One constancy for Iowa centenarian is his music

The University's sesquicentennial year will be memorable, especially for one University of Iowa professor: he recollects the University's centennial year in 1946 and is celebrating a centennial of his own. Charles Righter, professor emeritus of music, turned 100 on May 23.

Before coming to Iowa, Righter was the supervisor of instrumental music in the Lincoln, Neb., public schools, where he taught himself to play every instrument and conducted the winning entry in the first national high school orchestra contest, which was held in Iowa City in the mid-1930s.

His efforts were noticed by the University, and he was recruited to join the faculty in 1937.

Righter has seen many changes since then. His early memories include a campus that was largely located on the east side of the river and musical performances in the only space large enough to hold a crowd-the IMU Ballroom.
Charles Righter, a retired University music professor, practices the violin every day in his Manville Heights home.
The constant throughout his years at Iowa has been music. Righter has performed and conducted music, educated music teachers, and managed a musical performance series. In addition he spent ten years as an assistant to then-University President Virgil M. Hancher.

As a faculty member, his early duties included managing the All-State Orchestra, Chorus, and Band programs held at the University during the summer and recruiting music students for the School of Music from schools across the state. He also taught a course for public school music educators.
Although he claims that orchestras were more to his liking, the department head had prior claim to the University orchestra, so Righter became the manager and conductor of the University Bands, a position he held for 17 years.

George Baldwin, currently of Cedar Rapids and still a musician, was one of Righter's band members from 1938 to 1942. He remembers Righter as "a man who knew what he wanted out of us, but was a gentleman in every way."

"When we'd go out on the field to play he'd say, 'Remember, if you guys miss it, 50,000 people will know,' " Baldwin remembers with a laugh. The two have remained in contact, and Baldwin was one of five early band members who attended Righter's 100th birthday celebration with more than 100 other family members and friends.

During Righter's tenure as band conductor, Iowa native Meredith Willson, the creator of the musical The Music Man, was recruited to write a spirited tune for the University.

"The pep songs we had had lost their pep," Righter says. His opinion was solicited when Willson finished his first composition.

"It was a dreary thing; no good for anything," he says. Righter made up a list of 10 or 12 items a good song should have, including a specific type of introduction, words that were easy to remember-and after two or three attempts, the result was "The Iowa Fight Song."

"Willson adhered so clearly to my suggestions that the song was perfect for our purposes," says Righter, who arranged the band accompaniment.

One of Righter's fondest memories of his years at the University are the 25 years he spent as the manager of the Concert Course-a program that brought in musicians for performances. Working with New York agents and managers, Righter was responsible for arranging and publicizing the performances of 12-15 performing artists each year.

"It was a big job to sell these events," says Righter, who cites the "enormous fees" of $1,000-2,000 charged by such well-known performers as violinist Jascha Heifetz. "But we had no duds on those programs."

The events were held in the IMU, the only place large enough to hold a crowd in the days before Hancher Auditorium.

After his retirement, Righter performed in string quartets for 18 years. Despite waning eyesight and hearing, he continues to play his violin, which sits in its open case in the living room of his Manville Heights home.

Though many changes have occurred, one thing that remains constant, Righter feels, is the significance of music in the life of University students. He recently attended a reunion of former University musicians who came from all over the country to participate. Although some were no longer active in music, Righter says, their University experience left them all with a fine background in the understanding and appreciation of music.

"The University's varied music program makes a real contribution to the 'total person' that we talk about developing," he says. "There's no question about the importance of music."

by Linzee Kull McCray