Faculty
Retired Music Faculty
Since its beginning, the Michigan State University College of Music has attracted some of the world's leading teachers, scholars, and performers to its faculty. Below are short profiles of some of those whose influence, expertise, and dedication has made a difference in the lives of countless students and patrons of the College of Music. We will continue our research to add more information as it is gathered to include those from our history through those newly retired.
Kenneth Bloomquist
Kenneth Bloomquist was appointed Director of Bands at MSU in 1970. He retired in 1993. As a national leader and innovator in the field, he was known for his industrious and enthusiastic mentorship. He grew the reputation of MSU Bands and also directed the Spartan Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphony Band. In 1978, he was chosen as the new chairperson of the Department of Music and continued as chairperson through 1984, leading the effort to elevate the department to the School of Music. From 1984 to 1987, when the Department of Music became the School of Music, he served as the first director. In 1987, he took up his former position of director of bands while continuing as department chairperson. He remained as director of bands from 1987 to 1993. After retiring, Professor Bloomquist served as Director of Bands Emeritus and remained active with the MSU Alumni Band. His many professional associations included National Band Association, Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and American School Band Directors Association. Among numerous awards, he was the recipient of the Midwest Clinic’s prestigious medal of honor and was inducted into several halls of fame including the National Band Association. He was awarded membership to the American Bandmasters Association in 1973. Professor Bloomquist passed away in 2021 following an active retirement in which he and his wife, Ann, led successful efforts to create a vibrant music community in Northport, Michigan. Professor Bloomquist passed away in 2021.
Dale Bonge (1942 - 2023)
Dale Bonge received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and joined MSU in 1977. He retired as Associate Professor of Musicology in the College of Music in 2012. Professor Bonge’s research addressed aspects of performance practices and music theory of the Middle Ages and Renaissance as well as the connections between music and other aspects of arts and culture. A particular focus of his work was tempo in early music. He presented papers at meetings of the American Musicological Society, The Michigan Academy, and the International Congress of Medieval Studies annual conference in Kalamazoo, Michigan. His publications include articles in Pro Musica, Notes: Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, Centennial Review, Michigan Academician, Musica Disciplina, and Studi Musicali. In the classroom, Professsor Bonge concentrated on the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the seventeenth century, early notation, and performance practice. His approach emphasized insights into musical style and interpretation grounded in detailed study of representative musical works of each particular era, national style, and genre. In the courses he taught for the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities, generations of MSU students gained an appreciation of music and its development in the context of the arts and western culture in general.
Jack Budrow
Jack Budrow retired from the College of Music as professor of double bass and co-chair of the string area. He joined the MSU faculty in 2017. Professor Budrow joined the MSU faculty in 1996 and enjoyed a long and varied career in double bass performance and teaching. He was a member of the Houston Symphony and principal bass of the North Carolina Symphony, Santa Fe Opera and the American National Opera orchestras. A well-known teacher, his students have played in many leading symphony orchestras, including Atlanta, Charleston, Cincinnati, Chicago Civic, Florida Gulf Coast, Grand Rapids, Houston, San Antonio and San Francisco, as well as in the Michigan Opera and the Army Band. Internationally, he placed students in the Oslo Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Munich Radio Orchestra, Heidelberg Symphony, and the Caracas Symphony. During his time at MSU, he taught at the Interlochen Center for the Arts during summers and served on the board of directors of the International Society of Double Bassists. He was awarded the 2014 String Teacher of the Year in the State of Michigan by the American String Teachers Association. A presenter of master classes throughout the United States, Budrow received his BM from Bowling Green State University.
