Alumni to sing praises
at school’s centennial
By Paula Lavljna
Senior Reporter
Over the past 100 years, thousands
of students have graduated from the
UNL School of Music and have gone
on to pursue musical careers.
Now, they’re coming back.
Alumni from 1927 to 1994 will
gather at the University of Nebraska
Lincoln this weekend to celebrate its
music school’s centennial.
Maude Cooper, a 1927 graduate,
and her son will travel from Minne
apolis to Lincoln to join the celebra
tion.
Cooper, whose maiden name is
Stoeger, said she had fond memo
ries of her years at the University
School of Music which, at the time,
was separate from UNL.
“I liked going to the school and
practicing and taking my lessons and
really just being there,” Cooper said.
“To be in Lincoln was really quite
something.”
Cooper studied piano under her
instructor, Marguerite Klinker. She
also took classes in music theory, ear
training, harmony and music history.
After she received her degree from
the University School of Music, Coo
per transferred to UNL to study
French, English, gym and more his
tory.
She said some of her fondest
memories came from afternoon pro
grams in the hallways of the former
Kimball building.
“The students would put on skits.
Some of the skits were just so funny,
I was laughing so hard I could almost
cry,” she said.
Cooper said she was fortunate to
be in Lincoln when famed English
pianist Myra Hess made her first ap
pearance in America.
“She was my inspiration for mak
ing Bach sound good,” she said.
“That was a memorable occasion for
me.”
After she left Lincoln, Cooper
studied in London. She also taught
at music conservatories in Grand Is
land and Fargo, N.D. She married
Barclay Cooper in 1936 and moved
to Minneapolis, where she taught pi
ano lessons in her home until she quit
three years ago.
Chris Tucker, a 1987 graduate,
said she had some warm and, liter
ally, cold memories of her years at
the UNL School of Music.
Tucker was a trumpet player in the
symphonic band, wind ensemble, jazz
band and the Comhusker Marching
Band.
“I will never forget the Iowa State
game. It was 29 degrees and raining,”
she said. “That was five weeks after
we marched in 135 degrees. We went
from one extreme to another.”
“I froze my little butt off,” she said,
laughing.
Some of her warmer memories
involve her performances with the
wind ensemble.
“The two performances we had
were the ultimate in terms of a per
formance level,” she said. “It was the
closest to a professional level some
one in my career will ever be in.”
Tucker said the tight-knit, serious
and dedicated musicians burned a
permanent memory in her brain of
what a great feeling it was to perform
at that level.
She said she appreciated the qual
ity of the staff and the school. Tucker
said her instructors affected her skill
as a musician, her ability to coach an
ensemble and her capacity as an edu
cator.
Her trumpet instructor, Denny
Schnieder, influenced the type of
musician she became, she said.
“He took me from that raw, high
school mentality and ability to a
much greater, higher level,” she said.
Tucker’s other instructors, Glenn
Nierman and Robert Fought, still
have an impact on what she does to
day. After graduation, Tucker applied
her own musical skills to teaching.
She is now the music and band
instructor at Gretna High School,
where she passes on the lessons she
learned at UNL to her own students.
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Courtesy of UNL School of Music
This picture, taken in 1912, «how» ttw University of Wibwki Roglaaontal Band, a precur
sor to tho Cornhuskor Marching Band, in front of Main Hall, ouo of the four original build
ings on UNL’s campus.
History
Continued from Page 11
gram.
Westbrook retired in 1952 and
David Foltz was appointed chairman
of the department of music. He held
this post until JEmmanuel Wishnow
took over in f958.
Kimball's building was deteriorat
ing. Construction for a new building
began in 1965 and was finished in
1967. Out of respect for their former
directors, alumni decided to name the
building after Westbrook and the re
cital hall after Kimball. These struc
tures stand today.
John Moran became director of the
school in 1972. The chain of com
mand passed to Raymond Haggh in
1977 and back to the team of John
Moran and Albert Rometo in 1984.
Kerry S. Grant served as director
from 1984 through 1991. Russell
White assumed an interim post while
a national search was conducted to
find a permanent director.
The search ended in 1993 with the
appointment of Lawrence R. Mallett
as the director of the School of Mu
sic.
With an undergraduate and gradu
ate degree from the University of
Iowa and a master’s degree from
Ohio State University, Mallett con
tinues his work with the School of
Music as a director, conductor and
clarinetist.
In 1994, the School of Music was
included in the creation of the UNL
College of Fine and Performing Arts
under the leadership of Dean Larry
Lusk.
“Secret World Live”
Peter Gabriel
GefTen Records
Grade: B
Any creation by Peter Gabriel re
flects the talents of a musician who
knows his music, his power, his tech
nology and his ability. On “Secret
World Live,” his first live album since
1983’s “Plays Live,” Gabriel releases
his power in full.
“Secret World Live,” a two-CD set
featuring songs mainly taken from
Gabriel's last two albums, “So” and
“Us,” was recorded at a concert in
Modena, Italy.
Clearly the highlight of the album,
an 11-minute version of “In Your
Eyes,” resounds with an overwhelm
* 111,1.
JT 'm 0
ing sense of intensity and passion.
It’s a far cry from the original. It's
free, loose and spontaneous. The vo
cals by Gabriel and Paula Cole ring
through with piercing clarity.
“Digging in the Dirt" is the same
chaotic compilation of sound distor
tion and industrial vengeance.
“Steam" starts off with an ominous
pounding of drums and piano along
with whispery cymbal crashes. Un
like the studio version, it crawls along
in a monotonous tone until it blows
open and boils over.
“One, two, three,” Gabriel shouts
before he launches into “Sledgeham
mer," packed with a pounding groove
that really hits the nail on the head.
“Red Rain” and “Solsbury Hill”
radiate an eccentricity that only a live
performance could give them. “Red
Rain,” a very souful and personal
song, reaches into Gabriel’s soul.
Gabriel, the technology whiz with
his multi-media laser discs and CD
Rom concerts, made the best use of
technology in “Secret World Live.”
The sound quality is excellent and
sharp. Crowd noise is kept to a mini
mum and the songs blend perfectly.
“Secret World Live” is an excel
lent compilation of Gabriel’s song;
however, it’s too short.
Gabriel has many accomplish
ments to his name, including 17 al
bums and several Grammy awards.
“Secret World Live” reveals itself
to be yet another achievement.
— Paula Lavigne
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