A memorial service celebrating the life and honoring the career of Fred Sturm, Kimberly-Clark Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies and Improvisational Music at Lawrence University, will be held Saturday, Nov. 15 at 10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel. A reception will be held in the Warch Campus Center following the service. Both events are open to the public.
The service also will be webcast via livestream.
Sturm died Aug. 24 at his home in De Pere at the age of 63 following a long and courageous battle with cancer.
A nationally recognized jazz educator and an award-winning composer, Sturm spent 26 years as a member of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music faculty spanning two different teaching stints (1977-91; 2002-14). In between, he taught at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., where he was the chair of the jazz studies and contemporary media department.
A 1973 Lawrence graduate, Sturm was a beloved mentor to hundreds, if not thousands, of aspiring musicians. The student ensembles he directed were recognized with nine Downbeat awards, widely considered among the highest music honors in the field of jazz education. Downbeat honored Sturm himself with its Jazz Education Achievement Award in 2010.
Read more about Prof. Sturm’s amazing career at Lawrence.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