Jan Eberle
Jan Eberle retired in 2021 as Professor of Oboe at the MSU College of Music. She joined the faculty in 2001. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in oboe performance and a Certificate of Special Study from the Curtis Institute of Music. For 18 years, Professor Eberle held the position of principal oboe in the Fort Worth Symphony. In addition, she has been a guest principal oboist with several major symphonies and served as assistant principal oboe in the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has been a featured recitalist and concerto soloist throughout the United States, most notably appearing with Jean Pierre Rampal in his arrangement of the Mozart Symphonia Concertante. Chamber music has also been an integral part of her musical career. As a member of L'Ensemble de Trois, she was a winner of the Coleman International Chamber Music Competition Nadie di Kibort Award and the Southbay Chamber Music Competition. She is a past member of the Harvard Chamber Players and made guest appearances with the Atlanta Virtuosi; Dallas Fine Arts Chamber Players; Suzuki and Friends; and the Oxford String Quartet. Her teaching experience includes full-time positions at University of Akron, Ohio, and the University of South Florida, Tampa. Eberle spends her summers in New York as principal oboe of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and instructor at the Chautuaqua School of Music.
Leonard Falcone
Leonard Falcone joined the MSU faculty in 1927 and served with ever-expanding influence and respect for 53 years. Professor Falcone combined remarkable artistic talent with natural pedagogical instinct. He was a world-class brass player, and his reputation for excellence touched all aspects of his career. His solo performances, his bands, and his students were all characterized by a singular dedication to the highest standards. During his tenure as director, Professor Falcone's original single 65-piece Military Band developed into four units: the 175-piece Marching Band, the 115-piece Concert Band, the 100-piece Activity Band, and the Spartan Brass. An example of his positive influence beyond MSU is his support of Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp that began with its opening in 1966. As a guest conductor and honorary trustee, he helped Blue Lake become what former Michigan Governor William Milliken considered to be "one of the state's greatest cultural assets.” It was in honor of his exemplary musical and educational accomplishments that a group of Professor Falcone’s former students, in cooperation with Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, established the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium Festival (now Euphonium and Tuba Festival). The Festival has become a continuing testimony to Dr. Falcone's profound influence upon the lives of his students and the extraordinary artistry he achieved. He retired as Director of Bands at MSU in 1967, although he retained his position as Professor of Baritone Horn until his death in 1985. In recognition of his distinguished career, the MSU awarded Professor Falcone the Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 1978, marking 50 years of contributions to MSU.
Leon Gregorian
Leon Gregorian retired from the College of Music in 2012 after 28 years of service as Professor of Music, Director of Orchestras, and head of the Graduate Orchestral Conducting program, which he began. Professor Gregorian joined MSU in 1984 and built the orchestra program into one that is recognized nationally and internationally for its excellence. Under his leadership, the MSU Symphony Orchestra performed in such prestigious venues as Avery Fisher Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York, Orchestra Hall in Chicago, and Orchestra Hall in Detroit. At the invitation of the Austrian government, Professor Gregorian and the MSU Chamber Orchestra participated in the worldwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth with concerts in Salzburg and Vienna. Professor Gregorian guest-conducted orchestras in Venezuela, Mexico, South Korea, Italy, Romania, Armenia, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Australia, and the People’s Republic of China, as well as orchestras throughout the United States, including the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and Boston Esplanade Orchestras. He has recorded for PBS, Koch International Classics, Crystal, and Arizona Records. A ten-CD set, “Teaching Music through Performance in Orchestra,” was recorded with the MSU Symphony Orchestra for worldwide distribution by GIA Publications. Professor Gregorian received the Teacher-Scholar Award, the Apollo Award, and the Distinguished Faculty Award in recognition of the international stature of his teaching, conducting, and outreach achievements.
