Keith Wallingford.(Passages)

There is an ample reason to celebrate the life of Keith Wallingford, and to mourn his passing. He was a natural leader, from his years as a bomber pilot in World War II to his service as a scout master of a Boy Scout troop.

As a musician, he was a devoted member of MTNA, serving as the president of the Colorado State MTA and, later, of the West Central Division. At the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he served on the faculty from 1970 to 1987, he was chair both of the keyboard faculty and of the campus's faculty assembly. Even in the tangled world of academic politics, his leadership was a guiding light to the university at a crucial point in its history. Keith was, above all, a wonderful teacher. With his piano students, he always made it possible for them to find their way to informed interpretation. Rather than demonstrating "the way it should go," he would point out possible alternatives and different options, inviting the student to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. This approach directly reflected ...