Alumni and friends recognize “Consummate” Disselhorst
After thirty-eight years of teaching at the University of Iowa, “That Professor from Iowa”1 decided that 2008 was the year to retire. To help Delbert Disselhorst celebrate this occasion, over 130 of his current students, alumni, colleagues and friends gathered in Iowa City on February 29 and March 1 for a weekend of festivities including a series of recitals that actually began on the preceding Wednesday, February 27, with a noontime recital given by current students. Han Mi Kang, Julia Howell, Matt Palisch, and Michael Davidson presented the music of Bach, Widor, Schumann, and Messiaen on the new Casavant Opus 3867 (II/29) at the Congregational United Church of Christ. On Friday evening, February 29, Dr. Disselhorst performed an all-Bach program (from memory) for a large and enthusiastic crowd of over 500 people. A reception followed in the lobby of Clapp Recital Hall.
The retirement activities continued on Saturday with two recitals on the Clapp Recital Hall Casavant Opus 3105 (1971, designed by Lawrence Phelps). The first recital was given by alumni including Ruth Hurlburt, Gregory Peterson, John Sebolt, Roy Carroll, Christiaan Teeuwsen, Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, Mary Sebolt, Rudy Zuiderveld, David Henning, Gerhild Krapf (whose father, Gerhard, hired Disselhorst in 1970), and Brett Wolgast. Brett Wolgast had the honor of playing the world premiere of Fantasia on Sine Nomine by Craig Phillips, commissioned for this occasion by Delbert’s many friends, alumni, and colleagues. The recital concluded with everyone singing the hymn “For All the Saints” that the commissioned piece was based on, accompanied by some remarkable hymn playing by graduate student Chad Fothergill.
The second recital of the afternoon was given by colleagues of Disselhorst, including Robert Triplett, Craig Cramer, Larry Smith, William Kuhlmann, John Ditto, and John Chappell Stowe. University of Iowa colleague Mark Weiger (oboe) also performed, collaborating with Larry Smith on a piece by Iowa composer Alice Jordan. A very special gift in honor of Disselhorst’s retirement was a wall sculpture for the Krapf Organ Studio, which was unveiled on Saturday afternoon between the alumni and colleague recitals. This sculpture, given by an anonymous benefactor, was created by Iowa artist Dale Merrill.
The weekend concluded with a gala reception and banquet held in the Levitt Center on the University of Iowa campus. The entire weekend was a huge success, thanks in large part to the current organ students who were actively involved with the planning and execution of all the events. The retirement planning committee included alumnus and colleague Brett Wolgast, alumna Ruth Hurlburt, graduate student Chad Fothergill, and friend Bill Dickinson.
—William Dickinson