Jere Hutcheson
Jere Hutcheson retired in 2015 as Professor of Composition at the Michigan State University College of Music. He joined the faculty in 1965, and he also earned his Ph.D. from MSU. He received numerous awards and commissions, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Berkshire Music Center, and the Annual Composers Conference. Grants Professor Hutcheson received include funding from the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for Music. His publications include various articles, a two-volume theory text, Musical Form and Analysis, and more than 100 compositions. He has been cited by the National Music Teachers Association as Distinguished Composer of the Year and received a prestigious research fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson retired in 2012 as Professor of Music and Music Literature in the College of Music and as Professor in the Center for Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities. He received two music degrees from the University of Illinois and joined the MSU faculty in 1972. He was head of the percussion program and director of the Percussion Ensemble for 25 years and has more than 50 years of professional orchestral experience as percussionist/timpanist with groups such as the San Antonio Symphony, the Santa Fe Opera, the Lansing Symphony, and numerous community orchestras in Texas, Illinois, and Michigan. He has also performed throughout Europe, Africa, and South America. Professor Johnson has participated as percussionist, conductor, and orchestral musician in a number of radio and television broadcasts, including several productions of the WKAR-TV "Artistry of …" series and "Music from Michigan State," as well as concerts broadcast by the BBC, PBS, WNET, and WFMT. He recorded for the New World, Albany, and Gate-5 Records labels. Johnson is the author and editor of Marimba Solos and Etudes.
Albert LeBlanc
Albert LeBlanc retired as Professor of Music Education in 2003 from the College of Music where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in music education while compiling an esteemed research portfolio. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Louisiana State University and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Professor LeBlanc served as a school band director in Louisiana and later as evaluation specialist with the Aesthetic Education Program of CEMREL, Inc., a federally sponsored educational research laboratory in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition to his faculty position at MSU, he served as associate dean. He served as Chair of the Society for Research in Music Education and later received the Senior Researcher Award from Music Educators National Conference, the National Association for Music Education. Professor LeBlanc is best known for his theory of the acquisition of individual music listening preferences, explained in LeBlanc, A. (1987) The development of music preference in children, in Peery, J. C., Peery, I. W., and Draper, T. W. Music and child development, New York, Springer Verlag. He published a sequential series of research studies (1979-2001) exploring his theory of music preference acquisition in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, and Journal of Music Therapy.
Panayis Lyras
Panayis Lyras retired from MSU as Professor of Piano and Artist in Residence in 2019. He joined the faculty of the College of Music in 2002. A native of Greece, Professor Lyras attended the Athens Conservatory at age 6 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Juilliard School. Winner of the Silver Medal in the 1981 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, he has been seen and heard by millions of television viewers on PBS and the Arts and Entertainment Network. He is also the first prize winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Utah, the University of Maryland International Piano Competition, the Three Rivers Piano Competition in Pittsburgh, and is a silver medalist in the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Israel. Following his 1980 recital debut in the prestigious Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, California, Professor Lyras performed solo recitals in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and many other major cities across North America. His orchestral engagements have included performances with the Philadelphia and Minnesota Orchestras, the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonic Orchestras, the Boston Pops, and the San Francisco, Dallas, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Phoenix, Florida, Omaha, New Mexico, Nashville, New Jersey, Utah, North Carolina, Honolulu, and Pacific Symphony Orchestras. Internationally, Lyras has performed in England, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, and Uruguay.
John T. Madden
John T. Madden retired from the College of Music in 2017. He joined the MSU faculty in 1989. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the MSU College of Music and master’s degrees in music education and wind conducting from Wichita State University. Prior to MSU, he served as associate director of bands in the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Professor Madden served the College of Music as associate director of bands, conductor of the MSU Symphony Band, and Director of the Spartan Marching Band. He taught advanced instrumental conducting at the undergraduate and graduate levels as well as courses on marching band techniques. Active throughout the nation as a guest conductor and conducting clinician, he conducted MSU ensembles at state, regional, and national conventions, conferences, and symposiums. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association (having served as chair of their Athletic Bands Committee), the Big Ten Band Directors Association, and Kappa Kappa Psi, the national honorary band service fraternity where he served as national vice-president for professional relations and north central district governor. As an adjudicator, his associations include judging organizations around the United States. He released more than 20 commercial recordings with the MSU Spartan Marching Band, and he was inducted into the American Bandmasters Association in 2008. In retirement, he remains active as an arranger, guest conductor, clinician, and “Master Educator” for the Yamaha Corporation of America.
