A MEMORIAL CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF

PHYLLIS CASSELMAN YOUNG(1925–2017)

Friday, May 11, 2018, 7:00 PM

Bates Recital Hall

PROGRAM

J.S. Bach Sarabande from Suite No. 6 in D major Performed on Phyllis Young’s cello Made in Florence, Italy by G. B. Gabrielli in 1769.

Previously owned by her teacher, Horace Britt

Elliott Cheney, performer

Welcome Dr. Mary Ellen Poole Director, Butler School of Music

Morten Lauridsen Magnum Mysterium Cello Choir

Phyllis on Her Early Musical Life Dr. Rebecca A. Baltzer, Professor Emerita of Musicology

Traditional/Casals Song of the Birds Cello Choir

A Brief Look Back Over 62 Years John H. Akin, Attorney, Akin & Akin LLP

Schubert Miró Quartet Second Movement from C major Quintet Daniel Ching, violin; Will Fedkenheuer, violin;

John Largess, viola; Josh Gindele, cello; Elliott Cheney, cello

Readings From Workshop Notes and from The String Play Former Students

J.S. Bach Sarabande from BWV 1002 in A minorarr. L. Varga Cello Choir

Grateful Reflections Evangeline Benedetti, New York Philharmonic (1967–2011)

Concluding Remarks The Legacy of The University of Texas String Project Laurie Scott, Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning

Director, The University of Texas String Project

Robert Kerr Ode to the Plains and Wild Horses Running UT String Project Teachers

Reception Butler School of Music Lobby

A REMEMBRANCE IN WORDS AND MUSIC

OBITUARY

Phyllis Young, one of the Butler School

of Music’s most distinguished emeritus

faculty members, passed away on

Wednesday, November 8, 2017, at the

age of 92. Professor Emerita of Cello

and String Pedagogy, she was the

first holder of UT’s Parker C. Fielder

Regents Professorship in Music.

She was born Phyllis Casselman on

Oct. 20, 1925, to Velma Stewart and

Philip James Casselman, in Milan,

Kansas, and raised in Conway Springs,

Kansas. Deciding to pursue a career

in music, she earned B.M. and M.M.

degrees in cello performance from UT

Austin, where she studied under her

CELLO CHOIR PERFORMERS

Karen Becker, M.M., D.M.A. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Evangeline BenedettiNew York Philharmonic (1967-2011)

Carey Cheney, B.M., M.M.SAA Teacher Trainer, Alfred AuthorSolos for Young Cellists

Elliott Cheney, B.M., M.M., D.M.A.University of Utah

Anne Clark, D.M.A.Community Chamber Orchestra, Green Christian School, Clay, KS

Christine Crookall, M.M., D.M.A.Augusta University

Steve Evans, M.M.Center for Community Arts, Walnut Creek, CA

Karla Hamelin, D.M.A.Texas State University

Carolyn Hagler, M.M. Austin Symphony

Marilyn Harris Texas Juvenile Justice Department

Ted Herring University of Texas

Catherine Campbell Hill, B.M.Alta Search, Inc., Knoxville, TN

Linda Jennings, D.M.A. Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Erna R. Buckles, B.M., M.M., M.Ed. Asst. Principal Webb Early CollegePrep K-8 Academy

David Littrell, M.M., D.M.A.Kansas State University

Lisa Maynard, M.M., Ph.D.James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Meredith McAlmon, B.M.Orchestra & Classical Guitar, Austin ISD

