director of First Lutheran Church for more than four decades.</p> <p></p> <p>Music will be played on two organs in the chapel that were constructed by John Brombaugh, an organ builder championed by Boe. Jonathan Moyer AD ’12, 91ֱ�� Conservatory’s David S. Boe Assistant Professor of Organ and chair of the department, has chosen a program of works by J.S. Bach and Heinrich Scheidemann, among others played by Boe during his career at 91ֱ��. Moyer will be playing organs Boe commissioned: The Mary McIntosh Bridge Memorial Organ, installed in 1981, and a one-manual instrument commissioned for the Boe’s home and donated to 91ֱ�� in 2012.</p> <p>Moyer’s selections are based on Boe’s musical affinity. “David Boe's repertoire spanned the entire gamut of organ literature,” says Moyer, “but his love in particular for the 17th-century organs of Germany and the Netherlands shaped both his concert performances and teaching.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>Organ photos by David Kazimir</figcaption> </figure> <p>Memorial tributes will be offered by musicology professor Steven Plank and organ curator David Kazimir ’99.</p> <p>“David Boe was a man of great faith,” says Kazimir. “That same faith shone through his life in his service to 91ֱ�� and the wider world. It is fitting that 91ֱ�� should make use of its resources of technology to help offer some solace and beauty to those who grieve David’s death but are prevented from gathering in person at this time. We hope this service, offered from the tranquil beauty of Fairchild Chapel and with music from some of the organs that so inspired him as a musician and teacher, will offer some peace to David’s family and the wider world of friends and colleagues who mourn his loss.”</p> <p>To honor Boe's distinguished legacy at 91ֱ��, the conservatory also wishes to establish a new, endowed fund bearing his name and intended to support vibrant and enriching organ experiences at 91ֱ��. Should the funding goal be reached, the endowed fund would support an annual organ recital series, a student prize for excellence in organ, and other educational organ department programs.<br> <br> Those who wish to make a gift may contribute by mail or online. Visit <a href="https://advance.oberlin.edu/donate">https://advance.oberlin.edu/donate</a> (select "Conservatory and Music Programs," then choose "David Boe Memorial.") Checks, designated in memory of David Boe in the memo line, should be made out to 91ֱ�� College and sent to: 91ֱ�� College, PO Box 72110, Cleveland OH 44192-0002.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2020-06-05T12:00:00Z">Fri, 06/05/2020 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Cathy Partlow Strauss ’84</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Live-streamed memorial and music program will honor former 91ֱ�� Conservatory dean and organ professor.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2544">In Memoriam</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32966">Organ</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-faculty field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/david-kazimir" hreflang="und">David Kazimir ’99</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/jonathan-william-moyer" hreflang="und">Jonathan William Moyer</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Walter Novak</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Baritone Andrew Frierson Broke Opera’s Color Barrier</h1> <p>eburnett — Mon, 20 May 2019 13:59:24 +0000</p> <span>Baritone Andrew Frierson Broke Opera’s Color Barrier</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2019-05-20T09:59:24-04:00" title="Monday, May 20, 2019 - 09:59">Mon, 05/20/2019 - 09:59</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Andrew Frierson’s first experience with 91ֱ�� came in 1973, when the acclaimed baritone and his wife, fellow performer Billie Lynn Daniel, stepped away from the New York City stage lights that for so many years had come to define them. He became an associate professor of singing in the conservatory and coordinator of the 91ֱ�� Black Ensemble; she became a homemaker.</p> <p>But just two years later, the stage beckoned again. The Friersons returned to New York, where decades earlier Andrew had launched a groundbreaking career in opera while still an undergraduate student.</p> <p>By 2013, he retired from teaching private lessons in Manhattan and returned to 91ֱ�� to live at the Kendal retirement community, where he presented a recital on his 92nd birthday in March 2016.</p> <p>Frierson died at 94 on December 6, 2018, 16 years after losing his wife to cancer. He is remembered as a man of great integrity and professionalism, and a champion for education and civil rights.</p> <p>Born the youngest of seven children in Columbia, Tennessee, Frierson relocated with his family to Louisville, Kentucky, just nine months after his birth. He began playing the piano by age 3 and took lessons for the first time at 8. After high school, he began his pursuit of a degree in music at Fisk University, but was drafted into the U.S. Army and found himself bound for the South Pacific during WWII.