Texas Tech University. Music Department

John Gillas, born John Gillaspy on October 23, 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri, joined the faculty of Texas Tech in 1971. Mr. Gillas earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana Univeristy in 1955 with a full scholarship. Upon his arrival at Indiana University, he was immediately cast in the title role of the American premiere of Benjamin Britten’s “Billy Budd”. Mr. Gillas served in the United States Army. He was a founding member of the United States Army Chorus. After his time in the Army, Mr. Gillas took the opportunity to sing on the Swedish cruise ship S.S. Kungsholm. It was during cruise duty that he met Mary, his future wife. They married in 1960. He received a Fulbright Grant to the Rome Opera in Italy from 1960 to 1962. From 1962 until 1968, Mr. Gillas performed in opera houses throughout Germany, including Heidelberg, Cologne, Karlsruhe, Dortmund and others. It was during this time that John Gillaspy simplified his name to John Gillas. In 1968, Mr. Gillas and his family returned to the United States where he assumed a position as a performing faculty member of the University of Oklahoma. In 1971, Mr. Gillas joined the faculty of Texas Tech University as Vocal Teacher/Director of Music Theatre. By attending summer school, Mr. Gillas earned his Master of Science in Stage Direction with highest distinction from Indiana University in 1974 while building the Musical Theatre program at Texas Tech. During his tenure, he directed 87 productions of 65 operas, operettas, musical comedies and scenes. In 1986, Mr. Gillas was awarded the Paul Whitfield Horn Professorship. Mr. Gillas is currently Professor Emeritus. Following his retirement from Texas Tech, Mr. Gillas has continued performing and directing.

From the guide to the John Gillas Collection U 369. 1., 1971-2009, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Earl Eugene "Gene" Kenney was born on January 21, 1920, in Larned, Kansas. His education at Emporia State University was interrupted when he was inducted into the Army medical Corp. He was later able to finish his Bachelor of Music Education degree at Kansas State University, then attended Southern Methodist University and received his Master's of Music degree in 1952. From 1946-1956, Kenney directed various high school choirs and was a regional representative for the Carl Fisher Music Publishing Company. In 1957, he became the Vocal Department Chair and Director of the Choral Activities at Texas Tech University. His tenure as Choral Director lasted 27 years. Kenney, Archie Jones and Gene Hemmle were the charter members of the Texas Choral Directors, which later became the Texas Choral Directors Association. His other accomplishments include studying under famed conductor Robert Shaw and teaching noted opera singers Terry Cook and Mary Jane Johnson. He passed away in Lubbock, Texas, on May 14, 2007.

From the guide to the Gene Kenney Scrapbook, U 314. 1., 1956-2007, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

The donor of this collection, James Keith Bearden, was born on March 17, 1947. He graduated from Hale Center High School in 1965 and went on to attended Texas Tech University from 1965-1975. Bearden received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Education, as well as a teaching certificate for instrumental music. While at Texas Tech, he was a member of the Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Ensemble, Texas Tech Symphony, and served as a staff member of the Summer Band Camp. Through the years of 1969-1980, Bearden directed the bands of Jayton High School, Albany High School, and Monterey High School. His music has allowed him to traveled extensively through out the world. In addition to his teaching, Bearden was a member of the Lubbock Symphony and Colorado Springs Symphony. From 1981-2003, Bearden served as band director for the Goin’ Band from Raiderland.

From the guide to the Music Department Collection, U 123. 9., 1978-2003, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Made up of twenty-five members, Texas Tech's band made it's first official appearance at the Tech vs. McMurry football game in 1925. The band got it's first official uniform in 1926 and by 1955, had grown to include 135 members. The decade of the 1960s marked the Tech Band's appearances in several major bowl games from which the band received the nickname The Goin' Band from Raiderland.

Texas Tech has offered musical courses since 1925, but not until 1952 was a Bachelor of Music made a degree option. By the academic year 1954-1955, there were nine full-time staff members and 3 part-time. The band's increasing membership caused numerous moves for the department around campus until a music building was finally constructed in 1951.

