SUU Alumni Band to Celebrate Retiree Dr. Virginia Stitt
Published: September 10, 2021 | Author: Ashley H Palmer | Read Time: 3 minutes
Dr. Lawrence Johnson, Chair of the Department of Music at SUU, shares, “Amidst the COVID pandemic we haven’t had a chance to give Dr. Stitt a proper acknowledgment for all her years of expert teaching and devoted service. The Alumni Band Concert provides a great opportunity to recognize all she has done for the university, students, and profession, and for alumni to give their personal thanks to such an extraordinary educator and person.”
The concert will begin with a feature performance by the SUU Wind Symphony. They will perform Festive Overture by Dmitri Shostakovich, arr. by Donald Hunsberger. The Alumni Band will feature former members of the SUU band program. These alumni attended SUU any time from 1975 to 2020 and come from a wide range of locations throughout the region. They are excited to support Dr. Stitt in this event. The Alumni Band will play all four movements of Holst’s 2nd Suite in F Major as a nod to Dr. Stitt and her request for music by Gustav Holst.
Dr. Adam Lambert, Director of Bands at SUU, says, “The response has been amazing! Shortly after invitations were sent to former students of Dr. Stitt, nearly 65 responded expressing their interest and enthusiasm for this event. In their online responses, many expressed admiration for Virginia, including Mr. David Palmer, one of two band directors from Cedar Middle School. He shared, ‘I love Virginia Stitt. I first met her when she came to Orderville to judge the woodwinds at a region solo & ensemble competition. I wondered if she was for real when she worked with me a bit afterwards on the dynamics. Boy was she ever dynamic! I would later make a weekly trip over Cedar Mountain each Wednesday to take clarinet lessons from her. I do not believe that I would have had the courage to enter the Music Department at SUU without her. It has made all the difference in the world for me.’”
Honor the amazing Dr. Virginia Stitt and her years of service at the Alumni Band Concert as you listen to former SUU band students and the SUU Wind Symphony perform on Friday, September 24, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. in the Heritage Center Theater. For more information about the Department of Music at SUU, please visit www.suu.edu/pva/music.
About the College of Performing and Visual Arts
The College of Performing and Visual Arts (CPVA) at Southern Utah University comprises 26 academic programs including liberal arts (BA/BS) and professional (BFA, BM, BMEd) degrees in art, design, dance, music, and theatre. It includes graduate programs in the fields of arts administration (MFA, MA), music education (MME), and music technology (MM). More than 60 full-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 900 majors in the College. CPVA presents over 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year and is affiliated with the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA), Utah Shakespeare Festival, and the Center for Shakespeare Studies. Southern Utah University is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD), National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) making SUU the first public university in the state of Utah to be accredited by all four associations. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, visit www.suu.edu/pva.Tags: Alumni Music College of Performing and Visual Arts