Roger MacNeill receives lifetime achievement award
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A retired Chadron State College music professor has been awarded the Nebraska Choral Directors Association’s top honor.
Dr. Roger MacNeill received the Cornell Runestad Lifetime Achievement Award during the NCDA summer conference in Crete on July 12. The honor is annually presented to professionals who create a legacy of commitment to singers in Nebraska through choirs under their direction.
Dr. Clark Roush of York College, who nominated MacNeill for the honor, wrote that MacNeill is a “go-to kind of guy” who gives what he has for the betterment of those around him and sees the good in things and people.
“Roger has tirelessly served NCDA, and during that service has been a constant source of encouragement to younger choral directors in the state,” Roush wrote. “His rapier wit and jolly laugh have filled many conversations with many people from across the state.”
MacNeill is a former president of the NCDA, and has served a variety of other offices and duties for the association. During his acceptance speech, MacNeill expressed gratitude to the association’s members and encouraged each of them to be one whom others can come to for comfort, support and understanding.
The Runestad Award is named for a professor who developed a choral program at Wayne State College and garnered a reputation for excellence.
MacNeill, who is just the ninth person to receive the Runestad honor, was the director of choral music for CSC for 20 years and led the Chadron Community Chorus for 4 ½ years. He retired from both positions in 2005.
The 1958 Alliance High School graduate earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in choral conducting from the University of Northern Colorado and two master’s degrees from Southern Methodist University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Hastings College.
He and his wife, Loree, have retired to the Omaha area. Since leaving CSC, MacNeill has joined two barbershop choruses and the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church Choir. He also sings and directs a male quartet formed from the church choir.
Loree stepped down from her post as CSC’s director of fine arts and cultural programs in 2008.
Category: Campus News