You grew up on a farm in rural Kentucky, and spent your undergraduate years at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. It was pursuing a Master’s Degree at Peabody that brought you to Maryland.

After receiving your MM in 1967 you went on for a DMA, producing a dissertation, Secular Music in Colonial Annapolis. Your interest and depth of knowledge in this subject led you to do lectures, performances and restagings of historical musical events including balls at the Maryland State House.

In 1971 you accepted the position of Assistant Director of Musical Activities at the U.S. Naval Academy. The following year you were promoted to Director. With musical integrity and the discipline of the Navy, you spent the next 36 years growing the program, creating new ensembles that reflected the expanding interest in music and changing demographics of the school, and growing the professional music staff from 2 when you started to its present size of 19.

One example of your successes is bringing the Naval Academy Glee Club to a position of national prominence. Under your guidance they toured the US and Europe and appeared in more than 100 nationally televised programs.

You have received numerous awards, including the Navy’s Meritorious Civilian Service Award, the Baltimore Federal Executive Board’s award for Excellence in Management, and the Academy for Television Arts & Sciences award for Excellence in Musical Direction.

With this award we celebrate your years of skilled leadership, scholarship and performance. On behalf of the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, it is our distinct honor to confer upon you the Peabody Alumni Achievement Award Recognizing Outstanding Contributions to Music in Maryland.