The band has had the distinction of having noted directors. W. Waghorn, head of the Music Department, was the first band director. Harry LeMaire, a former Army director, served as director for the Tech band from 1926-1934 and rewrote the Matador Song which came to serve as the school's official Alma Mater. Director of the famous Cowboy Band at Hardin-Simmons (then called Simmons College) for 13 years, Dewey O. Wiley came to Texas Tech in 1934 and came to be known as the Father of Texas Bands. Other band directors included Dean Killion, who was noted for the Goin' Band's impressive and innovative half-time performances; from 1981-1997, James Sudduth directed the band, as well as the Symphonic Band which performed at Carnegie Hall in 1993; Keith Bearden, who was the first Tech alumnus to serve as Director of Band and led the band to perform overseas as well as the 1995 Cotton Bowl; and Dr. John Cody Birdwell, whose leadership helped the Symphonic Wind Ensemble be chosen to perform at the regional conference of the College Band Director's National Association.

From the guide to the Music Department Records, U 123. 6., 1945-1987 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Made up of twenty-five members, Texas Tech's band made it's first official appearance at the Tech vs. McMurry football game in 1925. The band got it's first official uniform in 1926 and by 1955, had grown to include 135 members. The decade of the 1960s marked the Tech Band's appearances in several major bowl games from which the band received the nickname The Goin' Band from Raiderland.

Texas Tech has offered musical courses since 1925, but not until 1952 was a Bachelor of Music made a degree option. By the academic year 1954-1955, there were nine full-time staff members and 3 part-time. The band's increasing membership caused numerous moves for the department around campus until a music building was finally constructed in 1951.

The band has had the distinction of having noted directors. W. Waghorn, head of the Music Department, was the first band director. Harry LeMaire, a former Army director, served as director for the Tech band from 1926-1934 and rewrote the Matador Song which came to serve as the school's official Alma Mater. Director of the famous Cowboy Band at Hardin-Simmons (then called Simmons College) for 13 years, Dewey O. Wiley came to Texas Tech in 1934 and came to be known as the Father of Texas Bands. Other band directors included Dean Killion, who was noted for the Goin' Band's impressive and innovative half-time performances; from 1981-1997, James Sudduth directed the band, as well as the Symphonic Band which performed at Carnegie Hall in 1993; Keith Bearden, who was the first Tech alumnus to serve as Director of Band and led the band to perform overseas as well as the 1995 Cotton Bowl; and Dr. John Cody Birdwell, whose leadership helped the Symphonic Wind Ensemble be chosen to perform at the regional conference of the College Band Director's National Association.

From the guide to the Music Department Records, U 123. 8., 1948-1995 and undated, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Mary Jeanne van Appledorn was born October 2, 1927 in Holland, Michigan, to John and Elizabeth van Appledorn. Neither of her parents were professional musicians; her father was, however, organist of the Ninth Street Christian Reformed Church and active in music circles in Holland. As a child, van Appledorn studied piano, as did her older sister Ruth. Following the death of her father in 1944, she and her mother moved to Topeka, Kansas (where her sister was a music teacher at Alma College) for van Appledorn's senior year of high school. Van Appledorn graduated from Topeka High School in 1945 as valedictorian.

Van Appledorn studied both piano and theory at the University of Rochester's prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Van Appledorn earned the George Eastman Honorary Scholarship each year, and in 1948 received her Bachelor of Music with Distinction (piano); she studied under Cecile Straub Genhart. Van Appledorn received her Master of Music Degree (theory) from the Eastman School of Music in 1950; from 1948 she was a Teaching Fellow of the Eastman School of Music. In the fall of 1950 Van Appledorn accepted a position at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University). She received her Ph.D. (music) from the Eastman School of Music in 1966, and was awarded a Graduate Fellowship from 1961-1962. She was also awarded the Delta Kappa Gamma International Scholarship from 1959-1960; one of three awards granted to outstanding women for furthering and completing the doctorate degree. Dr. van Appledorn's dissertation for this degree is titled A Stylistic Study of Claude Debussy's Opera Pelleas et Melisande (completed in 1965).

During her studies at Eastman, Dr. van Appledorn received training in composition from renowned composers Bernard Rogers and Alan Hovhaness.

In 1982 Dr. van Appledorn was one of nine faculty members of Texas Tech University to receive a faculty development leave, during which she studied computer-synthesized sound techniques at the Studio for Experimental Music, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Barry Vercoe, professor.

