Robert D. Jorgensen Endowed Fund for Music Majors Enrolled in University of Akron Concert Bands

Mr. Robert D. Jorgensen retired as the director of bands and professor of music at The University of Akron in 2013, after 26 years of service. He also served as assistant director of the School of Music. Under his direction, The University of Akron Symphonic Band was invited to perform at 11 conferences of the Ohio Music Education Association, the conference of the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) in East Lansing, Mich.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Cincinnati in 1992, 1998, and 2004, respectively; the 2003 American Bandmasters Association Convention at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.; and at Severance Hall in Cleveland in April 2003.

Mr. Jorgensen has been widely honored as a music educator and conductor. He received the Outstanding Bandmasters Award from the International Assembly of Phi Beta Mu, International Bandmasters Fraternity, at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago in 1999. He received the Citation of Excellence Award from the National Band Association in 1981 and The A. Frank Martin Award from Kappa Kappa Psi in 1992. Mr. Jorgensen was elected, in 1991, to membership in the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and is a past president of this organization, having been elected at the 74th annual convention in Miami in March 2008. He also is past president of the Mid-American Conference Band Directors Association.

Mr. Jorgensen earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois, where he was a student of Mark H. Hindsley, and a master’s degree from Michigan State University, where he studied under Leonard Falcone and Kenneth Bloomquist. From 1969-1972, Mr. Jorgensen was euphonium soloist with the U.S. Army Field Band in Washington, D.C., with Hal Gibson and Samuel Fricano as conductors. Prior to joining The University of Akron in 1987, he was on the faculty at Morehead State University and was director of bands at Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas. His Texas concert band performed for the Texas Music Educators Association and the Texas Bandmasters Association conventions.

He is married to Anne M. Jorgensen, associate athletics director for student-athlete academic services at The University of Akron. They are the proud parents of a daughter, Laura A. Jorgensen. Laura is a member of the Athletics Department at the University of Oregon.

The Robert D. Jorgensen Endowed Fund for Music Majors Enrolled in University of Akron Concert Bands was established to provide support to full-time students at The University of Akron. Students must be pursuing a degree in music, and recipients must demonstrate outstanding personal characteristics such as a strong work ethic, integrity, and an ability to lead by example. This award is to be applied to tuition and fees and will not be awarded as a refund check. This endowed fund is eligible for renewal with a cumulative GPA of 3.0. Recipients will be selected by the director of bands in consultation with the director of the School of Music.