Sam Minasian

Sam Minasian passed away Tuesday, July 29, 2008, in his home, having bravely fought cancer for more than 11 years. He was born in Philadelphia on December 8, 1928, one of two children of immigrant survivors of the Armenian genocide. The family moved to the south side of Chicago, where Sam grew up. He was concertmaster of his high school orchestra and won musical contests throughout Chicago. Sam entered Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where his high school violin teacher, Ruth Ray, a protégé of Leopold Auer, also taught at the time. He went on to graduate study at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Upon graduation from Eastman, Sam entered the U.S. Army and was the Base Photographer at the Sixth U.S. Army's command post at the Presidio in San Francisco. He won first place in the Army's TV Talent Patrol show in New York City in 1954. After the Army, Sam returned to Rochester to play in the Rochester Philharmonic. He met Mary Joyce Watkins, who was getting her graduate training in piano at Eastman. Sam and Joyce were married and moved to Iowa in 1959, where Sam was professor at Simpson College and later at his alma mater, Cornell College. In 1969, Sam and family moved to Springfield to join the music department of Drury College, and to assume the concertmaster position with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Sam taught strings and conducted the Drury orchestra for 26 years until retiring in 1995. He continued as concertmaster of the Symphony until retiring in 2000 after 31 years, almost half of the Symphony's 66-year existence at that time. Sam was credited with being a major influence in raising the Symphony's quality of performance and musicianship. One of Sam's most notable accomplishments in promoting the appreciation and involvement in music by children, was the creation of annual performances of Peter and the Wolf. Every year, thousands of Springfield and surrounding area third graders were brought to Drury college to attend concerts conducted by Sam and performed by Drury music and theater students. This Springfield tradition is now in its 30th year. Sam was preceded in death by his parents and by his brother, Ara. He is survived by his wife, Joyce of Springfield; son, Ara and his wife, Julia and grandchildren, Stefan and Lianne of Walnut Creek, Calif.; son, Jeff and his wife, Marissa and grandchildren, Zachariah and Elias of Springfield; daughter, Julie of Los Angeles, Calif.; sister-in-law, Lilian Minasian, of Chicago, Ill.; sister-in-law, Barbara Watkins, of Iuka, Ill.; and many nieces and nephews. Visitation is scheduled for Sunday evening, August 3, from 6 to 8 p.m., in Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home at 1947 East Seminole. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, August 4, in Stone Chapel (now air-conditioned!) on the Drury University campus. Memorial contributions may be made to The American Institute for Cancer Research or to The Springfield Symphony Association for a scholarship fund to be established in Sam's memory.