Ronald Newman
Ronald Newman retired as Professor of Music Theory in 2019. He joined the MSU faculty in 1979. He received a bachelor of music degree from North Texas State University and a Master of Music and Ph.D. in Music Composition from MSU. After graduation in 1979, he immediately joined the MSU faculty as the first Director of Jazz Studies, a position he held until 1995 when he joined the Music Theory Area of MSU. He has served as instructor of jazz improvisation, arranging, pedagogy, and history, and is past president of the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Jazz Educators. Newman is also a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Commissioning Consortium Award. As a pianist, he has been an active performer and composer in jazz and classical music, creating music especially with his wife, jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson.
James Niblock
James Niblock retired from MSU in 1985. He joined the faculty in 1948 and led the then Department of Music from 1963 until his retirement in 1985. He served as Professor of Composition and Violin and was known as a prolific composer. He introduced the study of electronic music and jazz studies at MSU, created a Juilliard Quartet residency (for whom he arranged the MSU Fight Song), and expanded the music facilities with the construction of the Music Practice Building. Professor Niblock was a founding member of the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and served as the Camp board’s vice-president from 1966 until his death in 2018. He was both the oldest and the longest-serving member of the board. In his retirement from MSU, he continued his active musical life as composer, conductor, teacher, player of chamber music, and concert attendee. He and his late wife Helen were a highly-sought-after violin-viola duo and gave generously of their time and talent to the community. He began composing near the end of his four-year stint in the United States Army during the Second World War, after which he studied music composition with Roy Harris and Paul Hindemith. While at MSU, in addition to his administrative leadership and teaching, Professor Niblock performed in the Beaumont String Quartet and served as Concertmaster of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, he was honored at MSU with the first Distinguished Emeritus Faculty Award for his continuing work in fine arts education. Dr. Niblock passed away in 2018.
Curtis Olson
Curtis Olson retired as Professor of Trombone and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the College of Music in 2013. He holds degrees from Bemidji State University and the Eastman School of Music and taught music in Minnesota before joining MSU in 1976. His responsibilities included teaching trombone at the undergraduate and graduate levels, coaching trombone quartets, directing the trombone choir, and performing with the faculty brass quintet. Professor Olson has performed with the Detroit Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, and St. Paul Civic Orchestras, and has been a guest soloist with military bands in Washington, D.C. He recorded with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on the Columbia Masterworks label and with the MSU Symphonic Band on the Mark Record label. He presented clinics and recitals at many colleges and conservatories throughout the United States. In 1992 and 1996, Professor Olson performed and conducted master classes at the International Music Festival in Brasilia, Brazil; in 2001 and 2010 he was a faculty member for the Brazilian Trombone Festival. As a composer of brass works, he has written numerous pieces for various solo instruments with piano or synthesizer accompaniment. Professor Olson received the Paul Varg Award for Excellence in Teaching from MSU’s College of Arts and Letters in 2000, the Outstanding Alumni Award from Bemidji State University in 2002, and the Neil Humfeld Award for Teaching Excellence from the International Trombone Association in 2002.
Ava Ordman
Ava Ordman retired as Professor of Trombone in 2024. She joined the MSU faculty in 2002 after 24 years as principal trombone with the Grand Rapids Symphony, a job she attained at the age of 19. At age 41, Professor Ordman returned to school to pursue a degree in Counseling Psychology and then moved to the Detroit area to work as a psychologist and continue as a freelance trombonist. Once chosen as the Professor of Trombone at MSU, she has said that she knew this was where she was supposed to be. Since then, in addition to her professorial duties, Professor Ordman has enjoyed a varied life as a performer. She is principal trombone of both the Lansing Symphony and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Orchestra. She also performs regularly with the faculty brass quintet at Michigan State University, and the Monarch Brass, which is the flagship brass ensemble of the International Women’s Brass Conference. She has been a featured soloist with many orchestras throughout the United States and a featured artist at several International Trombone Festivals, among many other festivals and workshops. In 2017 she released her first solo recording, “It’s About Time: Music for Trombone by Women Composers.” In 2018, Professor Ordman was named the recipient of the 2018 Neill Humfeld Award for “Excellence in Teaching” by the International Trombone Association. She earned her Bachelor and Master degrees in Trombone Performance from the University of Michigan in 1975.