As an educator, Dr. van Appledorn taught at Texas Tech University from 1950-2008. Dr. van Appledorn taught a wide range of courses during this time, from undergraduate music theory to graduate composition courses. Dr. van Appledorn served as chairman of the Division of Music Literature and Theory (1950-1968) in the school of music, and played an important role in the development of the curriculum of the undergraduate and graduate music degrees, alongside Chairman of the School of Music, Gene Hemmle.

Dr. van Appledorn also served as chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Music. She founded and served as chairman of the annual Symposium of Contemporary Music at Texas Tech (1951-1981), and obtained the commission of many new works by renowned composers such as Dr. Howard Hanson (Streams in the Desert, 1969). In 1989 she was named a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Texas Tech University.

As a composer, van Appledorn has had a very successful career. She composed music in many genres, both instrumental and vocal. She received her first awards for composition (Mu Phi Epsilon National Composition Contests) for Set of Five (1951) for piano and Contrasts for Piano (1953). Other honors include the Premier Prix, Dijon, awards from the Texas Composers Guild and ASCAP, and other commissions from the Music Teachers National Association and National Intercollegiate Bands. Many of Dr. van Appledorn's compositions have been published by Carl Fischer, Oxford University Press, and E.C. Schirmer Music Company, among others. Numerous recordings of her compositions have been made by world-renowned musicians and ensembles, and her music has been performed in festivals and concerts both nationally and internationally.

Dr. van Appledorn has been included in a number of published biographies, not limited to: International Who's Who in Music, 10th, 11th and 12th editions, The World Who's Who of Women, ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th edition, Bakers Biographical Dictionary, Scribner Music Library Dictionary of Composers, and the Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

From the guide to the Mary Jeanne van Appledorn Records, U 333. 1., 1912-2009, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Mary Jeanne van Appledorn was born October 2, 1927 in Holland, Michigan, to John and Elizabeth van Appledorn. Neither of her parents were professional musicians; her father was, however, organist of the Ninth Street Christian Reformed Church and active in music circles in Holland. As a child, van Appledorn studied piano, as did her older sister Ruth. Following the death of her father in 1944, she and her mother moved to Topeka, Kansas (where her sister was a music teacher at Alma College) for van Appledorn's senior year of high school. Van Appledorn graduated from Topeka High School in 1945 as valedictorian.

Van Appledorn studied both piano and theory at the University of Rochester's prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Van Appledorn earned the George Eastman Honorary Scholarship each year, and in 1948 received her Bachelor of Music with Distinction (piano); she studied under Cecile Straub Genhart. Van Appledorn received her Master of Music Degree (theory) from the Eastman School of Music in 1950; from 1948 she was a Teaching Fellow of the Eastman School of Music. In the fall of 1950 Van Appledorn accepted a position at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University). She received her Ph.D. (music) from the Eastman School of Music in 1966, and was awarded a Graduate Fellowship from 1961-1962. She was also awarded the Delta Kappa Gamma International Scholarship from 1959-1960; one of three awards granted to outstanding women for furthering and completing the doctorate degree. Dr. van Appledorn's dissertation for this degree is titled A Stylistic Study of Claude Debussy's Opera Pelleas et Melisande (completed in 1965).

During her studies at Eastman, Dr. van Appledorn received training in composition from renowned composers Bernard Rogers and Alan Hovhaness.

In 1982 Dr. van Appledorn was one of nine faculty members of Texas Tech University to receive a faculty development leave, during which she studied computer-synthesized sound techniques at the Studio for Experimental Music, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Barry Vercoe, professor.

As an educator, Dr. van Appledorn taught at Texas Tech University from 1950-2008. Dr. van Appledorn taught a wide range of courses during this time, from undergraduate music theory to graduate composition courses. Dr. van Appledorn served as chairman of the Division of Music Literature and Theory (1950-1968) in the school of music, and played an important role in the development of the curriculum of the undergraduate and graduate music degrees, alongside Chairman of the School of Music, Gene Hemmle.

