MUSIC MENTOR at


ALUMNI HONOR CARNEGIE HALL


asked Sepulveda, who has served as the artistic director of the Palmetto Voices Spiritual Ensemble and as director of the Winston-Salem Youth Chorus, in addition to teaching chorus in colleges and leading choirs to perform around the country, in Europe, Canada and Mexico.


One aspect that made the performance special was that the composer of the Jazz Mass joined Edgerton in the audience.


James Kevin Gray ’99, who collaborated with friend Rick Bean to write the piece, spoke of honoring his mentor, Edgerton. “I'm so glad that we as a team utilized this incredible performance as an opportunity to honor a man who has meant so much to so many,” Gray said. “Truly, he is a monument to the best of what it means to be a professor at Winthrop.”


Herbert Johnson ’01, ’13, was one of two soloists in the Jazz Mass movements, which featured a 120-member choir and a four-piece ensemble of musicians. He has performed at Carnegie Hall several times and each time has been overwhelmed with emotions.


James Kevin Gray ’99 Sonja Sepulveda ’74, ’75 Rick Bean


“I experience a radiating feeling of honor, pride and humility all in one. To know that I am standing on the same stage that just about every famous musician has performed on is unexplainable! It's like I feel their presence and souls lingering in the atmosphere, and so it fuels my soul to make my performance even more meaningful,” said Johnson, who is director of choral activities for Sumter High School and Morris College.


Alumni who coordinated a June 25 tribute for Emeritus Professor of Music Bob Edgerton at New York City’s Carnegie Hall called the event a celebration of different moments of time in his career.


During Edgerton’s four decades at Winthrop, he influenced thousands of budding musicians.


Sonja Sepulveda ’74, ’75, loved that Edgerton attended the June performance and heard


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firsthand the results of his years of mentoring. A former student and long-time conductor, she served as the guest conductor for the evening, guiding singers and musicians through five movements of a Jazz Mass, two choral arrangements by Edgerton, “Somewhere” from West Side Story and his version of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”


“How often do you get to thank the person who helped make who you are as a professional?”


Instilling a Love of Music into Students Meanwhile, the number of Winthrop alumni who attended or were involved in the production, including alto sax soloist Jack Murray ’95 who also played in the tribute, delighted Edgerton. “To see Winthrop talent performing on this prestigious stage was a golden moment for Winthrop. I also am so proud of Kevin Gray, whose Jazz Mass – a groundbreaking extended


musical work – achieved its national premiere at Carnegie Hall. It was Winthrop music week in N.Y.C.,” said Edgerton, who stays active in choral activities while enjoying retirement.


For many Winthrop music students, Edgerton fanned a love of music and appreciation for different genres of music. Gray first met Edgerton in 1994 when Gray, a high school student from the small town of Westminster, visited Winthrop for S.C. All-State Chorus.


“I remember approaching him that weekend with a manuscript copy of a piece of music I was composing. Amid a very busy schedule, he took a few moments to peruse through it. This made quite an impression on me and was one of the main reasons that I chose to study at Winthrop,” Gray said.


To this day, before Gray publishes a piece of music, Edgerton is one of the two people he sends proof copies to before sending it to his editor.


For Gray and so many others, Edgerton‘s mentoring continues.


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