Longtime National Music Museum Employees Announce Retirement Plans
Sabine Klaus, Ph.D., curator of the Joe and Joella Utley Collection of Brass Instruments and professor of music; Deborah Check Reeves, DMA, curator of education, woodwinds and professor of music; and Margaret Downie "Peggy" Banks, Ph.D., senior curator, associate director and professor of music have faithfully served the NMM for a combined 94 years.
Together, they have been essential in making the museum the success it is today.
Klaus was recognized for her work with the Joe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection of Brass Instruments by the American Musical Instrument Society with the Nicholas Bessaraboff Prize for best book-length publication in 2014 for "Trumpets and Other High Brass, Volume 1: Instruments of the Single Harmonic Series." The Utley collection consists of more than 600 brass instruments including a splendid assemblage of cornets, trumpets and related instruments.
Reeves has published 88 articles about historical clarinets, which have appeared in "The Clarinet," the journal of the International Clarinet Association (ICA), as well as articles in education journals, the flute journal, and "The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments."
Banks received the annual Curt Sachs Award from the American Musical Instrument Society in recognition of lifetime contributions toward the goals of the society.
All three scholars have been awarded emeritus status with the University of South Dakota and will continue to contribute to the NMM after retirement through research and writing projects, assistance with collections and ensemble direction.
The community is invited to wish the trio well at a reception following the Friday, May 5, noon NMM Live! concert with the Kocher Jazz Quartet. Coffee and cake will be served at approximately 1 p.m. in the NMM Lobby. All are welcome.
