The finest of all educators, a gifted choral conductor, music historian, actor and performer, mentor, and, most of all, one of my best friends, Dr Maurice A Jones, or Maurie as he like to be called, died on Holy Thursday, March 27, 1986, 33 years ago. His death left a huge scar in my heart. Everyone whose life he touched, loved him. I sang in the Chorale, a mixed choir made of St Thomas and St Kate’s undergrads under his direction.
One of my fondest memories of Maurie was the rehearsal following our Christmas concerts. We would gather in the rehearsal hall. He would have hot chocolate and candy canes for us. He sat on his director’s chair as we sat on the floor around him like little children as he did a dramatic reading of Dicken’s Christmas Carol. We sat enthralled as we ate our lunch and sipped our hot chocolate.
Maurie died of AIDS at about the time the disease reached pandemic numbers. Many church choir directors, some of whom were good friends of mine, also died from the illness. The University of St Catherine covered up the cause of Maurie’s death, attributing it to Legionaire’s Disease, but the entire music community of the Twin Cities were well aware of what killed Maurie. I lost some respect for St Kate’s for that.
Well aware that Maurie was sick, I composed this piano Psalm Offering for him. I recorded it on a cassette tape and sent it to his significant other. I am not sure or not whether Maurie ever had a chance to listen to it. I was told that he did.
There are certain people in my life to whom I hold my self accountable. on the top of the list is my bride, Ruth, my father and my mother, my children, and Dr Maurice A Jones. I hope to enjoy his company again. I would ask him if I reached the potential as a musician and as a choral director that he saw in me as a young musician and choral director. He would probably turn my question around on me and ask me if I think I reached my full potential … just like Maurie. Truthfully, do we ever reach our full potential or is it always just beyond our grasp?
I look forward to that day when we talk again.