</p> <p>Upon earning his honorable discharge, Frierson took up his mother’s advice to “leave the South as soon as you can,” traveling to New York City by bus to take a successful audition at the Juilliard School. As a student there, he befriended a pair of student sopranos: future opera superstar Leontyne Price and Daniel, whom Frierson would marry the same year she graduated in 1953.</p> <p>While still at Juilliard, Frierson made his New York City debut at Carnegie Hall. In a review of that performance, <em>The New York Times </em>noted that the physically imposing young singer showed “promise of being a fine concert artist.”</p> <p>“He already has the essential attributes—a beautiful voice, good technique, musicianship, sympathy and a fine presence,” the critic wrote.</p> <p>After graduating in 1950, Frierson taught briefly at Southern University in Louisiana and went on to perform eight seasons with the New York City Opera, earning praise from conductor Leopold Stokowski for his work in Monteverdi’s<em> L’Orfeo</em>, among numerous other accolades.</p> <p>In a newly desegregated opera world that offered precious few opportunities for black male singers, Frierson came to be synonymous with the roles of Porgy in <em>Porgy and Bess </em>and Joe in <em>Show Boat</em>. He performed solo and with orchestras across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and recorded for Columbia, RCA Victor, Sony, and Marks. He also sang for a time in Harry Belafonte’s folk ensemble.</p> <p>Frierson was well aware of his trailblazing career path, and he embraced his role as a civil rights activist. He was asked to sing at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. He also became the rare black performer to appear on <em>The Ed Sullivan Show</em>, on which he sang “Ol' Man River.”</p> <figure class="captioned-image obj-right"> <figcaption>After meeting at Juilliard, Frierson and Daniel performed together for many years. (Photo credit: 91ֱ�� College Archives)</figcaption> </figure> <p>From 1969 to 1973, Frierson served as director of the Henry Street Music Settlement in Manhattan, where Billie Lynn was a teacher of voice and music theory. In 1970, they both completed master’s degrees at the Manhattan School of Music. Increasingly they started performing as a duo.</p> <p>After relocating to 91ֱ��, the couple shared stages across the region, from Warner Concert Hall to nearby Cleveland and beyond.</p> <p>Among the highlights of his tenure were performances of the song cycle<em> Ice and Fire </em>for baritone and soprano, which had been written for Frierson and Daniel by 91ֱ�� colleague Wendell Logan. A newcomer to the faculty like Frierson in the fall of 1973, Logan was an associate professor of African American music who became the architect of the conservatory’s jazz program. In March 1975, they debuted<em> Ice and Fire </em>to critical acclaim at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.</p> <p>Two weeks prior to their New York performance, the <em>Lorain Morning Journal </em>published an article titled “91ֱ��’s Friersons: The Concert Stage Lures Them.” It opened with the question “Can Campus Life Replace the Opera World?”</p> <p>The spring semester of 1975 proved to be their last in 91ֱ��. After just two years, Frierson and Daniel returned to New York to teach private lessons and resume regular performances together, sometimes billed as the Frierson Ensemble, which Andrew had formed to showcase African and African American music.</p> <p>Among Frierson’s students at the time were future opera star Ben Holt and actor Denzel Washington. In the early 1980s, he joined forces with colleague James Kennon-Wilson to form Independent Black Opera Singers, an organization intended to foster the careers of black men in music and to advocate for increased casting of blacks in major roles.</p> <p>“There has not been a ‘real’ black male opera superstar because of racist and sexist attitudes in America,” he told Wallace McClain Cheatham in the 1997 book <em>Dialogues on Opera and the African-American Experience.</em> “Audiences, particularly white audiences, may tolerate a black woman being wooed and pursued by a white male, but to have a black male wooing and pursing a white female is totally unacceptable by the powers that be.”</p> <p>In 2000, the National Opera Association presented Frierson the Lift Every Voice Legacy Award in recognition of his efforts to promote diversity.</p> <p>He is survived by his daughter, actress, singer, and writer Andrea Frierson, as well as a grandson.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2019-05-29T12:00:00Z">Wed, 05/29/2019 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="text-content field field--name-field-intro-text field--type-text-long field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The outspoken advocate of civil rights taught voice at 91ֱ�� in the 1970s.