Swingtime at the U of A’s School of Music

What do Nelson Riddle, that composer and music arranger extraordinaire and the University of Arizona’s Orchestral and Conducting program have in common? A lot, it seems.

In 1998, the University of Arizona foundation received a gift from the estate of Riddle’s widow, Naomi, establishing the Nelson Riddle endowed chair. A. Edward Ezor, Naomi’s executor, saw to it that the gift also included more than 500 of the composer’s musical scores, royalties from his works, letters and photographs. In 2000, this tremendous financial boost led to the hiring of Thomas Cockrell, a well-respected teacher and conductor on the faculty of the University of California, Irvine, before coming to the U of A. Since that time Cockrell has served as the Nelson Riddle Endowed Chair in Music, as well as, the director of orchestral activities and music director of the U of A Opera Theater.

At that time, little did anyone on the U of A music school faculty know an unexpected benefactor, in the person of James E. Rogers, was going to extend the school’s musical recognition to an even higher artistic level. In 2007, Rogers, a graduate of the University and already a well-known donor (the university’s law school bears his name) was to fulfill a long-held dream of fostering a conducting program at the music school.

The James E. Rogers Institute for Orchestral and Opera Conducting opened in August, 2008, with funding of $1.8 million that was to be doled out over a ten year period. Even better news was the fact Cockrell’s guiding hand would oversee the educational and musical experiences of Jackson Warren and Keitaro Harada, the first conducting students to enroll in the program.

Outsiders might think with that amount of money available and the temptation for the music school to show off its growing notoriety, Cockrell would fill the program with more than two students. But the conductor’s good judgment and varied musical experiences proved with only Warren and Harada in the program, he could offer them a wider variety of musical experiences that would give them solid conducting careers in the future.

Cockrell’s approach has paid off handsomely for Warren and Harada. Both men have been conducting fellows with the Arizona Opera and the Tucson Symphony during their time with the program. Cockrell has also seen to it that they have had opportunities to speak before professional music groups and to organize a variety of orchestral programs. It’s all part of the requirements in today’s musical world for emerging conductors. “They need to have more skills than just to stand on the podium,” said Cockrell.

To finish off their studies at the University, both men have challenging jobs for the summer. Warren is an assistant conductor with Opera in the Ozarks in Arkansas for their 2010 season. And Harada has been invited by the Boston Symphony Orchestra to be a conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, MA.

It’s no secret the budget cuts in all educational areas in Arizona have been severe for the 2009-10 academic year. It’s to the credit of James E. Rogers, Cockrell and all those involved in fostering music education at the University of Arizona, that their Orchestral and Conducting program is still thriving and financially healthy.