ESU announces faculty award recipient
ESU Media Relations
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The faculty brass ensemble that heralds Emporia State University’s winter commencement will be without one of its familiar faces this time around.
Gary Ziek won’t be skipping the ceremony this season. Instead of a trumpet or a conductor’s baton, Ziek will be wielding the ceremonial mace that signifies him as the recipient of ESU’s 2008 Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor Award.
Ziek’s responsibilities will include leading the university’s faculty into Emporia’s William Lindsay White Auditorium, the site of ESU’s Winter Commencement at 10 a.m. Saturday.
He will also deliver the winter commencement address to graduates.
“The title of my speech is ‘The Pursuit of Happiness.’ I’ll be speaking to our graduates about what constitutes a happy and fulfilled life,” Ziek said, offering a preview of his address.
Ziek, a professor of music at ESU since 1995, is the 30th in a series of instructors to earn what is considered the university’s highest faculty honor. An accomplished composer, arranger and trumpet performer, he conducts ESU’s Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble. He also teaches the trumpet students and the Advanced Conducting course for instrumentalists.
The award is named after the late Roe R. Cross, a banker and city official from Council Grove who left part of his estate to support ESU. Since 1979, the award has been given annually to a professor who exhibits a broad interest in excellent education through teaching, professional activities, fostering an intellectual atmosphere, service to ESU outside the classroom, and mentoring students.
The spirit of a Roe R. Cross award recipient can best be summed up by a look at Ziek’s schedule during a recent week.
“I played in an ESU orchestra concert on Tuesday, directed the Wind Ensemble concert on Thursday, drove to Manhattan on Friday and directed a District Band festival Saturday, drove back to Emporia and played at the Kansas Chamber Opera Saturday night, and then played with the orchestra and choir on Sunday,” Ziek noted.
“I think it’s important for teachers to practice what they preach,” explained Ziek. “For me, that includes maintaining my conducting, producing quality ensembles, and continuing to hone my performance skills.”
Somewhere in all that, Ziek still finds time to watch his son grow up. He and his wife, Terrisa, a lecturer in ESU’s Music Department and talented horn performer, have a 6-year old son, Benjamin.
“Tess teaches four doors down the hall. We’re a fortunate couple in that we really like working together,” he laughed.
Ziek earned a doctor of musical arts degree from Michigan State University. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army and was a member of the Continental Army Band at Fort Monroe, Va.
Ziek has made over 70 appearances at events outside his ESU responsibilities, serving as a guest conductor, assisting at clinics and adjudicating high school music festivals.
His ESU ensembles are frequently chosen for performances at the Kansas Music Educators Association convention. The Jazz Ensemble performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2004 in Montreux, Switzerland.
Some of his recent compositions have been performed by ensembles in Korea, Singapore, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands and in Taiwan by the National Symphony of Taiwan.
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
Posted by klera (anonymous) on December 18, 2008 at 7:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ziek seems deserving of this honor.
However, I find it odd that a direct press release has been printed. The line between public relations and journalism seems a bit blurred. There is no doubt the subject matter here is interesting, but can we read some original reporting with zero spin? Is this a trend in papers across the country, or am I just old fashioned?
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)