Judy Palac
Judy Palac retired as associate professor of music education at the College of Music in 2017 after serving on the faculty since 1985. She received a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas. A specialist in string education and performing arts medicine, she taught at the University of Michigan, the University of Texas and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Dr. Palac is a former member of the Collegium String Quartet. She is published in the fields of performing arts medicine, string teacher education, and the Suzuki method in such journals as "American String Teacher" and "Medical Problems of Performing Artists." She has held several positions with the American String Teachers Association and as a member at-large.
David Rayl
David Rayl retired in 2023 as Professor of Choral Music. He remains active in the College as Professor Emeritus and previously served the College as Director of Choral Programs and Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research during his 21 years at MSU. He mentored over 125 graduate students in choral conducting, many of whom are making significant contributions to choral music today. Under his baton, MSU’s University Chorale appeared at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association, the Central Division conference of ACDA, and the national meeting of the College Music Society. Professor Rayl has appeared as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States and has presented at several national conferences. His many international engagements include performances and presentations in France, China, Italy, Brazil, and more. As a conductor, he has released two recordings, among others, based on the works of Virgil Thomson, and several of his articles have appeared in academic journals. Professor Rayl received MSU’s Simmons Chivukula Award for Academic Leadership, the University Distinguished Faculty Award, and the College of Music’s Dortha J. and John D. Withrow Award for Excellence in Teaching. Prior to joining the MSU faculty in 2002, he directed choral activities at the University of Missouri-Columbia for 12 years, where he conducted the University Singers and Choral Union and taught in the undergraduate and graduate conducting programs. He holds a B.M. from Illinois Wesleyan University; a M.M. from the University of Oklahoma; and a D.M.A. in choral conducting from the University of Iowa.
Charles Ruggiero
Charles Ruggiero retired from MSU in 2017. He joined the MSU faculty in 1974 where he taught composition, music theory, and jazz studies. He holds degrees from New England Conservatory and Michigan State University (Ph.D. in Composition), and prior to his arrival at MSU he held several teaching positions in Rhode Island and Connecticut, including instructor of percussion at the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut). Early in his MSU tenure, Professor Ruggiero directed the jazz and new music ensembles and later served as chair of the music theory area for 16 years. In 1983, he founded and directed the first College of Music computer music studio and developed and taught the college's first computer music courses. His programs for the analysis of atonal music were used at many colleges and universities in North America, Korea, and Australia. An active jazz drummer from 1959 to 2006, Professor Ruggiero performed with many notable jazz musicians. His compositions include music for orchestra, wind ensembles, chamber groups, solo instruments, and voice; among them are several substantial works for the saxophone. Many of his compositions fuse elements from jazz and pre-twentieth-century Western "classical" music with materials, techniques, and formal concepts of twentieth-century European and North American art music. His music has been performed in Asia, Europe, South America, and throughout North America. Professor Ruggiero is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Composition Grant, numerous ASCAP awards, several GRAMMY nominations, and a Withrow teaching award.
Roger Smeltekop
Roger Smeltekop received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from MSU and joined the university in 1977. A board-certified music therapist, he retired from the College of Music in 2012 as Associate Professor of Music Therapy, coordinator of the MSU Music Therapy Clinic, and supervisor of student therapists. He served as chairperson of the Music Therapy area from 1989 to 1997. Previously, he was in clinical practice at the Ypsilanti State Hospital, where he worked with emotionally impaired adolescents, and at the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychiatry, where he worked with adults. He presented music therapy lectures and workshops to both lay and professional audiences. He is coauthor, with Robert Unkefer and Michael Thaut, of Music Therapy in the Treatment of Adults with Mental Disorders (2002), and he published widely on music therapy topics. Professor Smeltekop served for 30 years in the Assembly of Delegates of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and in the Great Lakes Region of AMTA. He served for two years as chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Certification Board for Music Therapists. In 2009, he received a Sustained Effort Toward Excellence in Diversity award from MSU in recognition of his dedication to providing leading-edge music therapy clinical services to hundreds of mid-Michigan children and adults with disabilities.
