Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Friday, November 18, 2011 at 06:01:47 :
Tiburon/Belvedere Ebb Tide
Marin Scope
Ross Valley Reporter
Twin Cities Times
Mill Valley Herald
San Rafael/Terra Linda News Pointer
February 12-February 18, 2002
Marin County loses its ‘Pied Piper of Music’
Barry Mineah of Fairfax, a founding teacher of Marin Country Day School, who headed the school’s performing arts department for 37 years and performed on Marin stages in a variety of roles, died Saturday, Feb. 2 at Marin General Hospital after heart surgery. Mr. Mineah was 75.
Referred to for many years as the “Pied Pier of Marin Music,” Mr. Mineah’s influence on thousands of children he taught is legendary.
In a lifetime filled with artistic and personal accomplishment, his greatest contribution to the people of Marin and San Francisco was his unshakable conviction that everyone has the ability to sing and act regardless of degree.
His ability to instill confidence and inspire love while achieving near professional results from his childrens’ choruses and companies earned him a place in the Marin music community.
His talent as a teacher was recognized by Barbara Boxer in 1984 with a Congressional Recognition Award and in 1985, he was recognized by Assemblyman Bill Filante with the Schoolmaster of the Year Award from the Schoolmasters Club of California.
In 1974, he told a “San Francisco Examiner” reporter: “I cannot afford the luxury of believing they (students) can’t produce. I simply assume that they can. There is a philosophy of teaching which says, they never do anything wrong, but they can always do better.”
Mineah began his long career in music and theater arts at the age of 7 in St. Louis when he took up the saxophone as his first instrument. At age 8, he began a 13-year career with Columbia Broadcasting Systems as a child radio actor, working with several Hollywood luminaries including Orson Wells and Vincent Price.
His radio career culminated in Hollywood with a role in the popular program, “A Date With Judy” in 1945. Throughout his radio career, Mineah was a mainstay actor in both the community and professional theater circuit in St. Louis.
When he was 11, he took up the piano simply because he wanted to learn Rachmaninoff’s “Prelude in C Minor” … it was a passion that became his life’s work. Although he only briefly realized the goal of becoming a concert pianist as a soloist with the College of Marin Orchestra, he shared his gift with countless students over his 52-year career as a teacher, right up until the week before he died.
After serving in the Navy, Mr. Mineah moved to Marin County where he worked as a piano teacher and choir director at Church of Our Savior in Mill Valley and launched the Mill Valley Light Opera Company, directing, producing and starring in Gilbert & Sullivan operettas.
He met his bride-to-be, Dianne Paysen after casting her as the female lead in the company’s first production, “Trial by Jury.” He played the male lead and ended up marrying her.
In 1956, he was one of a small group of teachers who were brought together by enterprising Marin and San Francisco parents, looking for a way to educate their children with an emphasis on the arts.
Marin Country Day School was born in a field of tents where Mr. Mineah established and headed the performing arts department, recognized primarily for the talent, enthusiasm and discipline of its founder.
Mr. Mineah found time to be involved in many community projects.
Among his many involvements, he was choirmaster of Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Mill Valley, St. Paul’s Church in San Rafael and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco; choral director of the Katharine Branson School in Ross; director of the Children’s Superkids Wesley Publishing Company and the Muic or Minors program sponsored by the Marin Symphony; and co-chair of the Gala Performance of the Imagination Celebration for Marin County.
After his retirement, Mr. Mineah continued to participate in the Marin performing arts and educational communities as a performer, piano teacher and teacher emeritus at Marin Country Day School.
He served on the board of the Marin Symphony and as president of Marin Music Chest, an organization which gives grants to promising young musicians.
He also directed and produced musical revues at St. Stephen’s Church in Belvedere for the last several years. His most recent thearical role was as Mr. Sowerberry in the 2001 Mountain Play production of “Oliver!,” where he shared the stage with his grandson, Ryan Naumann, who played the Artful Dodger.
Mr. Mineah is survived by his daughter, Kristin Mineah of Sausalito; his son, Mark Mineah of Vallejo; grandson, Ryan Naumann of Sausalito; and granddaughters, Amanda and Jacleen Mineah of San Jose. His wife, Dianne, preceded him in death.
The family prefers memorial contributions to Marin Music Chest, St. Stephen’s Church, Marin Country Day School or the Marin Symphony.
A memorial reception will be held Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 4:30 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Church in Belvedere.
|
powered by SpudBoard |