</p></div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2544">In Memoriam</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2412">Obituaries</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-programs field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=35596">Voice</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?program=32971">Opera Theater</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/vocal-studies" hreflang="und">Vocal Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy 91ֱ�� College Archives</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Emeritus Professor of History and East Asian Studies Ronald J. DiCenzo Dies</h1> <p>hhempste — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 15:39:52 +0000</p> <span>Emeritus Professor of History and East Asian Studies Ronald J. DiCenzo Dies</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-11-06T10:39:52-05:00" title="Monday, November 6, 2017 - 10:39">Mon, 11/06/2017 - 10:39</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Ronald J. DiCenzo, emeritus professor of history and East Asian studies at 91ֱ�� College, died on November 4, 2017, after several months of declining health. He was 78.</p> <p>DiCenzo, a specialist of Japanese history, was a legendary teacher at 91ֱ�� and a member of the faculty from 1972 to 2005. Two generations of students found him to be a spellbinding, inspirational, warm, and approachable teacher, and approximately ten percent of the college’s student body enrolled in his courses during his last year of teaching.</p> <p>DiCenzo was born in Lackawanna, New York, where his father, grandfather, and he, briefly, worked in the Bethlehem Steel plant, one of the largest steel mills in the country at the time. He excelled as a student and won a New York State Regents Scholarship to attend Canisius College, a Jesuit institution, in Buffalo, New York. He pursued graduate studies, first at the University of Kansas, where he shifted his interest from East European history to Japan, and then at the University of Hawai‘i and Princeton University where he received a PhD in Japanese history in 1978. In the process, DiCenzo spent several years in Japan in the 1960s for advanced language training and dissertation research.</p> <p>After joining the 91ֱ�� faculty to teach Japanese history and sub-Saharan African history, he began to offer Japanese language classes. During the next twenty years, he generated considerable interest in Japan on campus, just as it was rising as an economic and cultural superpower. In the mid-1970s, DiCenzo helped 91ֱ�� affiliate with the newly formed Associated Kyoto Program consortium of colleges in the U.S., through which he sent scores of students for study-abroad opportunities in Japan. Many of his students went on to establish careers related to Japan or, more broadly, Asia.</p> <p>When he stepped down from teaching in 2005, more than one hundred former students returned for his retirement reception at the college president’s house, some from overseas. In retirement, DiCenzo continued to be a voracious reader until his eyesight began to fail. He also continued his earlier interests in Japanese gardening and antiques. During his last decade, he had frequent health problems. DiCenzo was never married and had no children. He lived for his students.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-11-06T12:00:00Z">Mon, 11/06/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2544">In Memoriam</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Chris Hamby</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>In Memoriam: Former Dean of Students George Langeler</h1> <p>hhempste — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 23:26:56 +0000</p> <span>In Memoriam: Former Dean of Students George Langeler</span> <span><span>hhempste</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-10-02T19:26:56-04:00" title="Monday, October 2, 2017 - 19:26">Mon, 10/02/2017 - 19:26</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>We are saddened to share news of the passing of George H. Langeler, former dean of students. Langeler passed away on Friday, September 30, 2017 at Kendal at 91ֱ��. He was 89.</p> <p>Langeler impacted the lives of many during his 34 years at 91ֱ�� College. He arrived on campus in 1959 as a biology professor before filling a series of administrative roles. He went on to serve in the role for which he was most known, as dean of students, from 1966-1989.</p> <p>During his tenure as dean of students, Langeler helped introduce transformations to campus life that would be later adopted across the country, including the establishment of one of the nation’s first co-ed residence halls and the formation of one of the first campus dispute-resolution programs.</p> <p>Professor of History Clayton Koppes, former dean, provost, and acting president of 91ֱ��, shares these thoughts about Langeler:</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">“George Langeler became 91ֱ��’s dean of students in 1966–one of the riskiest times in college administration. Activism on behalf of the African American freedom movement animated the campus. Opposition to the war in Vietnam soon engulfed 91ֱ��, like all campuses.</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">George somehow negotiated through that tumultuous era. That 91ֱ�� managed to support its students and to adapt to a new era for which few administrators or faculty were prepared is a great tribute to George’s leadership. How did he do it?