Professor David Jex is cleaning out his office at the University of Toledo, a monumental task after 40 years in one place.
He’s already finished with classroom lessons and grading papers.
But one question is left: You can take a music teacher out of the classroom, but can you take the classroom out of the music teacher?
Nigel Burgoine , artistic director of the Ballet Theatre of Toledo, sounded doubtful. Jex, a prolific composer, has written music for some of Burgoine’s ballet productions, including the Great Pancake Escape , Meema the Lemur Becomes a Ballerina , and more.
Burgoine said he sees the educator, musician, and composer in action.
“The kids [dancers] are sitting there listening to him. And he is explaining exactly what this music is, its technical side, how it should sound, and how it will blend with the dancing,” Burgoine said. “Quite a few of our dancers study musical instruments.” Jex will ask the dancers what instrument they are studying. For example, if the dancer says violin, Jex will say, “‘OK, well listen to this section here. And can you see how she's doing this? This and this and this?,’” Burgoine said.
But after 40 years, Jex is willing to give retirement a try. He said his wife, Jory , retired from the Valentine last fall. The moment he decided, he said, he was overwhelmed with emails and texts by students and other colleagues begging him not to go.
“I was just looking at the way future plans are falling into place, and we decided it may be time for me to join her in retirement so we could do some new things together,” Jex said.
These plans include projects involving music.
Composing music for ballets is fairly new, Jex said, beginning with the Great Pancake Escape , based on a story by UT professor Paul Many . But he isn’t new to composition. After all, among the subjects he’s taught at UT have been music theory and composition, as well as jazz studies.
“I have a pretty broad mix of music composition portfolios, I mean, they range from orchestra to choir to jazz compositions, and, of course, recently ballets,” Jex said. “In the 1990s, I composed the chamber opera, the Purple Gang . And that was premiered first to UT.”
Another work with Toledo ties is a celebration of native jazz great Art Tatum. The work, commissioned by the Clarence Smith Community Chorus, is a piece for jazz piano, choir, and brass.
“Other choirs in the area have also done that,” Jex said about his Art Tatum work. “Most recently, Masterworks [Chorale] did it, UT Chorale did it. It seems popular, which is kind of fun.”
Other compositions include Sweet Sorrows: Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Concert Band; Three Dances for Baritone, Saxophone, and Piano; Air Sculptures for Brass Quintet; and more.
Jex's compositions have been premiered, commissioned, and performed nationally by major artists.
Being a composer who teaches composition has helped him connect with the students who are learning the art.
“The composition process is something that you can better share when you are teaching young music students,” he said. “You're introducing music to them from all these different style periods. And I think you can relate to them better how the actual process works, you can see the inner workings of compositions from the great masters and even says, here's where this particular piece starts. And you can see how this section is formed out of this idea.
“And you start to kind of look under the hood if you would see how these pieces are created, and why you know why the great master works are still remembered and what makes them so great.”
In turn, teaching the works of the great masters helps Jex find his inspiration.
“It's quite an inspiration to be analyzing Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Stokowski, Stravinsky,” Jex said. “And my teachers, of course, Paul Schoenfield, my primary teacher was Don Erb at the Cleveland Institute of Music.”
Plus, Jex added, “Say you're teaching Beethoven’s string quartet or one of his piano pieces, and you see how this great rhythmic drive and motive just keeps developing from one to the next. You can say to yourself, fine, I need to remember that idea.”
But teaching has other rewards, such as when he notices that a student finally believes in his or her competence as a musician.
“Perhaps most rewarding is when you can reach a student, get them to convince themselves that they they're here for the right reasons,” Jex said.
By the time they get to his class, they’ve had the fundamentals.
“I tell them that if you're here, you're going to be musicians. Now you need to really dedicate yourself to this craft and this art form. What kind of musician are you going to be?”
His students have noticed his passion for music and devotion to teaching. And they aren’t shy about sharing their feelings.
Once the word got out about his retirement, texts and emails flooded in from students and colleagues bemoaning his upcoming absence but wishing him well anyway.
Thomus Maples , a UT student, said he was surprised with the ease in which Jex can connect with his students.
“He has so much energy, Maples said. “He knows exactly how to teach he knows how to handle any situation, and I just love this knowledge and his passion or for teaching.”
Former student Elliott Nickeson , who now works at the university, said the study of music is an area where large numbers of students often change majors because of its difficulty.
But, he said, “with Dr. Jex at the helm, I believe he saved so many students who others may have given up on.
“Dr. Jex was one of the most respected and loved educators in the entire music department, and that is hard to do when you are teaching one of the most difficult subjects,” said Nickeson in an email. “He always found ways to connect to his students and work with them to grasp the often time complex lessons in his classes.”
Nickeson also gave Jex perhaps the highest praise a student can give a college professor: “He was the kind of professor who was able to make students excited to go to a Friday morning class.”
■ The Voices of Harmony barbershop group is readying a return to the pits, the barbecue pits, that is, with a second annual BarberQ event at noon on June 1 at Oak Shade Grove, 3624 Seaman Rd, Oregon. And once again, the group is inviting the public to come out for some barbecue and barbershop, uniquely American activities.
Platters start at $20 and a cash bar will be available.
Tickets to enter the event are $10 a piece for everyone over 12; 12 and under are free.
Purchase your tickets online, or at the gate the day of, but the group encourages you to register early to guarantee enough food. For more information, visit ticketsignup.io/barberq , email TheVoicesofHarmony@gmail.com , or call 1-888-741-SING.
COMING UP:
■ Bittersweet Farms, 12660 Archbold-Whitehouse Rd., Whitehouse; 11:30 a.m. Friday. Music Vine Concert Series. Jim Boedicker. Free
■ Historic Ohio Theatre, 3112 Lagrange St., Toledo; 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It’s Dangerous! An Authentic Michael Jackson Tribute Concert. James Derek Times III, dancers, live band. Tickets from $23.85. Visit historicohiotheatre.org or eventbrite.com .
■ Lucille’s Jazz Lounge, 1447 N. Summit St., TolHouse, Toledo; 8:45 p.m. May 30. Blue Note, featuring Anitra Cherry and Marcia Bowen. $16 and $35. Tickets at lucillesjazzlounge.com .
Send news of music to Heather Denniss at hdenniss@theblade.com at least one week before your event.
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