Web Posted - Sunday November 8, 2020
When Steel Talks

Obituary of Jan Bach who composed a concerto for steelpan and orchestra

Global - The first concerto ever written for steelpan and orchestra was written by Dr. Jan Bach.

Jan (Morris) Bach, 82, composer, educator, French Hornist, pianist, cartoonist, father, and grandfather. Born December 11, 1937, in Fairbury, Illinois, he died at his home in DeKalb, Illinois, on October 30, 2020.

....Jan studied at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, receiving the Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition in 1971. His composition teachers included Aaron Copland and Thea Musgrave. He was a fixture in Northern Illinois University’s School of Music. Originally hired to teach French Horn, he taught music theory and composition there from 1966 to 2004. Over this period, he received the Excellence in Teaching Award (1978) and a Presidential Research Professorship grant (1982), and was nominated six times for the national CASE Professor of the Year award. He also played French Horn with the DeKalb Municipal Band for three decades.
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