Ruth Nordine Chown
Ruth Nordine Chown has shared her life and her passion for music with the community of Escanaba, Michigan. She has educated, inspired and entertained through her roles as a piano teacher, music composer, college instructor, church organist, community arts advocate, and mentor. During the past five decades, Chown has been the piano teacher for thousands of students, ages 4 to 80. Her philosophy of teaching has been to make learning fun, accomplishing this through creative approaches designed to tap into the unique abilities of each student.
She has been a prolific composer and arranger, with more than 100 pieces of children's piano music and three musical shows to her credit. Her first composition, Rusty's Song, was inspired by Chown's beloved Irish sener. That song led to the creation of It's Raining Cats and Dogs, a collection of 12 pieces that brings to life the personalities of pets and expresses Chown' s love of animals. She also composed, arranged and produced two full-scale musicals: A Gift of Carols, based on the Alfred Burt carols, and Halloween Carnival, an original touring musical theater production. She received several Michigan State Arts Grants to present her musicals and shows to students and senior citizens across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Her long-standing goal to publish her music was achieved in September 2005 when her composition, Sonatina Prima, was selected by the Neil A. Kjos Music Company for publication.
Chown has lead several fundraising efforts to benefit the Escanaba community. She produced six ""Monster Concerts"" and several other ""Friends of Music"" events to raise money for projects including the purchase of a grand piano for the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center; stage lighting for the Escanaba Junior High School; the establishment of a scholarship to honor the memory of longtime choral music teacher Conrad D. Beck; and to support the Delta County Humane Society. She also was the musical director for several productions of the Players de Noc Theater, including her favorite musical, The Fantastiks.
She was an adjunct faculty member at Bay de Noc Community College from 1976 to 2004, teaching courses in Music Appreciation, Applied Piano, Elements of Music, Music Theory, and Chamber Performance. She also created a piano pedagogy certificate program to train and inspire students learning to become piano teachers.
Chown was a founding member of The Keyboard Guild, a local piano teachers' group formed in 1977. For many years she oversaw the group's special events, including annual piano festivals, duet-ensemble recitals, fundraising play-a-thons, and creativity programs for student composers, poets and artists. Chown has been an organist, choir director and music director at S1. Stephens Episcopal Church in Escanaba since 1976. She has written hymns and hymn arrangements for the Episcopal Church of the Marquette Diocese of Michigan.
A dedicated member of the piano pedagogy community, she has served for several years as chairwoman of the Independent Studio Teaching Committee of the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy. She also has been active in the Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA) and the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). She has written several articles for industry publications, including the National Piano Foundation's Piano Notes, Clavier, and Keyboard Companion. Chown has served as an adjudicator, clinician and consultant to many teachers' groups across the Midwest, and was an educational consultant to Hemi's Music Company of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Chown is a graduate of Northern Michigan University, earning her bachelor's (1957) and master's (1976) degrees in music. Her honors include the Bonifas Arts Center's Elinor Benedict Arts Achievement A ward for her support of the local arts community, and the Athena Award for Woman of the Year in Delta County."
