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Planned giving |
For Love, preserving a legacy
Ross Hastings, a composer, and his wife, Marion, were deeply committed to each other and to UW-Eau Claire. Ross and The University Symphony Band, then under the direction of Donald S. George, began a relationship in 1981 when the American composer heard recordings the band had made for Bourne Publishing Co. In the years that followed, Ross arranged many pieces for the music department and provided many original scores for the university band and orchestra to perform. Ross was commissioned by the university to write a Christmas piece to involve the Symphony Band, Symphony Orchestra and all the choral ensembles. "The Joy of Christmas" was premiered on Dec. 9, 1989 at UW-Eau Claire's annual Holiday Concert and has been performed at each Holiday Concert since. Ross died July 5, 1991, at which time Marion and Ross' daughter, Verdi Morley, donated all his works to the UW-Eau Claire music program. The Ross Hasting Music Library was established in the Haas Fine Arts Building and a collection of his musical scores, audiotapes, correspondence and photographs was housed in the Special Collections and Archives of McIntyre Library. Additional information about Ross Hastings and the Ross Hastings Collection can be found at the Ross Hastings Web site www.uwec.edu/Library/archives/exhibits/hastings/index.htm Marion's love of Ross was undying and she continued to send interesting artifacts to the special collection after Ross' death, Patterson said. Marion also attended a memorial concert, which was held May 19, 1998, to dedicate the library and special collection. A display case of artifacts from Ross' life also was dedicated and remains open to viewing in the UW-Eau Claire music and theatre department. Marion continued to give gifts to support the Ross Hasting Music Library Fund throughout her life. Marion died Jan. 16, 2007, but her dedication to preserving Ross' memory is continuing through a $50,000 gift from her estate to endow the Ross Hastings Memorial Music Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to an outstanding UW-Eau Claire student majoring in the music composition program. The student must demonstrate skill and promise in the field of music arranging. The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to students who are sophomores or above and may be renewed for up to three years as long as the recipient maintains progress toward the degree and continues to demonstrate skill and growth in the academic program.
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