Bruce Taggart
Bruce Taggart retired as Associate Professor of Music Theory at the MSU College of Music in 2022. He joined the MSU faculty in 1995. He received a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota), a Master of Music from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania. Taggart formerly taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland). His research interests include music perception, musical development, and music theory pedagogy. He presented papers at regional and national meetings of the College Music Society and regional meetings of the Society for Music Theory, and he as been published in the Southeastern Journal of Music Education and Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, among others.
Cynthia Taggart
Cynthia Taggart retired as Professor of Music Education at the MSU College of Music in 2019. She joined the faculty in 1993 after teaching for four years at Case Western Reserve University and extensive elementary and preschool teaching experience in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Professor Taggart received her B.M. and M.M. in Music Education from University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in Music Education from Temple University. She is past president of the College Music Society and directs and teaches in the Early Childhood Music Program of the MSU Community Music School. A recipient of the MSU Teacher-Scholar award, the Beal Outstanding Faculty Award, the Curricular Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Award, the Withrow Award for Excellence in Teaching from the MSU College of Music, and the Michigan Music Educator of the Year Award from the Michigan Music Education Association, Professor Taggart has co-authored or co-edited eight books and has written extensively for professional journals aligned with her research interests in early childhood music, measurement, psychology of music, music learning theory, and music aptitude.
Frederick Tims
Frederick (“Ted”) Tims received a B.M. in piano performance from Hendrix College, a B.M. in music therapy from Michigan State University, an M.A. in music literature and performance from the University of Iowa, and a Ph.D. with high honors in music education with an emphasis in music therapy from the University of Kansas. Professor Tims joined MSU in 1995 after teaching at the University of Kansas, Colorado State University (where he began a new music therapy department), and the University of Miami. For six years he was associate director of graduate studies in what is now the College of Music. He retired as Professor and Chair of the Music Therapy area in 2012. As a board-certified music therapist, Professor Tims' clinical work includes hospitals in Germany and the United States as well as in private practice. His research focused on the effects of music making on healthy older Americans and the effects of music therapy on the biology and behavior of Alzheimer’s patients. Professor Tims is past president of the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and a past secretary of the Certification Board for Music Therapists. In 2001, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from AMTA. In 2009, he keynoted AMTA’s Great Lakes Conference where he was honored with the Scholarly Activity Award for significant contributions to the knowledge base of the profession.
Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr
Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, University Distinguished Professor, officially retired as Professor of Clarinet in 2007 after joining the MSU faculty in 1962, but she remained active in the College for many years as a teacher and performer. A renowned clarinetist and teacher whose students occupy numerous major university, college and orchestral positions throughout the U.S. and abroad, she has performed, lectured, and given master classes in over 100 national and international clarinet congresses and for several years was a participant in the Marlboro Music Festivals and touring groups. She has appeared frequently in the United States and abroad as a recitalist, clinician, and soloist with orchestras, and was principal clarinetist of the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra for 24 summers. As a member of MSU’s Richards Wind Quintet she toured throughout the US and Canada, also appearing at the White House, and recorded for Musical Heritage and Crystal Records. As a member of the Verdehr Trio for 43 years, Professor Verdehr performed in every U.S. state and in nearly 60 countries around the world. She has appeared in many major concert halls, including the Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, New York's Tully, Weill and Merkin Halls, Vienna's Brahms-Saal, Sydney Opera House, Prague’s Dvorak Hall and London's Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, among others. Paramount among the activities of the Trio, with much assistance from MSU, was a commissioning project resulting in over 225 original works for the violin-clarinet-piano combination written for the Trio by American and international composers, including 8 Pulitzer Prize winning composers. Professor Verdehr is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and the Eastman School of Music.
