Meet Dr. Stephen Town

Dr. Stephen Town, professor of music, joined the Northwest faculty in 1986 after attending college in his native Texas and earning a doctorate at Indiana University. A teacher, conductor, performer, author and researcher, Town is the first Department of Music faculty member to be invited to conduct at Carnegie Hall. In addition to teaching and conducting research, Town also leads the Tower Choir, the University's premier vocal ensemble.

What is your favorite thing to do on a weekend afternoon?

I love to read -- biography, history and mysteries -- and spend time with my wife, Denise, who is the finance director for the city of Maryville. Both of us love cats, and we have three. They are a major form of entertainment.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

Every term I would hire an orchestra to perform a choral-orchestral work with our choral students. For my valedictory conducting concert, I would program “Intimations of Immortality” (to the words of William Wordsworth) by Gerald Finzi. Before that, however, my life would continue in much the same pattern, since I love teaching, researching, writing and making music.

Do you speak any other languages?

I speak a patois of French, German, Italian and Spanish. Alas, I am fluent in none of them.

What is the most powerful historical event you remember or have witnessed?

A difficult question, indeed, as there have been several. I remember the assassination of President Kennedy, a profoundly shocking moment in the history of our nation. More recently, the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City was a deeply disturbing event.

What is your favorite time of the year, and why?

Springtime, for I love the sun, the long, placid days, and the recrudescence of life.

If you could teach one thing to today’s college students, what would it be?

Look for those “moments-made-eternal” and accept nothing less than your best effort. Continue to try until you succeed.

What is your favorite author and/or book?

C. S. Lewis and Thomas Merton are favorite authors; and "A Severe Mercy" by Sheldon Vanaukan remains a book of significance to me.

Where would you like to retire?

I have my eye on a secret and secluded place in the Cotswolds of England.

What famous people have you met, if any? How did you meet them?

Mrs. Ursula Vaughan Williams, the wife of the great English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. As the Eighth Ralph Vaughan Williams Research Fellow, given by the Carthusian Trust of the United Kingdom, I resided at Charterhouse (in Godalming, England), where the composer was schooled as a boy. As a result of this fellowship and residency, I was invited to dine at the London home of Mrs. Vaughan Williams, a truly grand dame and invigorating intellectual.

What is on your desk?

CDs (so much music to listen to, so little time) and photographs of my family and acquaintances.

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Northwest Missouri State University

Meet Dr. Stephen Town