JAVS Summer 2001

11

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dr. Robert L. Oppelt was a nationally recog nized teacher of stringed instruments. In 1972 he was elected National President of the American String Teachers Association. Prior to that, in 1966 he was elected the first president of the Kentucky Association of String Teachers, and in 1969 was elected President of the Illinois chapter. In 1972 and 1973 he served as Artist Teacher ofViola at international workshops in Austria and England sponsored by the American StringTeachers Association. In 1980 he was Artist Teacher of Violin for the Congress of Strings, an intensive nationwide session for outstanding high school students sponsored by the American Federation of Musicians at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He also served as member of the Executive Board of the American Viola Society. His career as a music educator began at the University oflowa in 1952. He was Professor of Strings and Orchestra Conductor at Eastern Kentucky University from 1956 to 1968 and violist with the Kentucky String Quartet. He was orchestra director at the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp in Richmond, Kentucky, from 1956 to 1968. From 1968 to 1972 he

was professor of Strings and Orchestra Conductor at Illinois State University and Professor of Music at Lehman College, City University of New York, from 1973 to 1978. At the time of his death he was Director of Suzuki Music Associates of Greater Detroit. He earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in music education at the University of Illinois in 1950 and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Perfor mance and Pedagogy at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, in 1956. He was the first graduate in strings to complete that program. His teachers include Paul Rolland, Francis Tursi, and William Primrose. Dr. Oppelt published more than twenty five articles in professional journals. His most recent work, The Robert L. Oppelt String Series, consists of seven volumes of pedagogy and music published by Willis Music Publishing Company. Robert L. Oppelt was born July 7, 1925, in Lorain, Ohio. He is survived by his children: Rev. Richard Oppelt of Oak Tree Presbyterian Church in Edison, NJ, David Oppelt of Milford, CT, Carla Bednarsky of Huntington, CT, and Robert J. Oppelt, Principal Bass with the National Symphony Orchestra in Wash ington, D.C. He had eight grandchildren.