FACULTY PROFILE
MUSIC APPRECIATION BY
Mark DeLong ’03
JAMES BOHART GREW UP SURROUNDED BY MUSIC. “MY MOM WAS ONE OF THE BEST BOOGEY-WOOGEY PIANO PLAYERS, AND DAD PLAYED THE TROMBONE. THAT WASN’T WHAT EITHER OF THEM DID FOR A LIVING BUT THAT’S WHAT THEY ENJOYED.” His mother, a one-room schoolhouse teacher for K-12, and his father, who worked for Chicago Northwest Railroad, instilled an appreciation for music in all of their children. Bohart and his sisters practiced – and often studied – music in their youth. Growing up in Rochelle, Illinois, Bohart was a trumpet player through high school. It was during that time he formed a 17-piece jazz band with friends. “We’d play an 8:00-11:00 p.m. prom, then an after party from midnight until 2:00 a.m.,” he recalled. “That’s how I earned money for college.” And the pay? “$5 [per person] for the first hour, $2.50 for each additional.” After earning his bachelor’s and master’s in music from Northern Illinois University, Bohart began his teaching career in Illinois. In 1971 he joined the Oglethorpe faculty part time, becoming full time the following year. “I started playing the carillon bells the day I was hired,” he said. During his tenure, musical ensembles under his direction were invited to perform for a Georgia Music Educators Association (GMEA) convention, for state and divisional American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conventions and on a European tour.
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OGLETHORPE UNIVERSITY