Local educator, musician dies, remembered as Beloit’s music man Eugene Bohrnstedt is being remembered as Beloit’s music man. He was a music teacher for 40 years in local schools, was involved in the Beloit-Janesville Symphony and generally influenced many budding musicians. After graduating from LaCrosse High School in 1936 he went on to attend classes at Northwestern University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music in 1940, majoring in voice and minoring in piano, and a master’s of music degree in 1943. Bohrnstedt came to Beloit in 1943, after teaching band, orchestra and chorus in Ridge Farm, Ill. “He loved it,” said Ingrid Thompson, Bohrnstedt’s daughter. Thompson said music was always a part of her life, and she took piano lessons from Henry DeBruyne, another music icon in Beloit who passed away last Friday. “He had two passions. One was music and the other was church,” Thompson said about her father. Bohrnstedt died Friday, Dec. 5, just two days after his wife. Cheryl Licary, choir director for Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, said Bohrnstedt was planning on singing and playing piano at his wife’s funeral services. Licary, who knew Bohrnstedt since the mid-1960s, described him as a selfless person. “He was a warm person. In this job, the focus isn’t on you, it’s on the students and he was proud of their accomplishments,” said Licary. Bohrnstedt played the timpani, a drum with deep variable pitch. Bohrnstedt was heavily involved in the Beloit community. He was a part of then Beloit-Janesville Symphony for more than 50 years, the Beloit City Band and numerous other organizations. Richard Baller, a friend and colleague of Bohrnstedt, said he remembers ‘Gene’ as always having a peanut butter sandwich for lunch and a five-cereral combination ‘Lazy Susan’ at breakfast. Mostly though, he remembers ‘Gene’s’ impact on his life during his time with the “I would classify him as one of my heroes,” said Baller, who worked with him at the Beloit-Janesville Symphony. Baller and Bohrnstedt were a part of the team which established a music curriculum for the Beloit Memorial School District, where he worked from 1943 until retiring in 1983. Baller described Bohrnstedt as giving, not just of his time, but of himself. “You don’t coach football if you don’t want to win and band directors are the same as a profession,” Baller said. Baller continued to say, Bohrnstedt was different. “Gene was one of the few band directors I knew that didn’t have an ego,” Baller said. Famed trumpet player Tony Scodwell was in Bohrnstedt’s band class at Lincoln Junior High School during the late 1950s. “I’m sitting in his band and I could read (music) heads or tails in front of me,” Scodwell said. “He gracefully guided me in the right direction musically.” Scodwell said two years ago while performing a concert at Beloit College, he noticed Bohrnstedt in the audience. “He was beaming and so was I,” Scodwell said. “It was very meaningful that he was there.” Many who describe Bohrnstedt mention the hole he has left. There has been an outpouring of Facebook comments from former students and colleagues. The family will hold funeral services on Dec. 20, with information to be printed in the Daily News at a later date.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 15:02:01 +0000
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