Norman Rowe:
CLASS OF 1963
San Marcos High SchoolClass of 1963
Santa barbara, CA
Imperial SchoolsClass of 1972
Big sandy, TX
Dublin High SchoolClass of 1963
Dublin, OH
Dublin Middle SchoolClass of 1959
Dublin, OH
Ninth Avenue SchoolClass of 1957
Columbus, OH
Norman's Story
Moving around throughout my school years, I went to kindergarten in Charleston, WV; grades 1-5 in Columbus, OH; grades 6-11 in Dublin, OH; and grade 12 in Santa Barbara, CA. Particularly active in music, I participated in school and church choirs, school bands (marching, concert, and stage/dance), and a barbershop quartet. I made All-County Choir in each of my three years at DHS and All-State Choir my junior year and All-County Band two of those years (had to miss one year because we were going to be out-of-town for the concert). I also played with the Columbus Symphony Youth Orchestra. My senior year I made first chair tuba in the All-California High School Symphony Orchestra and received a full-tuition scholarship grant to attend the Music Academy of the West.
Remaining in Santa Barbara for four more years, I attended Santa Barbara City College (mostly part-time), played trombone in the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony for a year then became principal tuba in the Santa Barbara Symphony. I received two more full-tuition scholarship grants to the Music Academy, two scholarships at SBCC, and performed with several school, church, and community ensembles (both instrumental and vocal).
In 1967 I went to Fullerton, CA, to attend California State College, Fullerton (now CSUF). A full-time student the first year, I went to mostly part-time for three more years, participating in a variety of school vocal and instrumental ensembles (two bands, orchestra, brass choir, three choirs, early music ensemble) and non-school groups as well, including being Assistant Chorus Director with the Orange Empire Chorus of the SPEBSQSA (now Barbershop Harmony Society). I spent four years guiding tours through the F. E. Olds and Son musical instrument factory and three and a half years as a campus tour guide at Cal State. I was chosen to be on the Student Advisory Committee to the Dean of the School of the Arts and elected to the Student Body Senate and assigned to be a Student Representative to the Faculty Council.
Even without completing my degree at Cal State, I was offered a teaching job at Imperial Schools in Big Sandy, TX, so I relocated there, completing my degree with a change of majo...Expand for more
r from music to theology at Ambassador College.
By the time I finished AC, Imperial Schools had closed its doors, so I went to Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, TX, to work on a Masters degree in music. Again, I was involved in a variety of music groups, both school and community, including being Assistant Chorus Director of the East Texas Timbretones chorus and eventually moving up to Chorus Director. Yvonne and I got married in 1977 and Paul was born in Nacogdoches the following year.
We ended up moving to Memphis, TN, the following year with my graduate work at SFA not quite completed. Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to return to finish it. Tony was born in Memphis fourteen months after Paul's birth and Jen was born in Memphis exactly three and a half years after Paul was born. Again I was involved with many musical groups, both vocal and instrumental, and again it included being Assistant Chorus Director for the barbershop society chorus there (Dixie Cotton Bowl Chorus, former International Chorus Champions).
After sixteen years in Memphis, we relocated to the Rogue Valley area of southern Oregon. Almost immediately we were back involved with a variety of music groups, this time almost exclusively instrumental.
After five years in and around Medford, and once the kids were "grown, flown, and on their own," we settled into our RV and decided we'd like to do some traveling. Not retired (just tired) and not independently wealthy, we knew we'd have to go somewhere, stop for a while, and find jobs. Our first stopping place was the Monterey Bay area. As usual we immediately got involved with several music groups and found employment with or through temporary agencies. After somewhat more than two years there, we chose the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area of New Mexico our next stop. More music groups, of course. After about nine months, we returned to Oregon, but this time over on the coast. That was six years ago (as of Sept. 2009) and we're still here. Not many music groups around, but we've still managed to stay musically active.
[Norman Rowe died suddenly on December 19, 2011, and is survived by his wife, three children and one grandson.]
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