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Feb 14, 1897 - Jan 27, 1996
George P. Hopkins, Professor Emeritus of the University of Oregon School of Music, passed away on January 27, 1996 in Eugene at the age of 98. Hopkins was a member of the U. O. faculty from 1919 until his retirement forty-eight years later in 1967.
Hopkins was born of musical parents (both singers) on February 14, 197 in Salem, Indiana. In 1901 his family moved to Claremont, California, where he received his early musical and pianistic training. Right before World War I he went to Paris, France to study with pianist-composer Moritz Moskowsky, but this was interrupted soon by the outbreak of war, necessitating his return home. As a scholarship student he attended the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore for one year, after which his playing impressed John Landsbury, then Dean of the University of Oregon School of Music. Shortly afterward he was invited to join the U. O. faculty.
At Dean Landsbury's urging, Hopkins finished his Bachelor of Music degree here concurrently with his teaching responsibilities. In 1921 he took a leave of absence from the university to continue his studies for two years at the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied piano with Ernest Hutchinson and composition with Rubin Goldmark and Sigismond Stowjowski.
In 1925 he returned to resume his position at the University of Oregon where he taught piano, counterpoint, composition, and for two years conducted the Girls Glee Club. During his long career here he was continually active as a concert pianist, arranging tours and presenting solo recitals throughout Oregon, Washington and California. He was very much interested in contemporary music. His performances featured such important and difficult works as Aaron Copland's Sonata, a complete program of the piano works of Alberto Ginastera, various works of Ernest Bloch, and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (which he performed dozens of times during the thirties with the WPA Orchestra.) He also performed concertos of Mozart and MacDowell.
In 1945 Hopkins wrote a series of four books, for the teaching of piano to beginning adults, titled Piano Playing for Fun, published by the University of Oregon Press. He used these as a text for teaching piano classes for local businessmen at the Wilson Music House in Eugene and also in a store in Portland. His books were a remarkable success, selling 5000 copies.
George Hopkins' compositional activities also flourished during his years here. His works were published by G. Schirmer, one of the most prestigious and well-known publishers of classical music. Two piano composition that were especially popular are Moon Dawn and Valse Burlesque. The internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso, Mischa Levitsky, played Valse Burlesque in a recital at New York's Carnegie Hall.
George is remembered as a kind, generous-hearted person who carried himself with great dignity. He was renowned for his elaborate model train layout in his attic, which he shared with local children. For seventy years he was an active member of the Eugene Kiwanis Club, for whom he often played the piano right up to his last days. The Eugene Kiwanis Foundation has established the George P. Hopkins Scholarship Fund, in his memory, to support promising piano students at the University of Oregon.
Hopkins is survived by his wife Edyth, daughter Beverly, and son Richard.
Victor Steinhardt
Professor
School of Music
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