Roger Doyle will retire after teaching at the university for almost 40 years
By Lauren Seynhaeve
After teaching music to University of Portland students for 37 years, music professor Roger Doyle will leave with the class of 2010.
Although he had a Bachelor of Music Education in 1962 and a Master of Music in 1966, Doyle began his professional career in public relations - he spent his first two years after college in the field. But his love of music was always present in his thoughts and activities, and after so many requests from friends for a baritone soloist or other musical favors, he took a $10,000 pay cut and started teaching music in a Kansas public school.
"I missed music," he said. "That's what makes me happy."
For the past 37 years, in addition to acting as the director of the graduate music program and teaching the fine arts music course, music history and conducting, Doyle has directed the University Singers, which is his favorite class.
"I love those kids," he said. "I started the group when I came here; it was originally called the Concert Choir, but I changed the name."
The University Singers currently boasts one of the largest class sizes in years, with about 43 students. Doyle said that parents often ask him to stay with the group until their son or daughter graduates, a promise he is keeping for two Class of 2010 University Singers members.
Doyle enjoys all of the classes he teaches, but after the University Singers, his second favorite class is music history.
"I love to see how different styles of music came to be," he said.
And the history of music includes modern genres, so Doyle tries to learn a bit from the students too.
At the end of the semester for the history class, Doyle has his students burn a 27-minute CD with music they think Doyle should know about. He loves to hear the different styles and enjoys talking with the students about why they enjoy it.
"Although I don't mind talking about Beethoven either," he said. "He's kind of my guy."
Apart from the exciting classes he teaches, Doyle will miss the UP campus. He said that his office was moved once while he was the department head, but he's had his current office in Buckley Center for a number of years.
"It's a good place," he said. "You spend that much time here there must be something good about it."
Doyle does not have any big plans for his years of retirement. In fact, that's the reason he didn't leave two years ago, which was his original plan.
"The Provost asked me to stay, and I didn't really have anything else to do, so I did," he said.
Although he has no official plans upon retirement, Doyle hopes to write professional articles, and he and his wife would like to travel. He's also thinking about writing a historical book about Nadia Boulanger, an influential French woman who taught many famous composers but whose personal life is relatively unknown.
"I can sort of make up a life for her that she may have enjoyed," he said.
However Doyle chooses to pass the time, he will miss teaching and interacting with the students of UP.
"I don't have any children of my own, so these kids are the children and grandchildren I never had," he said. "I'll miss some of the faculty as well, but it's the kids I'll miss most - they just keep getting better."
