1985 Swan Award Winner: J. Russell Bodley

Born in 1902, J. Russell Bodley was a graduate of College of the Pacific and later began conducting the College of the Pacific A Cappella Choir in 1934. He was a musician, composer, arranger, and theorist. He had a great influence on alumni and students, including Dave Brubeck and Janet Leigh. He later became Dean of the Conservatory of Music at the Stockton campus. His choirs were recognized and honored by the western press, principal music educators, and radio and television officials who labeled the Pacific Choir as among the top American choral groups. “Their singing is marked by striking group precision and amazing tonal blend that thrills audiences with their brilliance, range, and color.” The Pacific Choir, for almost twenty-five years, participated in the annual Easter Sunrise Service broadcast from Mirror Lake in Yosemite National Park.

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