Class Notes

We were sorry to learn of the death of Rebecca “Becky” Rae Reames on May 22, 2017. Becky was associate Professor for the Crane School of Music. She is survived by sisters Ronda M. Reames of Staunton and Diane R. Bates of Free Union; her nephew Joshua M. Bates of Rockbridge Baths, Virginia; and her honorary sister, Mary Lawrence Welliver, who supported Rebecca tirelessly through her four-year cancer battle. In addition to her beloved cousins, friends, and colleagues, Rebecca leaves behind hundreds of music educators across the country who were inspired by her teaching and are using techniques and approaches they learned from her with their own students. Dr. Reames’ legacy survives her. After graduating from Mary Washington College and teaching middle and high school music in Prince William County, Rebecca earned a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Education/Choral Conducting from Florida State University. After teaching at the University of Georgia, Dr. Reames was hired at the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1996 as an Assistant Professor of Choral Conducting in The Crane School of Music and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2000. For the past 21 years she taught courses in music education and conducting, plus conducted choirs, one being the Phoenix Club, a women’s chorus and the oldest choral group on campus, originally founded in 1894 by Julia E. Crane. Her touring choirs performed internationally.