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Neese Remembers Late Mentor Through Music

November 7, 2022

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NEWBERRY — Newberry College piano professor Wanda Neese will perform a recital Nov. 13 in memory of her colleague and friend, Darr Wise, professor emeritus of music. The event will be held at 3 p.m. in the Alumni Music Center Recital Hall.

 

Wise taught piano and music theory and served as college organist and accompanist for 42 years. He retired in 1998 as the college’s longest-serving faculty member. His contributions reached beyond the classroom, including his commitment to exposing his students to great performing artists. Many of his former students went on to The Juilliard School, the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and Columbia University. In 2003, Wise was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, for his contributions to the arts. He passed away on Nov. 22, 2021, at the age of 92, in his hometown of Newberry.

 

Neese, a longtime member of the Newberry College faculty, said Wise helped begin her career as a professor and accompanist shortly after her graduation from Columbia College.

“My friendship with Darr has been a huge part of my life the past few years, but honestly, he has been a very important person in my life since I was 22 years old,” said Neese. “As soon as I came here, Darr was one of the people I gravitated to, because of his close friendship with my teacher, but also because I thought he was an absolutely fascinating person to have a conversation with.”

 

Neese said she and Wise bonded over music theory and learning from great pianists, notably Sergei Rachmaninoff. Wise maintained his passion for education until the end of his life, always finding time for learning and for passing along knowledge and great music to others.

 

“He never ever stopped learning,” Neese said. “It was a regular occurrence for me to come in to check on him at 10 o’clock at night and for him to tell me, ‘Have a seat. You’re getting ready to watch the video clip from the moment that Van Cliburn won the first Tchaikovsky Competition.’”

 

Neese helped care for Wise in the last 15 months of his life and it was then that their friendship grew the strongest. During these times, Neese would have “assigned practices” at his house and the two developed a “playlist” of their favorite piano pieces. She said these pieces form the foundation of the upcoming recital.

 

“I knew that when I played my next faculty recital, I would want to dedicate it to his memory,” she said. “The program includes a couple of other pieces that he had wanted me to learn. And then, of course, there are two or three pieces directly connected to him, that his former students will recognize.”

 

“He would consider that to be the best tribute that I could give him, and I would like for it to be a gift to his family and his former students,” she added.



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