BELOIT — Ian Nie is being remembered as an educator, musician and generous contributor to the musical culture of the area.
Nie, 75, who passed away Thursday, July 25, was a faculty member at Beloit College and founder/conductor of the Turtle Creek Chamber Orchestra. He oversaw the Nie Young Artist Scholarship Competition, which offered scholarships to music students ages 5 to 18 and offered young musicians an opportunity to play with the chamber orchestra.
James Ian Nie joined the music department at Beloit College in 1981, said Donna Oliver, provost at Beloit College.
“Tributes from former students upon Ian’s retirement clearly reveal his impact,” Oliver said in a written statement. “Some of the themes included his welcoming nature and encouragement to strive for achievement regardless of the path chosen. He earned fierce loyalty from Beloit’s musicians and recording engineers, and many attested to his generosity, kindness, keen intellect, and prodigious musical talent.”
He formally retired from Beloit College in 2019, yet he continued to teach classes from time to time and give piano lessons.
Joining the college center for entrepreneurship, CELEB, in 2005, Nie directed Maple Tree Studio, the center’s recording studio, which became his base for teaching piano, music theory and music technology.
Nie came to the United States from China at the age of 11. He studied at the University of North Texas and the University of Wisconsin, and he earned his Ph.D. from New York University in 2003.
Nie was a classically trained pianist who studied music in the United States and Italy. He performed in the United States, Europe and China.
“When I was over there in Italy, what it taught me was to evaluate who I really am and what I really should be or can be instead of dreaming of the cliche pie in the sky,” Nie said in an interview with Adams Publishing Group in May of this year. “It was understanding my limitations and what it is that I actually do best.”
He founded the Turtle Creek Chamber Orchestra in 2012.
He organizing the Annual String Camp, which helps local students continue studying music inexpensively over summer. He would oversee the Nie Young Artists Scholarship Competition, which he named after his mother, Kuan-Yao Lam Nie.
Max Yount, music director at First Congregational Church and organizer of the Musica Maxima series of concerts in Beloit, said he had known Nie for about 30 years. They both were in the music department at Beloit College and their relationship continued well after both men had retired from the college.
He said they both continued to pursue musical endeavors and education opportunities after retirement.
“We all tended to flunk retirement 101,” Yount said of Nie and others he knew in Beloit College’s music department.
Yount said Nie had performed at a number of the Musica Maxima events over the years and they both tended to know musicians in the area. They also would continue to help young musicians.
Yount said Nie had a keen sense of intuition.
“He could read people’s moods and motivations,” he recalled. “Nothing escaped him.”
Yount said he believes the programs that were started by Nie, such as the Turtle Creek Chamber Orchestra and the scholarship programs will continue.
“A lot of things he started are going to continue,” Yount said. “They are too much of a service to the community.”
Brian Morello, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship in Liberal Education, said he worked with Nie for about 13 years at the center.
“Ian Nie was a cherished member of Beloit College and the community at large. Even after his retirement in 2019, his passion for teaching and music never waned,” Morello said. “Seeing his commitment to nurturing the next generation of musicians by continuing to offer classes and piano lessons was inspiring.”
He added Nie was a pivotal part of Beloit College’s center for entrepreneurship.
“Beside teaching music technology and recording engineering, he also embraced entrepreneurship and helped student’s explore putting their music into the world,” he said.
Local News
Comments / 0