Drexel University Athletics
Band Director Dr. Myron "Mike" Moss Passes Away
7/6/2012 2:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Drexel Athletics
PHILADELPHIA—Drexel University's Dr. Myron D. Moss, beloved music program director and associate professor at Drexel's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, passed away suddenly on July 2 after suffering a massive heart attack. Referred to as “Mike” by colleagues, friends and family, he was 60. Dr. Moss was the director of the Drexel Pep Band, which performed at all home men's and women's basketball games as well as other Drexel athletic events throughout the year.
Dr. Moss was a nationally known scholar for his work on African-American composers, specifically related to band repertoire. Earlier this year, he conducted an outstanding performance at the Kimmel Center of the Drexel Concert Band playing music by African-American composers.
“Mike was a master teacher and a talented orchestra and band conductor,” said Allen Sabinson, dean of Drexel's Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. “He was a charismatic man who touched the lives of many students and colleagues at Drexel.”
Before coming to Drexel, he was music department chair and director of bands at Southern Connecticut State University. He was an invited guest conductor at Yale, the Hartt School and the University of Michigan.
Moss conducted the Keystone Winds' CD “Out of the Depths” devoted to works by Black composers. His University of Michigan Ph.D. dissertation, “Concert Band Music by African-American Composers, 1927-1998,” won the Fritz Thelen Award for the best doctoral dissertation worldwide on a concert band music subject written between 1999 and 2005. His band arrangement of Gabriel Fauré's Chant Funéraire was recorded by the University of North Texas Wind Ensemble on a 2006 GIA release and has been played by elite groups across the country.
Mike is survived by his parents, Sonya Kleider and Robert I. Moss; his sister Aleta McClelland; and nephews Daniel and Kian.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in memory of Dr. Moss be made for the benefit of the Music Program, Department of Performing Arts, Westphal College, Drexel University. Checks should be made payable to Drexel University and note Dr. Moss-Music Program on the memo line. They should be mailed to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Dr. Moss was a nationally known scholar for his work on African-American composers, specifically related to band repertoire. Earlier this year, he conducted an outstanding performance at the Kimmel Center of the Drexel Concert Band playing music by African-American composers.
“Mike was a master teacher and a talented orchestra and band conductor,” said Allen Sabinson, dean of Drexel's Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. “He was a charismatic man who touched the lives of many students and colleagues at Drexel.”
Before coming to Drexel, he was music department chair and director of bands at Southern Connecticut State University. He was an invited guest conductor at Yale, the Hartt School and the University of Michigan.
Moss conducted the Keystone Winds' CD “Out of the Depths” devoted to works by Black composers. His University of Michigan Ph.D. dissertation, “Concert Band Music by African-American Composers, 1927-1998,” won the Fritz Thelen Award for the best doctoral dissertation worldwide on a concert band music subject written between 1999 and 2005. His band arrangement of Gabriel Fauré's Chant Funéraire was recorded by the University of North Texas Wind Ensemble on a 2006 GIA release and has been played by elite groups across the country.
Mike is survived by his parents, Sonya Kleider and Robert I. Moss; his sister Aleta McClelland; and nephews Daniel and Kian.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in memory of Dr. Moss be made for the benefit of the Music Program, Department of Performing Arts, Westphal College, Drexel University. Checks should be made payable to Drexel University and note Dr. Moss-Music Program on the memo line. They should be mailed to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
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