2011 Alumni News
Please see the obituary below of Jean R. Owen, father of music alum, Sharon Owen. In 2003, Jean established the Margaret Roecker Owen and Jean Russell Owen Scholarship Endowment at the School of Music in memory of his deceased wife. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be directed to the
Owen Scholarship fund at the UofL School of Music or the Episcopal Church
Home. A memorial gift may also be mailed to: Memorial Gift, School of
Music, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292. Online condolences to www.newcomerlouisville.com
Jean Russell Owen
OWEN, JEAN RUSSELL died peacefully on June 18, 2011.
He was born in 1924 in Louisville to the late Rex and Addie Owen. He graduated from Male High School, and after serving in the US Army Air Corps during World War II, graduated from the University of Louisville with a BA and MA in history.
After teaching several years at Eastern High School and Barrett Middle, he was a salesman for the Standard Oil Company in Pineville. In 1961, Mr. Owen became a salesman for Central School Supply in Pikeville.
Mr. Owen was a lifelong member and deacon of the Presbyterian Church and Rotary Club. He was also an avid University of Louisville Cardinals fan. Mr. Owen also loved playing golf, tennis, and bridge.
He was the loving husband of the late Margaret Roecker Owen, whom he married in 1949. He is survived by daughters, Deborah Owen Gregory-Dailey, of LaGrange, GA and Sharon Leigh Owen, of Louisville. He was the grandfather of Ashley Gregory, of Charleston, SC, Elizabeth Elliott, Katherine Theobald and Emily Jarvis, all of Louisville. He is also survived by his brother Carl Owen and sisters Rosalie Owen and Evoria Meares; three great-grandchildren, Noah, Madeline and Thomas.
Linda Pulley, BM 2003 Music; MAT 2005 Education, announced that Iroquois High School, where she is the band director, was receiving a 2011 Grammy Signature Award in the amount of $5,500 for the band program. When she took the position at Iroquois, there were 8 band students and she has been continuously recruiting to build the band program which by 2009 had 53 students - a remarkable feat! She also said the Brown School in Louisville received the same Grammy Signature Award for their jazz band.
Laura S. Inman, BME 2000, School of Music, who is a member of the Phoenix Chorale (AZ), won a Grammy again this year for their CD Spotless Rose: Hymns to the Virgin Mary. The Chorale conducted by Charles Bruffy has been nominated for a Grammy 7-8 times in several categories over the past years.
Watch the YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P28hm6mH2Ls
The Phoenix Chorale, in residence at the Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Phoenix, formerly known as the Phoenix Bach Choir, won its second Grammy during the 2011 annual music awards show in Hollywood. The 50 year old valley music troupe brings home the coveted industry statue for a classical recording of hymns dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Bio from the Phoenix Chorale website:
Laura Inman is in her ninth season with the Chorale. She holds an undergraduate degree in Music Education from the University of Louisville and recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at ASU. Laura has sung with the Kentucky Opera and American Bach Series and spent two years as Assistant Director of the Phoenix Symphony Chorus. Currently, she is an associate faculty member at ASU and conducts the Choral Union. She is on the state ACDA Board and is excited to be the clinician for the Mesa UHSD Choral Festival this fall and Glendale UHSD Choral Festival this spring. She has served as conductor of ASU’s Women’s Chorus, and as an assistant conductor for the ASU Concert Choir, University Choir, Lyric Opera Theatre, and Herberger Singers, ASU’s vocal jazz ensemble. Laura is on faculty at Veritas Preparatory Academy in Phoenix.
