Video tribute honors late UMass professor Tillis
CONTRIBUTED/EDWARD COHEN
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST When Dr. Frederick C. Tillis turned 90 in February 2020, his birthday and long tenure as music professor at the University of Massachusetts and years as Fine Arts Center director were celebrated during a live performance.
Less than a month after the third annual Bezanson Legacy Concert, the COVID-19 pandemic would curtail similar in-person events, and Tillis, director emeritus of the Fine Arts Center, would die unexpectedly on May 3, 2020.
In the year since his death, Tillis’ importance, both at UMass and beyond, continues to be marked, with a virtual tribute recently premiering on the department of music and dance’s YouTube channel prior to the broadcast of its annual Jazz Showcase last week, and the acquisition by the Library of Congress of a performance of his composition “Song for Sister Haikkado” by Michael Tilson Thomas’ New World Symphony.
Video tribute honors late UMass professor Tillis
Fred Tillis playing the saxophone, one of his many talents. CONTRIBUTED/EDWARD COHEN
Fred Tillis applauding at his 90th birthday concert celebration in February 2020. ELIZABETH SOLAKA/COURTESY UMASS MUSIC AND DANCE DEPARTMENT
Published: 5/3/2021 12:06:53 PM
AMHERST When Dr. Frederick C. Tillis turned 90 in February 2020, his birthday and long tenure as music professor at the University of Massachusetts and years as Fine Arts Center director were celebrated during a live performance.
Less than a month after the third annual Bezanson Legacy Concert, the COVID-19 pandemic would curtail similar in-person events, and Tillis, director emeritus of the Fine Arts Center, would die unexpectedly on May 3, 2020.