</p> <p style="margin-left: 40px;">Fundamentally, people on all sides trusted George. They knew he was honest and sensed his innate decency. He genuinely respected others and was always willing to learn from them; he did not assume he had all the answers. George supported minority students and took courageous stands in particular on behalf of gay and lesbian students. He established critical alliances with faculty and believed in the arduous, but ultimately enduring process, of creating community consensus. His remarkable tenure and faithful stewardship leave a profound legacy.”</p> <p>We will share additional information about services for Dean Langeler when details become available. Please look for a longer reflection on his life in the <em>91ֱ�� Alumni Magazine</em>.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-10-02T12:00:00Z">Mon, 10/02/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Communications Staff</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2544">In Memoriam</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Sela Miller</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> <article> <h1>Martha Stacy Brought Suzuki Method for Piano to 91ֱ��</h1> <p>eburnett — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 18:44:43 +0000</p> <span>Martha Stacy Brought Suzuki Method for Piano to 91ֱ��</span> <span><span>eburnett</span></span> <span><time datetime="2017-04-28T14:44:43-04:00" title="Friday, April 28, 2017 - 14:44">Fri, 04/28/2017 - 14:44</time> </span> <div class="text-content field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Martha Stacy, a longtime associate professor of piano pedagogy at 91ֱ�� Conservatory, played a leading role in the introduction of Suzuki method training to campus over a career that spanned from 1971 to 1993.</p> <p>Stacy died February 16, 2017, at age 87.</p> <p>In 1972—Stacy’s first full year at 91ֱ��—she established a children’s Suzuki program for piano that was the only one of its kind in northeast Ohio, making Stacy and her colleagues destination teachers among parents throughout the region.</p> <p>The Suzuki method, developed in the mid-20th century by Japanese violinist Shinichi Suzuki, grew out of the principle that music can be learned in much the same way that native language is learned. The method was introduced to 91ֱ�� in 1958 during a visit by Suzuki; soon after, the conservatory became a pioneer in teaching Suzuki method for violin.</p> <p>Stacy devoted a 1978 sabbatical to studying with Suzuki and Haruko Kataoka in Matsumoto, Japan. She became a consultant and teacher-trainer for the Suzuki Association of the Americas, and for many years she presented on the topic at conferences of the Music Teachers National Association and other groups.</p> <p>Joanne Erwin joined the music education faculty at 91ֱ�� in 1992—one year before Stacy’s retirement. She moved into the same neighborhood, and the two became close friends.</p> <p>“She was so caring and so gracious, and she welcomed me as a new female faculty member, and that meant a lot to me,” says Erwin, who will retire from 91ֱ�� this spring after a 25-year career. “Our areas of teaching were very similar, so I appreciated her support and her guidance in learning 91ֱ��’s background with Suzuki.”</p> <p>Born in Arkansas in 1929, Stacy earned bachelor of music education and master of music degrees from Louisiana State University. She taught piano in Dallas schools before transitioning to college teaching with stints at Berea College in Kentucky, the University of Kansas, and Kent State University. From an early age, “I knew I was a teacher, not a performer,” she told the <i>91ֱ�� Observer</i> upon her retirement in 1993. At 91ֱ��, she also held various leadership roles in the honorary music society Pi Kappa Lambda.</p> <p>A longtime member of First Church of 91ֱ��, Stacy volunteered for Meals on Wheels and the 91ֱ�� Public Library, and she enjoyed walking, reading, and travel. Since 2002, she was a resident of Kendal at 91ֱ��, where she counted among her friends Howard Hatton, a former voice professor at the conservatory. Hatton, now 99, sang The Lord’s Prayer at Stacy’s memorial service at First Church.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-type field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item">News Story</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-date field--type-datetime field--label-hidden field__item"><time datetime="2017-03-29T12:00:00Z">Wed, 03/29/2017 - 12:00</time> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Erich Burnett</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2356">Conservatory</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news?tag=2544">In Memoriam</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-departments field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/conservatory/divisions/keyboard-studies" hreflang="und">Keyboard Studies</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-pin-school-page field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">Off</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-photo-gallery-top field--type-boolean field--label-hidden field__item">false</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-image-credit field--type-string field--label-hidden field__item">Courtesy of 91ֱ�� College Archives</div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-media field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__item"> </div> </article> </main></body></html>