Dr. van Appledorn also served as chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Music. She founded and served as chairman of the annual Symposium of Contemporary Music at Texas Tech (1951-1981), and obtained the commission of many new works by renowned composers such as Dr. Howard Hanson (Streams in the Desert, 1969). In 1989 she was named a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Texas Tech University.

As a composer, van Appledorn has had a very successful career. She composed music in many genres, both instrumental and vocal. She received her first awards for composition (Mu Phi Epsilon National Composition Contests) for Set of Five (1951) for piano and Contrasts for Piano (1953). Other honors include the Premier Prix, Dijon, awards from the Texas Composers Guild and ASCAP, and other commissions from the Music Teachers National Association and National Intercollegiate Bands. Many of Dr. van Appledorn's compositions have been published by Carl Fischer, Oxford University Press, and E.C. Schirmer Music Company, among others. Numerous recordings of her compositions have been made by world-renowned musicians and ensembles, and her music has been performed in festivals and concerts both nationally and internationally.

Dr. van Appledorn has been included in a number of published biographies, not limited to: International Who's Who in Music, 10th, 11th and 12th editions, The World Who's Who of Women, ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th edition, Bakers Biographical Dictionary, Scribner Music Library Dictionary of Composers, and the Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

From the guide to the Mary Jeanne van Appledorn Records, U 333. 1., 1912-2009, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Mary Jeanne van Appledorn was born October 2, 1927 in Holland, Michigan, to John and Elizabeth van Appledorn. Neither of her parents were professional musicians; her father was, however, organist of the Ninth Street Christian Reformed Church and active in music circles in Holland. As a child, van Appledorn studied piano, as did her older sister Ruth. Following the death of her father in 1944, she and her mother moved to Topeka, Kansas (where her sister was a music teacher at Alma College) for van Appledorn's senior year of high school. Van Appledorn graduated from Topeka High School in 1945 as valedictorian.

Van Appledorn studied both piano and theory at the University of Rochester's prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Van Appledorn earned the George Eastman Honorary Scholarship each year, and in 1948 received her Bachelor of Music with Distinction (piano); she studied under Cecile Straub Genhart. Van Appledorn received her Master of Music Degree (theory) from the Eastman School of Music in 1950; from 1948 she was a Teaching Fellow of the Eastman School of Music. In the fall of 1950 Van Appledorn accepted a position at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University). She received her Ph.D. (music) from the Eastman School of Music in 1966, and was awarded a Graduate Fellowship from 1961-1962. She was also awarded the Delta Kappa Gamma International Scholarship from 1959-1960; one of three awards granted to outstanding women for furthering and completing the doctorate degree. Dr. van Appledorn's dissertation for this degree is titled A Stylistic Study of Claude Debussy's Opera Pelleas et Melisande (completed in 1965).

During her studies at Eastman, Dr. van Appledorn received training in composition from renowned composers Bernard Rogers and Alan Hovhaness.

In 1982 Dr. van Appledorn was one of nine faculty members of Texas Tech University to receive a faculty development leave, during which she studied computer-synthesized sound techniques at the Studio for Experimental Music, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Barry Vercoe, professor.

As an educator, Dr. van Appledorn taught at Texas Tech University from 1950-2008. Dr. van Appledorn taught a wide range of courses during this time, from undergraduate music theory to graduate composition courses. Dr. van Appledorn served as chairman of the Division of Music Literature and Theory (1950-1968) in the school of music, and played an important role in the development of the curriculum of the undergraduate and graduate music degrees, alongside Chairman of the School of Music, Gene Hemmle.

Dr. van Appledorn also served as chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Music. She founded and served as chairman of the annual Symposium of Contemporary Music at Texas Tech (1951-1981), and obtained the commission of many new works by renowned composers such as Dr. Howard Hanson (Streams in the Desert, 1969). In 1989 she was named a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Texas Tech University.

As a composer, van Appledorn has had a very successful career. She composed music in many genres, both instrumental and vocal. She received her first awards for composition (Mu Phi Epsilon National Composition Contests) for Set of Five (1951) for piano and Contrasts for Piano (1953). Other honors include the Premier Prix, Dijon, awards from the Texas Composers Guild and ASCAP, and other commissions from the Music Teachers National Association and National Intercollegiate Bands. Many of Dr. van Appledorn's compositions have been published by Carl Fischer, Oxford University Press, and E.C. Schirmer Music Company, among others. Numerous recordings of her compositions have been made by world-renowned musicians and ensembles, and her music has been performed in festivals and concerts both nationally and internationally.

