Robert Kent Mueller

Robert Kent Mueller, age 66, of Fayetteville, AR passed away on Thursday, March 6, 2025. Bob was born May 22, 1958, in Hankinson, North Dakota. He was preceded in death by his parents, Herbert Christian Mueller and Ruth Polley Mueller, and by his brother, Herb Mueller.
Bob graduated from Western High School in Bay City, Michigan. He attended Northern Michigan University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Music (piano) degree, with minors in Meteorology and German. At NMU, Bob received the Outstanding Pianist Award, and was later honored with an Outstanding Alumni Award. Bob earned a Master of Music in Composition degree, with an additional concentration in Orchestral Conducting from Bowling Green State University. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Bob joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas in 1988, where he conducted the University Symphony Orchestra and taught Music Composition and Music Theory. Over the course of his 37-year career as a professor, Bob touched the lives of thousands of students. He impacted hundreds more through his summer position at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, where he taught Composition and Theory for 15 summers. He was a gifted teacher who found great satisfaction in helping his students progress as performers, conductors, educators, and composers.
Bob was an accomplished composer, writing prolifically in many genres, including full symphonic programmatic works, vocal and instrumental chamber music, and sacred works. His music was performed by orchestras nationwide, including the Cincinnati, Omaha, Fort Smith, Billings, Bozeman, Jackson (MS), Lansing, Arkansas, and North Arkansas Symphonies. At the University of Arkansas, Bob's works were performed by the University Symphony Orchestra, the Wind Ensemble, the Percussion Ensemble, the Lyrique Quintette, and the Arkansas Brassworks. He received numerous commissions, and was widely published and performed. He produced three chamber music albums, most recently Dream Gardens, on the MSR Classics label.
Bob was composer-in-residence three times for the Fort Smith Symphony. He also served as guest composer-in-residence for several universities. He was the recipient of numerous awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). He was awarded an American Music Center grant, an individual artist grant from the Arkansas Arts Council, prizes from the Omaha, Lansing, Jackson and Cincinnati Symphonies, a Regional Emmy Award, a Silver Award in the Las Vegas Documentary Film Festival, and numerous other awards over the course of his distinguished career. In 2024, Bob and the University Symphony Orchestra received an Honorable Mention in the American Prize Ernst Bacon Award for the Performance of American Music for his composition "Satori," performed by the University Symphony Orchestra with his eldest daughter Tara Mueller as violin soloist.
Bob recently retired as the Principal Keyboard player for the Fort Smith Symphony after over 20 years, and he was the pianist for four albums released by the Fort Smith Symphony on the Naxos label. For several years he also held the Principal Keyboard positions in the Arkansas Philharmonic and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. He was also the Conductor for Opera Fayetteville for five years.
Bob served for 40 years as Music Director at three Lutheran churches, first at Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Cincinnati, then at Salem Lutheran Church in Springdale, and then at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville from 1998 to 2025. He taught himself to play the organ at his family's home church as he was growing up.
Bob was a modern-day Bach, writing most of the music that was sung and played by the chancel choir, by the band of shepherds, and by the handbell choir. He would frequently improvise at the organ based on a favorite hymn tune, and he left behind hundreds of original choral and handbell anthems.
On a lighter note, Bob had a passion for meteorology, avidly studying weather data and weather patterns on a daily basis. Family and friends far and wide relied on Bob to provide alerts for interesting or dangerous weather forecasts. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of roads and maps and relied exclusively on his sense of "dead reckoning" to navigate his way around the country. His ability to recognize patterns in math, music, and meteorological data was exceptional. He could synthesize raw data from disparate sources to form a meaningful conclusion, and would convey this to others in a fascinating and digestible manner.
Bob loved nothing more than spending time with his beloved family. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, and brother-in-law. He was deeply cherished by all his family.
Bob is survived by his wife, Theresa Delaplain; by his children, Tara Mueller, Erica Downs (married to Thomas Downs), Alex Mueller; by his grandchildren, Forrest Downs and River Downs; and by his siblings, Jon Mueller, Ruth Schroeder, Dev Schleben, Tim Mueller, and Bill Mueller.
A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, March 12 at 2:00 pm at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. Visitation will be Tuesday, March 11 from 6-8 pm at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.