Thanks to Carol Thompson Sheldon, our memories are being jogged as we approach our 50^th Illinois Wesleyan reunion.  How is this possible!!  It parallels our 50^th wedding anniversary  which will be July 10, 2015 — I married Bob Mitchell (Class of ’64), an art major who went on to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale for his MFA.

Wesleyan prepared us well to try several careers and to be open to learning new things.  I helped Bob through graduate school by working at the SIU registrar’s office, using my H.S. typing & shorthand skills that my mother promised would always help me get a job!  After our year there, we moved to Dade City, Florida where he taught ceramics and metalsmithing at St. Leo College.  Our only child, David, was born that year also.  Then on to Arkansas State University in Jonesboro for 14 years–Bob teaching and I taught private piano in the home.

But, after taking some accounting courses at ASU, I found myself working in a bank trust department.  This was the beginning of a long career as an employee benefit trust officer in banks in Arkansas, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida.  Bob left teaching when we moved to Green Bay, and he then worked from home, blending his art background and his computer skills–as the business manager of the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

In 2007, we both retired and moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Southern New Mexico–fifty miles from El Paso, Texas and the US–Mexico border.  Las Cruces is a wonderful city in the high desert, 3 hours south of Albuquerque.  We are both very involved at Peace Lutheran Church, and I have returned to my first “career” – playing the piano for fun as well as occasionally at church.

Our son David, daughter-in-law Terry and 17-year old granddaughter Kate live in Medford, just 12 miles north of Boston.  We visit back and forth and wish they were closer to our part of the country.  We’ll be taking them to London for a week in May–sort of a high school graduation trip for Kate.  Bob and I have traveled to places like Egypt, Greece, Germany, and a few others–hoping for more travel ahead as long as our health holds up!

Bob ’64 and Susan ’65 Mitchell

I graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1965 with a B.M.E. in instrumental music (tuba) and had also been a member of the Apollo Quartet. However, I decided after graduation to switch to choral music. I immediately transitioned to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas to obtain a M.M. in choral conducting with Dr. Lloyd Pfautsch (former I.W.U. professor). I was selected as one of only four students allowed for the degree. I also received a second M.M. degree in music education.

It was at this time (1966) I secured my first position as a teacher when Quincy Senior High School in Quincy, Illinois hired me to be the Choral Conductor. In my three years there the school was represented by no fewer than nine singers each year in the All-State High School Choir. In my third year thirteen of my singers were blessed to participate in the All-State Choir, and that record still stands today. My Q.H.S. boys’ quartet was selected to be featured in the movie “Illinois Sings” narrated by Ralph Bellamy. After my first year of teaching, I was contacted by Dr. Colleen Kirk, Head of Music Education, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana to supervise some of their music education students for their student teaching experience. I was sent six students for my final two years at Q.H.S. My Concert Choir was one of ten high school choirs selected to participate in the Illinois State University’s Choral Festival. Dr. Donald Neuen, then Director of Choral Music at Eastman School of Music, proclaimed, “This is the finest high school choir I have heard in over a decade.” By far the most important event in my life at this time was meeting and marrying my lovely wife, Nancy, a native of Quincy and graduate of Western Illinois University, (Macomb, Ill.) Today we have three grown children: Michelle, Holly, and David along with four grandchildren.

In 1969 Nancy and I decided that the time was right for me to start my D.M.A. in Choral Conducting at the University of Texas at Austin under Director of Choral Activities Dr. Morris Beachy. While in Austin, I became the director of both the Austin Community Chorus and the Austin Chord Rangers Barbershop Chorus, two wonderful training grounds. After a lecture-demonstration of my doctoral dissertation, “The Choral Music of Howard Hanson”, the world-famous orchestration and music theory teacher Dr. Kent Kennan stated that it was the finest doctoral student presentation he had ever heard. After a year as choral director for Vernon High School (Vernon, Texas), I was hired (1973-1977) as both band and choral director for East Texas Baptist University (Marshall, Texas). They had never before had a band, and by my second year we had a respectable ensemble of 52 members. (Although the university had no football team, that didn’t stop us from doing a marching band halftime show for the homecoming basketball game.) I also was fortunate to have three years experience as the director of the Marshall Symphony Orchestra. Two of the Concert Choir highlights was a trip to Israel to sing on international television, Christmas Eve, 1976, and having been selected out of a dozen university choirs to sing the choral parts for the Fort Worth Opera Association production of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly” with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and internationally
famous Maria Pellegrini in the title role.

It was at this time that I would make my final career move to become Director of Choral Activities at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri. While here I attained the rank of full Professor, directed the Concert Choir and Swing Choir, and taught voice, world music, and music appreciation. IN the spring of 1980 I founded and am still director of the MSSU Choral Society, a mixed 50-voice community choir performing three concerts annually. I reviewed textbooks for five publishers as well as designed and taught all of the music department’s internet classes. Also in 1980 I was the recipient of the rarely awarded
Friend of Education Award given by the Joplin Educators Association for a choral concert series presented to over 5,000 public school students. The other highlights of my thirty-seven years at MSSU can be summed up as follows:

• Missouri Choral Directors Association Outstanding District Director Award
• Honorary Faculty Inductee for Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society
• Record holder for the most students enrolled in a single internet class:
  Music Appreciation – 76 students
• MSSU’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award
• Only teacher in the 78-year history of MSSU to have a room named after him.

Like most of you, I have also had my share of setbacks, primarily in my health. Diabetes, blood clots, MRSA, have accompanied me since 1980 and resulted in two toe amputations. (By the way, they were so swollen that it took a “tow-truck” to haul them away.) I have taught a total of 45 years and have been a minister of music in various churches for 50 years. And the most important thing of all is that I give the Lord all of the glory for both my family, Nancy especially, and a wonderful career!

Without a doubt, Illinois Wesleyan University gave me a solid foundation in both instrumental and choral music that prepared me for and carried me through my life’s work! I am proud to be called a Titan!

Sincerely,

Dr. Albert J. Carnine

alcarnine@cableone.net