Lipscomb mourns the loss of former School of Music chair Sally Reid
Kim Chaudoin |
The Lipscomb community is mourning the loss of Sally Reid, a retiree of Lipscomb University and former chair of the School of Music, who died Saturday, Dec. 21, at age 71.
Reid led Lipscomb’s music program from 2008-2016 after a nearly 40-year tenure on the music faculty at Abilene Christian University.
“She was an outstanding teacher and innovator who understood the landscape not only of higher education but also of music education,” Provost W. Craig Bledsoe shared in an email message to the Lipscomb community earlier today. “I invited the Lipscomb community to join me in remembering the Reid family in your prayers, and in being grateful for the tremendous impact she had on her students and colleagues and on the field of music.”
Sally Reid was chair of the School of Music from 2008-2016.
Under her leadership, Reid grew Lipscomb's music program from a department to a School of Music and to achieve All-Steinway School status among other accomplishments. She was an advocate for growing the arts programs into a larger presence at Lipscomb, which emerged as the George Shinn College of Entertainment & the Arts, and was an important voice in helping shape the interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial nature of that college that continues to characterize it.
Although a classically trained musician, Reid was also a fierce advocate for adding a commercial music program at Lipscomb and worked with CEA Dean Mike Fernandez and former faculty member Charlie Peacock to plan the degrees that are thriving programs today.
Reid was also a respected composer, pioneer in digital synthesis and musician, who played the oboe and English horn. Among her compositions was a chamber opera, a portion of which was performed at Lipscomb while she was on music faculty. She won a composition prize from Mu Phi Epsilon, a number of American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) awards and first prize at the Fifth International Festival of Women Composers at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1998.
An advocate for women in music as composers, performers and academic professionals, Reid is a past editor of the International League of Women Composers Journal and former president of the International Alliance for Women in Music. She also appeared in the film The Devil and Daniel Johnston in 2005.
Reid is survived by her husband, Brad, who retired earlier this year from his role on faculty in the College of Business; daughters, Sarah (Paul) Gibson, associate professor of communication in the Department of Communication and Journalism, and Julia (Troy) Edgecombe; and son, William (Daniella) Reid. She is also survived by granddaughters, Emily Gibson and Lettie Edgecombe, and was excited about welcoming two more grandchildren this spring.
A funeral service will be held on Friday, December 27 at 10 a.m. with a one-hour visitation prior to the service at Otter Creek Church of Christ, 409 Franklin Road, Brentwood, Tennessee. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Reid's name to the Lipscomb University School of Music.
Related articles: Read more about Reid’s 39-year career at Abilene Christian University.
— Photo by Kristi Jones