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Memorial scholarship established for Jewell music professor Dean Wilder
Contact: Dr. Ron Witzke, 816-415-7532; witzker@william.jewell.edu
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
The Dean Wilder Scholarship has been established at William Jewell College to honor the life and legacy of the late Dean Wilder, the Robert H. McKee Professor of Music, director of vocal studies and voice teacher at the college for more than 25 years. Wilder passed away September 30, 2002, in his native Portland, Ore.
In July of 2003, a concert was given at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, honoring Wilder’s lifetime commitment to sacred music. Participants included Wilder’s long-time vocal partner, bass-baritone Robert Hale; tenor Stephen Gould; pianists Stephen Nielson and Ovid Young; and the Singing Men of North Texas. Proceeds from the concert were used to establish the Dean Wilder Scholarship.
Songs of Praises, a CD recording of the event, is now available for purchase through the Music Department at William Jewell. All proceeds from sales of the CD benefit the scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a Jewell voice student who meets guidelines established by the music faculty.
To order the CD, send a check in the amount of $18 per copy (which includes $3 shipping and handling) made out to William Jewell College, along with a clearly marked return address label. Checks should be addressed to Dr. Ron Witzke, Department of Music, William Jewell College, 500 College Hill, Liberty, MO 64068.
Also available is a 16 x 20 unframed calligraphy print of the hymn Take My Life and Let It Be, one of Wilder’s favorite hymns. The print was created by retired Jewell art professor David Johnson and includes a dedicatory statement. The cost for the print is also $18, including shipping and handling.
Wilder, who retired from the college faculty in May of 2002, was both an accomplished concert artist and a noted teacher of voice. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in voice from Cascade College in Portland, Ore., and his Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He did additional study at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
Wilder received professional training in opera from such artists as Boris Goldovsky, Julius Rudel and Thomas Martin and studied art song repertoire with John Moriarty and Allen Rogers in the United States and with Frau Hertha Klust in Germany. He performed as leading tenor with the New York City Opera Company and the Goldovsky Opera Theatre, as well as extensive solo performances with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, William Steinberg, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, and Robert Shaw. He sang at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Symphony Hall in Boston, Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., and theDorothy Chandler Pavillion in Los Angeles, among others.
For 20 years, Wilder and his partner, bass-baritone Robert Hale, presented more than 4,000 concerts all over the world in churches, colleges, universities and civic auditoriums, including several Billy Graham Crusades. He received many awards and recognitions, including a Cultural Exchange Citation from the Republic of Korea; Outstanding Graduate Award, Cascade College; Outstanding Educators of America; and listings in the International Who’s Who of Musicians, Men of Achievement and Personalities of the West and Midwest.
Prior to his appointment to the William Jewell faculty in 1975,Wilder served as Chairman of the Department of Voice at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, N.J. He also served on the voice faculties of the New England Conservatory of Music and Boston University.
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Rob
Eisele
Director of Communications
816-415-7574 / ext.5387
Mark
Van Tilburg
Executive Director
of College Relations
816-415-7816 / ext.5518
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