Graeme Cowen

Graeme McGregor Cowen was born to the parents Darthea and Robert Cowen in Summit, NJ on February 15, 1938. He began to study piano at a very young age with the gifted instructor Capitola Dickerson (lovingly known as “Cappie”) and growing up he was involved in baseball, track, All-State Chorus, Morristown Community Chorus, and was a member of Calvary Episcopal Church. He even had a role in his high school’s production of “Oklahoma.” During his senior year, he received a Second Alternate Appointment to the United States Academy at West Point for the fall of 1956. However, after graduating from Summit High School, he opted to attend Penn State University where he studied Music Education and was a top collegiate athlete in Gymnastics. He graduated from Penn State with a B.A. of Science in Music Education in 1960 and from there he went on to Indiana University to pursue his Masters degree. While there, he was the Chorus Master for the IU Opera Theater and graduated from IU “With Distinction” with his Master of Music degree in 1970.

He began teaching at the University of Northern Iowa in 1976. While at UNI he completed his Doctorate of Music degree in Choral Conducting also through Indiana University. He was promoted to Associate Professor of Music in 1983 and shortly thereafter he was the very first recipient of the Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award in the field of choral music by the American Choral Directors Association.

After 11 years at UNI, he went on to teach in many colleges and universities and conducted several choral ensembles and church choirs. After leaving UNI in 1987, he was the conductor for Singing City from 1987-1994 (Philadelphia, PA), and conductor of the San Diego Master Chorale from 1995-1998 (San Diego, CA). His later years included several interim positions that took him from Louisiana to Wisconsin to Ohio and more.

In 2003, he completed his International Baccalaureate Teacher Training in Music at the United Nations International School in New York which led to a teaching position as a Choral Teacher at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India.

His experience in New Delhi and Nepal was lifechanging for him. Following the completion of the interim position, he traveled back to Nepal every year and would stay for weeks, sometimes even months at a time. He became very close to two families and supported them in many ways. It was also during this time that he became the Director of Music for the First Congregational Church in Kalamazoo, MI, a position he held for 7 years. Kalamazoo would become his home and his adopted family, Joe and Corlyn Schreck, who had been students of his back at UNI in the mid 80s, would become his final caretakers.

He loved to travel and spent time biking through the United Kingdom. He also loved to cook and there were many dinners entertaining “The Dorks” over the years and watching a baseball game or enjoying a good glass of wine or scotch.

Graeme was a very gifted musician and influenced and shaped the lives and careers of many singers over the years. He was known for his outstanding musicianship, exacting expectations of his choirs and students, and his intense love of music. Every choir he worked with was elevated to a new level of mastery of the choral music world. He was a complicated soul but lived his life on his own terms. Patricia Hay, the San Diego Master Chorale Historian, recently wrote on their social media a tribute titled “Dr. Graeme Cowen, A Remembrance” : “The singers were impressed by his musicality, knowledge, and efficient conducting. He reminded many of Robert Shaw with his shock of white hair, stocky stature, and no-nonsense use of rehearsal time. He knew what he wanted to hear and showed us how to deliver it.“

Indeed, he did. Rest in peace dear friend.

A service will be held Saturday, February 15, at 11 AM at First Congregational Church, 345 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo. Memorials can be sent to the Music Program of the Worship Arts Ministry at First Congregational Church of Kalamazoo. Celebrate Graeme’s life online by sharing favorite stories and photos on his dedicated web page at BetzlerLifeStory.com. Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes, 6080 Stadium Drive, Kalamazoo (269) 375-2900.