James Parsons Archives - Reynolds College Blog

Missouri State University’s Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) continued its tradition of honoring the legacy of Judith Enyeart Reynolds with the Third Annual Judy Awards May 3, 2024.

The event, held at The Old Glass Place, celebrated the achievements of faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends within the RCASH community.

Dean Wahl stands at podium — Dean Shawn Wahl announces his selections for the Dean’s Judy Awards.

A special moment of the celebration included recognizing MSU President Clif Smart and Gail Smart and then Dr. George Connor, professor of political science. All three received the Dean’s Legacy Award from Dean Shawn Wahl. Smart is set to retire on June 30. The legacy leadership and work of each recipient will continue to make a difference in the lives of RCASH members for generations to come.

Christopher DePriest, Mark Templeton, and Rob and Sally Baird were each honored with the Dean’s Champion Award. All have diligently worked, often behind the scenes, to positively impact RCASH.

MSU Alum Austin Elliott accepted the Dean’s Alumnus Award on behalf of Locke and Stache, a production company located in Springfield, Missouri. Locke and Stache was recognized for their exceptional achievements in video production.

The award ceremony concluded with The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice receiving the Dean’s Award of Distinction for excellent performance as an academic unit over the past year.

Named in honor of Reynolds, a dedicated staff member and role model for many years in the Department of English, the Judy Awards cover a variety of contributions to the college, ranging from traditional awards in teaching, research, and service to those that recognize collaboration, inclusive engagement and efforts to highlight the pillars of the University’s public affairs mission.

Except for the dean’s awards category, winners were nominated either by their peers or self-nominated, then selected by representatives from each academic department serving on the Judy Awards Selection Committee.

Hosts Dr. Alan Tinkler, Dr. Aida Hass-Wisecup and Mary Lynne Golden announced the following winners of the 2024 Judy Awards.

Paper calls for new examination of “Ninth’s” choral finale

Because Beethoven’s “Ninth” was the first to join voices and instruments, it has garnered the attention of music scholars like Parsons.

In his conference paper, “What the Choral Fantasy can tell us about the Choral Finale,” Parsons examines the relationship between Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Opus 80 (1808) and the choral finale of the Ninth Symphony, Opus 125 (1824).

“The principal themes of both Fantasy and finale are remarkably similar,” Parsons said. “What no one previously has discussed is how the texts of both Fantasy and finale are also similar.”

When researching the 1808 sketches for the “Choral Fantasy,” Parsons discovered that Beethoven wrote part of the text, with the Viennese writer and poet Christoph Kuffner completing the piece using Beethoven’s “hints.”

Scholars have dismissed the 1808 pieces as “cloying” and “clumsy” and not worth serious consideration, Parsons said, but ignoring the 1808 piece has presented problems in understanding the history of the “Ninth.”

“Taking the ‘Choral Fantasy’s’ text seriously and then the relationship between words and music, a very different story can be told, one that tells us something new about the Fantasy itself and the finale of the ‘Ninth,’” Parsons explained.

Sample page from sketches Beethoven made for the “Choral Fantasy” in December 1808. Photo credit: James Parsons.

2024 Judy Awards honor excellence in the Reynolds College community

Dr. James Parsons to present paper commemorating Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

Paper calls for new examination of “Ninth’s” choral finale