Music 100: The first Century of Music at Bowling Green University

Inter view with Robert Thayer and David Glasmire 4/29/03 DG: Harry Spangler was a piano teacher, in the early school. You see the date. He was hired and he was one more of those who did one year. Andras Szentkiralyi was a violinist and that’s about all I know about him.

RT: We remember him.

DG: Tallarico. Bruce Tolbert was a vocalist. Betty Jean Troeger, I not sure what she did. Ivan Trussler flew down to Florida. Richard Webster was a clarinet teacher (RT: Oh sure), went to the University of Toledo (RT: Oh yes) when he left here. Harvey Wedeen was a wonderful piano player and teacher. He and Helen Kwalwasser married. In fact she is on the list of part time.

RT: She’s on the list as a part-time and Wedeen is faculty.

DG: Marvelous. Both very fine pianist. Roy Weger came here in 1953, replaced Arthur Zuelzke and he came from a little town called Durant, Oklahoma (RT: Oh yeah), and if you would have heard his high school band it would have put most university bands to shame.

RT: I heard about that band.

DG: He had a cracker jack of a band. It was unbelievable. And he was solely responsible for teaching all those instruments. He used to say, “Roy, you got a conservatory out here in the public school.”

RT: There wasn’t any place nearer it to have anybody else to help.

DG: He was a fine band conductor. One of the strong parts about Roy Weger was that he got out of his students the utmost. He was capable of getting the best out of his students in band. A very fine conductor. Ken Wendrich—do you know who he is?—former dean. Francis Wilcox was the trumpet teacher in 49 and I knew him quite well. He left in 58 and that’s when I got the job. He left in 58 and went out to Scottsdale, Arizona, became an arranger, and taught mathematics, and arranged for the high school band. This is just a little aside. He didn’t have a job when he left here, he had a school bus, he took all the four seats out of the school bus, he and his wife and three children, off they went, to Scottsdale, AZ. That’s what you call faith!

Don Wilson we know. Christopher Scholl, I don’t know who that is. Bob Wykes, we stopped to see him, he’s at is at St. Louis University, University of St. Louis, he was theory and flutist.

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