The OrangeLine Online

The OrangeLine Online, Vol. 2 Issue 1
January 12, 2004
An electronic newsletter for alumni and friends of West Virginia Wesleyan College
www.wvwc.edu

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Faculty Focus: Caroline Dees

Caroline Dees has been a member of the faculty at West Virginia Wesleyan for 35 years, and her passion for teaching and music remains undiminished.

Prior to joining the Wesleyan faculty in 1969, Dees had taught at the University of Kentucky and Georgetown College. Now an associate professor of music, she never imagined her stay at Wesleyan would last over three decades. “I thought I would move on after a few years; perhaps return home to Georgia. But I fell in love with the school and our students. Fortunately for my personal growth, there have been an astonishing number of artistic opportunities for me, for which I am very grateful.”

Dees, whose primary college responsibilities include supervising the music library, teaching voice, foreign language diction for singers, and the Opera Workshop, has seen many changes during her tenure. “Only two professors here when I arrived are left in the music department. Dr. Milburn retired this past summer, and Dr. Parsons has moved on to administration even though he continues to be active in the vocal music program. New buildings have been added during my time, and now we have the excitement of the new performing arts center. Not to say anything negative about Atkinson Auditorium, but I have always told my students that if they can put on a good show in Atkinson, they can do it anywhere.”

“There are so many ways Wesleyan’s music department has grown over the years. The number of faculty has increased. We had only five full-time teachers when I arrived. Since then that number has increased, plus we have 12 adjunct faculty. The computer and piano lab opens up all kinds of music technology possibilities. Many new performing groups have been created-- strings and percussion, the flute and sax ensembles, opera workshop, and the Concentus Vocum--which give our students opportunities that were unthinkable in the past. In co-operation with Dr. Larry Parsons, Opera Workshop became a January Term class offering for a number of years, and is now a regular curriculum component. Last Spring semester, I directed a full performance of Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas with cast members from the music department, assisted by the Clarksburg Madrigals as the chorus, dancers from the Music Theatre department, and area instrumentalists directed by Dr. Melody Meadows. This spring, the emphasis will be on scenes from Puccini’s La Boheme.”

Dees also points to the Wesleyan students as another reason why she has stayed at the college. “We have such a diverse group of students, and each of them is talented in a special way. Cut-throat competition is at a minimum because students pull for one another. Students who seek personal attention will find it here because we’re interested in them as individuals. Some very fine performers attend Wesleyan, and that adds to a feeling of fulfillment for me as a teacher. Helping any student fulfill his or her potential is a wonderful experience.”

The Wesleyan Department of Music is the only private college among the five West Virginia schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. “When a high school or transfer student is looking at Wesleyan as an option for their future, I believe a lot of them have heard we are a good music school,” remarked Dees. “If they visit the college and the music department, I am sure that view is reinforced.” Dees encourages former students to stay in touch with her and the music department. “Alumni are always welcome to send us their information, where they are and what they are doing. They can and should always let us know how they think we can improve.”

Raised in Atlanta, GA, professor Dees received her bachelor of arts degree at Tift College, completed her graduate work with an M.M. at the University of Kentucky, and earned the M.L.I.S. from the University of South Carolina. She also has studied and performed in Austria, Canada, Great Britain, Italy and Spain. She has been coached by several notable musicians, including Benita Valente, Dalton Baldwin, and Hans Peter Schilly. Among her domestic solo performances, soprano Dees can count appearances with the Charleston and West Virginia Symphonies, the Larry Parsons Chorale, the Cleveland Symphony, the Cincinnati Symphony, various community choruses and orchestras, Atlanta Theatre Under the Stars, and the West Virginia Wesleyan Concert Chorale.

Dees counts among her hobbies and interests research on women composers, directing the Buckhannon Choral Society, collecting fiction with a musical theme, growing roses and tomatoes. She loves cats, traveling, making music with friends, and reading science fiction. You can e-mail her at dees@wvwc.edu.

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