Norman Huver met Doris Dahl in 1969 at a ballroom dance party, and they quickly discovered their shared interests. Little did anyone realize at the time how beneficial that moment would be to Michigan State University College of Music students.
Huver and Dahl shared a loving 42-year relationship, filled with enjoyment of music and other arts. So, when Dahl passed away in 2011, Huver decided to honor their time together by creating the Doris H. Dahl and Norman Huver Endowed Scholarship for Orchestra. The scholarship carries on their shared passion in the form of financial support for MSU orchestral students.
As MSU’s Director of Orchestras, Octavio Más-Arocas nominates the students that receive the Doris H. Dahl and Norman Huver Endowed Scholarship for Orchestra each year.
“Doris was always very involved with the creative arts, and her love of classical music was strong,” said Huver. “We have enjoyed the music department at MSU for many years, and have made many friends who I am still in contact with to this day. Now, with this scholarship, I have met so many hard-working students who need a little help and who are very appreciative.”
Dahl’s joy of music and the arts, Huver said, defined the scope of the scholarship that supports full-time undergraduate music majors participating in an MSU orchestral ensemble. MSU’s Director of Orchestras Octavio Más-Arocas nominated students Ursula Glasmacher and Maria Skidmore as the two 2021-22 recipients. Glasmacher is a junior studying viola performance and music education, and Skidmore is a freshman studying violin performance. Both are members of the MSU Symphony Orchestra and students of Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola Yvonne Lam.
“Because of their talents, work and invaluable contributions to the orchestra, I personally nominated Ursula and Maria,” said Más-Arocas, an associate professor of music. “Their work is very important for the function of the orchestra. Ursula not only has played in orchestra, but she has played in the opera and served as the principal orchestra librarian. Maria played both in the first and second violin sections of the orchestra as well as in the Lab Orchestra, a small group serving the conducting seminar.”
Violist Ursula Glasmacher decided in high school that she wanted to become a music teacher, and now the Dahl-Huver Endowed Scholarship is helping her achieve that goal.
Ursula Glasmacher
Ursula Glasmacher said she started playing violin in elementary school and her mom was inspired to follow suit shortly afterward. Glasmacher focused on classical, while her mother focused on fiddling. She gave her mother occasional pointers, and the two started attending fiddling jam sessions. In fifth grade, Glasmacher added viola and soon realized her passion laid with the larger, deeper-toned instrument.
Ursula Glasmacher, seen here at age six, started playing violin in elementary school. While she focused on classical music, her mother was inspired to take up the instrument and focus on fiddling.
In high school, Glasmacher and her family moved from St. Johns to Okemos. It was there that she decided she wanted to go to college to become a music educator.
“I really enjoyed teaching and thought I would be a teacher, ever since I was little,” said Glasmacher. “My music teachers were happy to see I was considering this path, and helped me realize that music education was a viable career that I could take seriously and let my interests be my work.”
Glasmacher considered a few universities before deciding on MSU. The deciding factor was the opportunity to study viola with Lam while earning her bachelor’s degree in music education.
“My college visit with Professor Lam cemented my choice,” she said. “She’s a wonderful mentor because she cares about her students as people, not just performers.”
Assistant Professor of Violin and Viola Yvonne Lam coordinates the College’s Chamber Music Program. Dahl-Huver Scholarship recipients Ursula Glasmacher and Maria Skidmore are both students in her studio.
Glasmacher has been a member of the MSU Symphony Orchestra for two years and plays in several chamber ensembles. She looks forward to studying music theory from the 20th and 21st centuries, and playing newer music written by living composers. Set to graduate in 2023, Glasmacher aspires to teach middle and high school orchestra, and attend graduate school for advanced degrees in music education or music theory.
“I am so grateful to receive this scholarship,” she said. “This scholarship lessens some of the stress of paying for classes, and helps me with upkeep costs for my instrument—like getting new strings. It means a lot to me that people support music as a career and area of education.”
Maria Skidmore
A former student of the MSU Community Music School, Maria Skidmore now performs in the MSU Symphony Orchestra. She is also in the Lab Orchestra — a small, select group that performs for conducting classes at MSU.
Maria Skidmore grew up in a family devoted to music. All her five siblings took music lessons, and her mom took up songwriting during the pandemic lock-down. Skidmore started violin at age 4, piano at age 7, and picked up guitar along the way. She also attended Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, starting at age 10.
Then, when she was 12, something happened that inspired her to add composition and songwriting to the mix. She was invited to attend a private meeting with Oscar winner Howard Shore—the composer for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies—following a concert of his work at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She and her mother traveled to New York for the performance and to meet Shore, ask questions, and learn about his creative process. When she asked him how he started composing, he replied ‘I picked up a pencil and wrote notes on a page.’
“After that I was just inspired to do everything in music,” Skidmore said. “It was an amazing experience for a 12-year-old.”
Skidmore always felt an inner drive to pursue music to its fullest. She was adopted at age 2 from a Ugandan orphanage—a place that surrounded children in music. While her parents provided extensive musical opportunity, Skidmore longed to play in an orchestra, and she joined the Mid-Michigan Youth Symphony starting in seventh grade.
Maria Skidmore started violin at age 4, piano at age 7, and later picked up guitar. This photo is from the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp where she started attending at age 10.
Although she attended Bath Schools, Skidmore dual enrolled at East Lansing High School to be part of the district’s high school orchestra program. Juggling the logistics of two schools was difficult, but she welcomed the challenge. During her time at East Lansing, Skidmore served as the principal chair for the Chamber Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra, and Encore Strings. She was also a member the Michigan State Band and Orchestra Association’s All-State and Honors Orchestras.
MSU was at the top of her list when it came time to apply to college. She had attended the MSU Community Music School, and had a church friend who earned their graduate degree from MSU. After a trial lesson and campus visit, she made a quick decision to join her two older brothers who had become Spartans a year or two earlier.
Skidmore admits college is a very different experience than high school, particularly when it comes to performance. She describes her days as “go-go-go” between being a member of the MSU Symphony Orchestra as well as the Lab Orchestra—a small, select group that performs for conducting classes at MSU.
“MSU sets the bar high, and it’s stretched me with difficult repertoire,” she said. “I have to be in the zone and ready. Sometimes it can be intimidating to be around such good performers, but it helps me to be the best I can be.”
Thinking ahead, Skidmore said she wants to keep her music options open. While committed to violin, she also wants to potentially minor in piano. Inspired, in part, by her mother, she has gotten more into songwriting and producing and joined the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Skidmore admits she doesn’t know where it will all lead, but knows being a Spartan will help her shape a career in music.
“I was very thankful to receive the scholarship,” said Skidmore. “It’s wonderful to think that someone would be interested in investing in me as I grow my musical career and become the elite musician I want to be.”
The scholarship Glasmacher and Skidmore enjoy is thanks to one generous man who took a passion for music and the desire to honor the love of his life and made it something even more special.
If you would like to honor someone you love by creating a scholarship or giving to an established fund, contact College of Music Senior Director of Advancement Ann-Marie Lindley at (517) 432-4889 or alindley@msu.edu.