Dr. van Appledorn has been included in a number of published biographies, not limited to: International Who's Who in Music, 10th, 11th and 12th editions, The World Who's Who of Women, ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th edition, Bakers Biographical Dictionary, Scribner Music Library Dictionary of Composers, and the Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

From the guide to the Mary Jeanne van Appledorn Records, U 333. 1., 1912-2009, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)

Mary Jeanne van Appledorn was born October 2, 1927 in Holland, Michigan, to John and Elizabeth van Appledorn. Neither of her parents were professional musicians; her father was, however, organist of the Ninth Street Christian Reformed Church and active in music circles in Holland. As a child, van Appledorn studied piano, as did her older sister Ruth. Following the death of her father in 1944, she and her mother moved to Topeka, Kansas (where her sister was a music teacher at Alma College) for van Appledorn's senior year of high school. Van Appledorn graduated from Topeka High School in 1945 as valedictorian.

Van Appledorn studied both piano and theory at the University of Rochester's prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Van Appledorn earned the George Eastman Honorary Scholarship each year, and in 1948 received her Bachelor of Music with Distinction (piano); she studied under Cecile Straub Genhart. Van Appledorn received her Master of Music Degree (theory) from the Eastman School of Music in 1950; from 1948 she was a Teaching Fellow of the Eastman School of Music. In the fall of 1950 Van Appledorn accepted a position at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University). She received her Ph.D. (music) from the Eastman School of Music in 1966, and was awarded a Graduate Fellowship from 1961-1962. She was also awarded the Delta Kappa Gamma International Scholarship from 1959-1960; one of three awards granted to outstanding women for furthering and completing the doctorate degree. Dr. van Appledorn's dissertation for this degree is titled A Stylistic Study of Claude Debussy's Opera Pelleas et Melisande (completed in 1965).

During her studies at Eastman, Dr. van Appledorn received training in composition from renowned composers Bernard Rogers and Alan Hovhaness.

In 1982 Dr. van Appledorn was one of nine faculty members of Texas Tech University to receive a faculty development leave, during which she studied computer-synthesized sound techniques at the Studio for Experimental Music, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Barry Vercoe, professor.

As an educator, Dr. van Appledorn taught at Texas Tech University from 1950-2008. Dr. van Appledorn taught a wide range of courses during this time, from undergraduate music theory to graduate composition courses. Dr. van Appledorn served as chairman of the Division of Music Literature and Theory (1950-1968) in the school of music, and played an important role in the development of the curriculum of the undergraduate and graduate music degrees, alongside Chairman of the School of Music, Gene Hemmle.

Dr. van Appledorn also served as chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Department of Music. She founded and served as chairman of the annual Symposium of Contemporary Music at Texas Tech (1951-1981), and obtained the commission of many new works by renowned composers such as Dr. Howard Hanson (Streams in the Desert, 1969). In 1989 she was named a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor of Texas Tech University.

As a composer, van Appledorn has had a very successful career. She composed music in many genres, both instrumental and vocal. She received her first awards for composition (Mu Phi Epsilon National Composition Contests) for Set of Five (1951) for piano and Contrasts for Piano (1953). Other honors include the Premier Prix, Dijon, awards from the Texas Composers Guild and ASCAP, and other commissions from the Music Teachers National Association and National Intercollegiate Bands. Many of Dr. van Appledorn's compositions have been published by Carl Fischer, Oxford University Press, and E.C. Schirmer Music Company, among others. Numerous recordings of her compositions have been made by world-renowned musicians and ensembles, and her music has been performed in festivals and concerts both nationally and internationally.

Dr. van Appledorn has been included in a number of published biographies, not limited to: International Who's Who in Music, 10th, 11th and 12th editions, The World Who's Who of Women, ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th edition, Bakers Biographical Dictionary, Scribner Music Library Dictionary of Composers, and the Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

From the guide to the Mary Jeanne van Appledorn Records, U 333. 1., 1912-2009, (Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University)