Walter Verdehr
Walter Verdehr retired as Professor of Violin in 2019. He joined the MSU faculty in 1968. He received MSU's Teacher-Scholar Award in 1973 and the Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004. Born in Gottschee, Yugoslavia, Verdehr received his first violin instruction at the Conservatory of Music in Graz, Austria. After studying with Ivan Galamian at the Juilliard School, he became the first violinist to receive a doctorate there. As a Fulbright Scholar, he graduated with distinction from the Hochschule fuer Musik. He has made numerous appearances as a soloist with orchestras in Houston, Honolulu, Taipei, Ulsan (Korea), and Izmir (Turkey); with the Teton Festival symphonies; and with many orchestras in Michigan, New York, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, California, Czechoslovakia, China, and Australia. He has also performed in numerous solo and chamber music recitals in the United States and Europe. Together with his wife, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, he founded the Verdehr Trio in 1972, for which they have commissioned more than 200 works from international composers. Professor Verdehr has taught at the International Congress of Strings, and his students teach in universities and perform in orchestras throughout the United States and abroad. He performs on the ex “Stephens-Verdehr” Stradivarius of 1690.
Ralph Votapek
Ralph Votapek retired from MSU in 2003 after serving as artist-in-residence for 36 years. He is the gold medalist of the first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and winner of the prestigious Naumburg Award. Votapek has been featured 16 times as the Chicago Symphony’s guest soloist, has played with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, the Boston Pops, the Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, National Symphonies, and other top ensembles. His concerto engagements stretch from London to Taiwan, and he has toured in Russia, Japan, and Korea, and Latin America, where he has toured for nearly 50 years. He received the Foreign Artist in Recital Award from the Argentine Association of Music Critics. He is equally celebrated as a solo recitalist throughout the United States and has performed repeatedly in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, and the National Gallery in Washington. Guest appearances with the Juilliard, Fine Arts, New World, and Chester String quartets highlight his extensive chamber music experience. Votapek was the soloist on Arthur Fiedler’s last Boston Pops recording, a Gershwin program released on CD by London Records and most available as a part of the Deutsche Grammophone CD titled “The Arthur Fiedler Legacy.” His wife, Albertine, frequently joins him in two-piano and four-hand recitals. They have appeared in Buenos Aires under the auspices of the Mozarteum Argentino, on the Van Cliburn Series in Fort Worth, the Pabst Theatre Series in Milwaukee, and on many college campuses.
John Whitwell
Professor John Whitwell, who retired as Professor of Music and Director of MSU Bands in 2012, distinguished himself in the field of music as an educator, clinician, conductor, adjudicator, and author. He earned an associate degree from Rochester College (formerly known as Michigan Christian College), a bachelor’s degree in music education from Abilene Christian University, and a master of music degree from the University of Michigan. Professor Whitwell began his teaching career in 1965 and held positions as a music teacher, director of bands, and music department chairperson at public schools in Jackson and Ann Arbor. Before joining MSU in 1993, he taught at Stephen F. Austin State University and Abilene Christian University. During his time as director of bands at Michigan State, Professor Whitwell served as chairperson of the conducting area. As a lecturer, guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, he participated in hundreds of music conferences, state and national music association meetings, workshops, festivals, and music competitions throughout the United States and elsewhere, including England, France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and Mexico. He joined the board of the Midwest Clinic, one of the world’s largest instrumental music conferences, in 1997. His writings have appeared in several music journals and other publications. He has worked closely with the MSU Alumni Band Association to support their efforts and commission new works for band. He received MSU’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 2003 and the Paul Varg Alumni Award for Faculty from the College of Arts and Letters in 2004.