Jorge Mendoza, D.M.A.University of Guadalajara, Mexico

Carrie Miller, M.M.Clint Small Middle School Orchestra, Austin

Jeanne Moore, M.M., B.B.A.Texas Health and Human Services Commission

John Pointer, B.A.Musician—Austin, TX & Gainesville, FL

Kenneth Pruitt, M.M., D.M.A.White Knoll High School, Lexington SC

Tomasz Rzeczycki, D.M.A.Princeton Day School, NJ

Katherine Sanders, B.M., M.M.Parkway School District, St. Louis, MO

Shu-Yi Scott, M.M., D.M.A.Shu-Yi Scott Cello School, Austin

Kristin Hampton-Stilley, B.M., M.M.Conroe High School Orchestra

Linda Sullivan, M.M.Live Oak Family Health, PA

Erin Tovar, M.M.McAllen ISD Orchestra

Jesus Tovar, B.M.McAllen ISD Orchestra

Ann Victor, B.M., M.M.Stephen F. Austin High SchoolHouston Youth Symphony

Rachel Horvitz, B.M. Hill Country Middle School Orchestra

Maria Scherer Wilson, M.M.Seattle Classical/Alternative Freelancer

Benjamin Whitcomb, M.M., Ph.D.University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Anne Witt, M.M., Ph.D.University of Alabama

William J. Dick, conductorRetired AISD Orchestra Director Conductor Emeritus, Austin Youth Orchestra, SAA Teacher Trainer

Marie Chhibber, M.M.Suzuki Cello School of Austin

Jarrod Tuikka, M.M.Orchestra Director, Pflugerville ISD

Courtney Castaneda, Assistant DirectorThe University of Texas String ProjectOrchestra Director, UT Elementary School

Rylie Harrod, D.M.A., Office ManagerThe University of Texas String Project

UT String Project TeachersRussell Cannon Joanna RossSeth RussellAshley WangShruthi KattumenuSara AldanaRuben BalboaSean FlynnJackson HocottJames Zabawa-MartinezCamille SchiessHailey Waltermann

beloved cello professor Horace Britt. She

also studied at the Paris Conservatory

and the Chigiano Academy in Siena, Italy.

She was a UT Music faculty member from

1953 until her retirement in 2007 and was

one of the first women in music at UT to

be promoted to full professor. In addition

to her private cello studio, Mrs. Young

established the Texas Cello Choir and

directed the renowned UT String Project

for 35 years, seeing it become a world-

wide model for programs that train string

teachers and young string players. Her

former students hold positions in major

universities, schools, and orchestras in

the U.S. and abroad, including the New

York Philharmonic.

Professor Young was President of the

American String Teachers Association

1978-80 and spent additional two-

year terms as President-Elect and Past

President. Her first book on string

pedagogy, Playing the String Game:

Strategies for Teaching Cello and Strings,

published in 1978, went through multiple

printings and was translated into more

than half a dozen foreign languages.

Her second book, The String Play: The

Drama of Playing and Teaching Strings,

appeared in 1986, and she authored

numerous articles in professional journals.

She gave hundreds of invited workshops

and master classes in more than 33

countries around the world and in most

states of the U.S.

Mrs. Young received many honors and

awards for her work, including the

Distinguished Service Award of the

American String Teachers Association

in 1984. She was honored in 2000

by Indiana University’s Eva Janzen

Memorial Cello Center with the

title “Grande Dame du Violoncelle,”

and in 2002 she received the Paul

Rolland Lifetime Achievement Award

from ASTA and the National School

Orchestra Association. She is listed

in Who’s Who in America and similar

publications and was the subject of a

doctoral dissertation done at Boston

University in 2010.

Beginning in 1945, for 46 years Phyllis

was married to James M. Young, a

World War II Army Air Force veteran

and one of the founders of Tracor,

who died in 1991 after many years

of disability from multiple sclerosis.

She was predeceased by her parents

and a brother. She leaves a sister-

in-law, Madge Casselman, and a

nephew, David M. Casselman, both in

Arlington, Texas, and a niece, Marsha

C. Dickson, in Newark, Delaware as

her primary relatives.

At Westminster Manor in Austin,

Phyllis had a beautiful apartment

where she lived from 2009 until her

passing. Her inspiring work and

beloved personality have touched

the lives of many and had a lasting

impact on thousands of musicians

and music lovers around the globe,

leaving the world a more beautiful

and harmonious place in her wake.

—Dr. Rebecca A. Baltzer