Twenty-five years ago, then-School of Music Dean Jim Woodward charged his new hire University Band Director Bobby Adams with building Stetson’s instrumental program and growing the school. It grew all right – from 130 music majors to 200, and from 25 students who majored in a band instrument to 100. Adams is credited with increasing the band presence from 19 percent to nearly 50 percent of the total music-student population.

Adams grew up in the small town of Wingo, Ky., population 300, in the rural, western part of the state. With a community of mostly farmers and small merchants, opportunities for musical training were limited, at best.

“Like so many poor Kentuckians, my dad moved our family to Detroit just prior to World War II for work,” Adams said.

“When we returned to the Kentucky farm after the war, we had no running water and no electricity,” he said. “Mother was kept busy tending to four sons, keeping the house and maintaining the garden. She told me that every night, from age 4 to 6, I would sit patiently waiting my piano lesson. Even though she felt so tired, she would take the time to teach me on our ‘piano’ – a flat piece of cardboard drawn to look exactly as a piano keyboard.”

“Bobby gives so much credit to his mother,” said his wife, Oboe Professor Ann Adams. “She played a huge role in his pursuit of music education and taking up the cornet in band when he enrolled at Mayfield High School. This is where his formal musical education began.”

Adams graduated from Morehead State University in 1962 with his undergraduate degree in Music Education. He then earned the Master of Music Education degree from Murray State University in 1969, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Education from Florida State University in 1994.

A member of the Stetson University faculty since 1987, Adams conducts the University Symphonic Band and teaches Advanced Instrumental Conducting and courses in Music Education. Prior to his appointment at Stetson, Adams taught in the public schools of Indiana and Florida for 25 years.

He frequently writes and lectures on topics such as the emotional response to music, the psychology of performance, the evaluation of music, aspects of rehearsal, magic in music, the business of professional organizations and various other aspects of music education. His articles have appeared in The Journal of Band Research, The Newsletter of the American Bandmasters Association (ABA), The National Band Association Journal and The Florida Music Director.

Adams was inducted into the Florida Bandmasters Association (FBA) Hall of Fame and the FBA Roll of Distinction, making him the only person to be inducted into both. In 2004, he was also named to the Florida Music Educators Hall of Fame.

There are many young budding musicians, protégés of Dr. Bobby Adams, veteran music educators and mentors whom Adams has influenced greatly. Each one, in turn, is teaching young people today, inspiring and educating future generations of musicians.

“I have always enjoyed listening to music,” said Susan Morden ’07. “When Dr. Adams started the recording Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 1, performed by Martha Argerich, and began describing what he heard, it opened my ears to so much more than what I was listening to before. I had never heard someone describe music with so much love and excitement and enthusiasm. That has become one of my go-to pieces with my band students ever since.”

“Dr. Adams always supports his students and provides assistance in placing them in their first jobs,” said Douglas Phillips ’99. “He helped me obtain my first job as a high school band director and has always been a sounding board and advisor in every career decision I’ve made.”

“Magic would happen in rehearsals,” said Stephanie Korcheck, Bayshore High School graduate of 1979. “We’d get goose bumps when we performed at halftime in high school. Even the opposing team would applaud.”

“When I found out that, as a Stetson graduate, I wouldn’t be able to get back into the University Band,” said Charles Watford ’92, band director, Dr. Phillips High School for the Performing Arts in Orlando, “I helped convince Dr. Adams of the need to establish Southern Winds.” Established in 2001, Southern Winds is an adult ensemble made up of Stetson faculty, former students, band directors and other professional musicians. The group performs on a regular basis for the FBA Hall of Fame, summer conventions and Roll of Distinction concerts.

“I consider Bobby Adams to be one of the best collegiate band directors in the country,” said Woodward. “Bobby is one of those rare teachers who has his own vision of the responsibility of a teacher. To see his success, one needs only to review the huge number of successful music teachers in the state and beyond who have studied under him and played in his bands.”

“Dr. Bobby Adams has worked his magic that has become illustrative of the music program at Stetson University: afabulous music making,” said School of Music Dean Jean West. “We, in the School of Music, count him as one of the legacy builders of our program’s excellence and distinction.”

To honor his 25th year at Stetson University and his 50th year as a music educator, the Bobby L. Adams Scholarship fund has been established. This is a meaningful way for family, friends and colleagues to pay tribute to his contribution to music education and his unique ability to touch and shape lives of many people through his distinctive teaching and mentoring.

“There is no better way to honor a Stetson Music faculty member,” said wife Ann. “He has served as president to many organizations (the Florida Bandmasters Association; the Music Educators National Conference Southern Division; and the College Band Directors Association Southern Division), including the largest band organization in the world – the National Band Association. His exceptional work and dedication have helped bring great attention to Stetson and have impacted the lives of so many students.” 

To contribute to the Bobby Adams Scholarship, visit stetson.edu/give or call the Office of Development at (386) 822-7455.

By Mary Anne Rogers, Stetson University Marketing

Originally published in SU Magazine.