Grand piano donated by former professor honors his legacy, benefits OHIO students
Dr. Richard Wetzel, who passed away in 2023, was a Professor Emeritus of Music History and Literature in the School of Music at Ohio University, where he taught for more than 50 years.
Sophia Rooksberry, HTC ‘26 | October 25, 2024
Share:
When Dr. Richard Wetzel passed away in December of 2023 he left behind an incomparable legacy within the Ohio University School of Music, as well as a generous donation in the form of his personal piano. The 9-foot Gotrian-Steinweg concert grand piano now resides in a special place in Glidden Hall.
“Dr. Richard Wetzel was a faculty member here since 1970,” said Christopher Purdy, the piano technician for the School of Music in the Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts. “He taught in the same studio almost from the time this building was built, and so his spirit lives in that room.”
A dedication ceremony was held Sept. 28, in Wetzel’s former studio with many members of the Wetzel family (who are also alumni) in attendance for Homecoming.
During the ceremony, a short piece that Wetzel wrote in honor of another former faculty member, Richard Syracuse, was played by senior piano major Alejandro Orta, the recipient of the Richard Syracuse scholarship for pianists. Wetzel composed this piece on the very piano being donated and played by Orta for the family in attendance.
Ohio University student Alejandro Orta plays a piece written by Dr. Richard Wetzel during the dedication ceremony.
Family members and friends of Dr. Richard Wetzel gathered together on Sept. 28 for the dedication ceremony in Glidden Hall at Ohio University.
The donation will continue to reside in this studio alongside another piano, allowing pianists and accompanists to use the space collaboratively.
“There’s a lot of personal significance in having that piano in that room,” Purdy said. “Alumni from decades ago…come through the building and say, ‘Oh, this was Dr. Wetzel’s studio,’ and when you look in the window you see his piano and his portrait on the wall.”
Another facet of his legacy is the Richard and Arlene Wetzel Music Scholarship, established after his retirement in 2020 and allotted to students pursuing degrees in the School of Music.
“Donations such as this are very important to us and help sustain this University, they support the students and faculty,” Purdy said. “High end pianos such as this are very expensive. It’s very difficult for us to budget money to replace something like this. The most important thing that I believe is still in this room, though, is the spirit of Dr. Wetzel. Some people live a life so large that it continues to inhabit a space long after they are gone. His spirit will live on forever. It will live in our hearts, in our memories, and in this room.”
Being a Bobcat not only ran through the blood of Dr. Wetzel, but also through his children with all of them graduating from OHIO.
His children include:
Richard D. Wetzel, Jr., who graduated from Ohio University in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in history and today is a Common Pleas Court Judge of Knox County.
Erika Wetzel Paradiso who completed her R.N. in 1979 at the Holzer School of Nursing, which at that time was an affiliate campus of Ohio University. She is clinical research manager in the area of pediatric gene therapy at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia.
John M. Wetzel, Ph.D., who graduated from Ohio University in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and now owns and operates Wetzel Chemistry Consulting based in Albany, Ohio.
Dara Wetzel Gillis, DMA, who earned her bachelor's degree in music education in 1993 and her master's degree in music education in 2002. She is the director of Choirs and Theater at Rutherford B. Hayes High School in Delaware, Ohio, and the director of the T/B Ensemble, Consort, at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio.