Dr. Elmer R. White

BOONE - Dr. Elmer R. White of 170 Wintergreen Lane, Boone died Sunday, Jan. 4, 2004, at his residence. He was a member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Boone. He was born in Ashland, Ky., on March 29, 1936, to Viola Sparks White and Elmer R. White Sr. Dr. White was a graduate of Ashland High School in Ashland, Ky., and was an Eagle Scout. He was a member of the 202nd U.S. Army Band. Dr. White earned an A.B. degree in Music Education from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., in 1957. While at Marshall, he placed first in the Charleston, W.Va., Orchestra Concerto Competition and was featured soloist with the orchestra in a performance of the Haydn Trumpet Concerto. He also earned the distinction of being one of only four trumpet students selected nationally to be members of the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra in Lenox, Mass., the summer residence of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. There he studied with Roger Voisin, principal trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and played under internationally renowned orchestral conductors Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Charles Munch and Lucas Foss. He also performed with the acclaimed pianist Rudolf Sorkin at his summer Marlboro Music Festival. In 1958 he was chosen to perform with the American Wind Symphony in Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1959, Dr. White was awarded the MFA degree in Trumpet Performance from Ohio University, where he served as graduate assistant to Charles Minelli. That same year he was appointed professor of music and director of bands at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. From 1959 to 1963 he was a member of the Youngstown Philharmonic Orchestra. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Joan Lynn Bolsco, an oboist in the orchestra. They were married on June 3, 1961, at St. Dominic Catholic Church in Youngstown, Ohio. Dr. White accepted a position on the music faculty of Appalachian State Teachers College in 1963. He taught a wide variety of music classes and ensembles during a career that spanned more than 30 years. In 1972 he earned the EdD degree from Columbia University in New York City, where he conducted and co-authored several research studies and studied trumpet with Roy Stevens. As a free-lance trumpeter in New York City, he played with such groups as the Bob Crosby Bobcats and in back-up orchestras for Liberace, Helen Reddy and others. During his teaching career of 37 years at Appalachian State University, Dr. White distinguished himself as a trumpet teacher, performer, researcher, adjudicator and a mentor to hundreds of students. He established and conducted the Appalachian Wind Ensemble and directed the University Jazz Ensembles. He was appointed director of graduate studies in music and served on numerous university committees. Dr. White authored several research studies pertaining to trumpet tone production and behavioral modification in music, which were published in national and international research journals and presented papers at national music conventions. He was guest conductor and adjudicator at numerous high-school band concerts, music competitions and festivals throughout the Southeast. He and his wife performed together in many concerts, on and off campus, during their careers at Appalachian State University. They were also members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra for several years. Dr. White retired from Appalachian State University in 1995, at which time he was awarded the rank of professor emeritus. He continued teaching part-time until 2000. Following their retirement, the Whites established the largest endowed scholarship fund in the School of Music at Appalachian State University. Survivors include his wife of 42 years, Dr. Joan Lynn White; two sons, Allan White of Alaska and Dr. Marc White of Oklahoma; a sister, Ramona Sue Blanton and her husband, Charles, of Ashland, Ky.; three nephews and a niece and their spouses; and three aunts and an uncle, all of Ashland, Ky. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his eldest son, Elmer Russell White III. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 9, at Hampton Funeral Service in Boone. A funeral Mass will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Boone, with the Rev. Francis T. Connolly and the Rev. Robert Bond officiating. The body will lie in state at the church from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Entombment will follow at Mount Lawn Memorial Park and Gardens Mausoleum. The family will receive friends at a celebration of life luncheon following the service at the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on Bodenheimer Drive in Boone. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Elmer and Lynn White Wind Instrument Scholarship Fund, Hayes School of Music, Appalachian State University, P.O. Box 32096, Boone, NC 28608.