RECALLING DR. HAYES FUHR
Jeanne Marie Widergren
While all of us music department students loved Doctor Fuhr, we were very much in awe of him. I know there were many hearts pounding in fear before a meeting with Doctor Fuhr. On the other hand, he could light up an entire concert hall with his smile and sparkling eyes, and there were many of those lighter moments.
With all the fine buildings erected on campus since I was graduated in 1948, it is not easy to picture the College Music Department contained in a not-so-new house at the northeast end of the grounds. I suppose that if I could still visit the house now, I would find it inadequate and not worthy of the Hastings College Music Department. But the building was not all-important. What really mattered was the excellent instruction we received and the dedication of Doctor Fuhr and his staff.
Choir tours in Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming made for a lot of fun times. The tours of 1945 and 1964 were all-girl choirs, while in 1947 and 1948, mixed choirs toured.
Before I sat down to write, I thought many Fuhr-related instances would come to mind, but after some fifty-five years, I have forgotten so much. However, I will always remember Doctor Fuhr’s love for his work and his music, his constant striving for perfection, and his elegant good taste.