RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (April 18, 2008)--It was 47 years ago that Andy Anders, then a junior in high school, sold a cow named Mandy so that he could attend band camp at Arkansas Tech.
Time has proven that it was a good investment, and one that has benefited both Anders and generations of Arkansas Tech students.
Anders, a 1967 Tech graduate, member of the Arkansas Tech University faculty since 1968 and head of the Tech Music Department since 1998, will serve as conductor for the Tech Tuba Euphonium Ensemble for the final time during a concert at Witherspoon Auditorium on Tuesday, April 22.
The concert, which will also include a performance by the Tech Percussion Ensemble, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
Anders will retire at the end of the 2007-08 academic year, closing a 40-year teaching career at Tech that began when he was hired as instructor of low brass.
“I was a sophomore double-majoring in math and music,” said Anders of the moment when he chose his life’s path. “During that time, there was a really big push for math and science, but I just loved my tuba. I got to thinking about it, and I had never actually met one, but I knew that there had to be low brass teachers at other colleges like Arkansas Tech. So that became my goal, and for Tech to add that position and for me to actually end up with it was just a miracle.”
In many ways, it all started when Anders attended that band camp in 1961 and met Gene Witherspoon. A member of the Tech music faculty from 1950 until the time of his passing in 1979, Witherspoon recruited Anders to Tech and served as one of his instructors. Later, they were colleagues on the faculty. Anders counts “Chief Witherspoon” as one of his most important mentors.
“He had a lot of charisma,” said Anders when asked about Witherspoon. “He had tremendous leadership, and he used that to best advantage. One of the things that he did that was unique at that time was that he embraced a lot of the new music that was being written for band. Throughout much of its early history, band only had transcriptions. I love transcriptions, but of course band was crying out for a literature of its own.
“(Witherspoon) embraced that and played a lot of things that other people would not play,” continued Anders. “He played music by the modern composers, and they were big-name composers. As a result, we started having those people on our campus. All of a sudden, the name Arkansas Tech was known all across the country. I think that’s the biggest thing he did for Arkansas Tech.”
For his final outing as conductor of the Tech Tuba Euphonium Ensemble, Anders will direct the collection of five euphoniums and seven tubas through three transcriptions and two works written for such instrumentation. He noted that of particular interest will be the transcription of Franz von Suppe’s “Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna Overture.”
“The students are extremely talented and willing, requirements for performing the demanding music selected for the program,” said Anders. “The music is as entertaining as it is challenging.”
The Tech Percussion Ensemble, under conductor Philip Parker, will perform “Swedish Folk Song” and “Meditation.” Both pieces will be performed by a quartet of keyboard percussion students.
Tuesday’s concert is the beginning of a farewell for Anders that will include a celebration of his career at the annual end-of-year concert in Witherspoon Auditorium at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 4. That event will also be open and free to the public. A reception will follow.
“The most recent rehearsal is what you remember most,” said Anders. “But we have had several memorable moments over the years. I remember the time the bus got stuck on Jasper Mountain in an ice storm, and 27 of us slept in a country church with wood heat. I remember when we moved into (Witherspoon Hall) and had an auditorium for the first time. That was a huge development. Before that, we were giving all of our concerts over at the W.O. Young Building Ballroom. It’s still echoing over there.
“My fondest memories come from the personnel that we have had,” continued Anders. “We have had remarkable, dedicated faculty through the years. You can’t ask for anything better than that, and it has attracted a certain quality of student. One of my favorite things to do now is catch up with former students, and it’s amazing to see them all grown up. It’s very fulfilling to see that.”
