Society of Peabody Alumni
Citation for the Peabody Alumni Achievement Award Recognizing Outstanding Contributions to Music in Maryland
Presented to
Mildred Reiner
April 21, 2002
Mildred Reiner, you came to Peabody in 1949 to study Music Education with Mary Hunter. You studied trumpet with Jimmy Burke and Dominick DeGangi, form and analysis with Henry Cowell, and instrument repair with Walter Lawson, who tried to lure you away from Peabody to work in his shop.
You never stopped building your education, going on to get a Masters at Pennsylvania State University; taking courses at Johns Hopkins University; Western Maryland College; University of Maryland; Towson University, and Indiana State University. You also learned Suzuki method from the master, D.T. Suzuki.
You began your career as an instrumental music teacher in elementary, junior high and high schools. Ensembles under your direction received top ratings in county and statewide adjudications, and wide critical acclaim for performances throughout the Northeast, Canada, and Mexico. In 1966 you were named Teacher of the Year.
At that time you were already Department Chairman at Parkville Junior High School and twelve years later you became Supervisor of Music for the Baltimore
County Public Schools. In 1993 you were made Coordinator of Music for Baltimore County Public Schools.
During your tenure, you initiated many programs, including: the All County Band, the All County Orchestra and the Side by Side Concert with the Baltimore Symphony.
In addition to your responsibilities for Baltimore County, you served as President of the Maryland Band Directors Association, State Chairman of the National Band Directors Association, and still had time to serve on the Peabody Advisory Council for Music Education and on the Peabody Alumni Steering Committee.
In 1992 you received the first Special Recognition Award given by the Maryland Music Educators Association for distinguished service to music education in the state.
Millie, you have influenced thousands of lives, had an immeasurable impact on music education in Baltimore County, and are a legend in your own time. The Peabody Chapter of the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association is honored to confer upon you the Peabody Alumni Achievement Award Recognizing Outstanding Contributions to Music in Maryland.