Miami University

News Release

News and Public Information Office
Glos Center
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio 45056
(513) 529-7592
(513) 529-1950 fax
newsinfo@muohio.edu

In memoriam: John C. "Doc" Wabrick

01/12/2012

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John C. "Doc" Wabrick

John C. "Doc" Wabrick, Miami University professor emeritus of music, died Thursday, Jan. 12. Wabrick began his career at Miami in 1964 and retired in 1988, serving as director of Miami's Glee Club, Choraliers, Collegiate Chorale and many musicals for the department of theatre.

During his tenure at Miami, Wabrick conducted all of Miami's choral ensembles, founded an all-university choral group and led students on eight European tours. He was named the Miami University Alumni Association's 1993 Effective Educator.

Some of the Glee Club’s musical traditions began during Wabrick’s tenure, including singing “Java Jive” and “A Parting Blessing” at every concert.

Rod Nimtz, director of Miami’s Voice of America Learning Center, sang and/or accompanied the Glee Club and Collegiate Chorale under Wabrick’s direction for about 12 years.

“Doc was someone who instilled in everyone the sense that you had to believe in what you were doing, what you were saying and most importantly, what you were singing. He believed in his students, he supported them in their efforts, and he opened up doors for so many of them," said Nimtz. “The passion that he brought to a performance was a passion that he brought to the rehearsal, and that passion was the same whether you were singing at an alumni gathering in Oxford or at a cathedral in Europe."

In describing his philosophy of education in an interview with Miami's news and public information office in 1993, Wabrick said, "I apply the three f's. In music, three f's is very loud. I must be firm in what I believe students should know, fair in dealings with them, and they must have faith in each other. Without the third one, the first two don't work."

Before his service at Miami, he taught in public schools in his native Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and was a musician in the Army. Among highlights of his work at Miami, Wabrick prepared Miami’s combined choirs to perform with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and with opera diva Beverly Sills in Cincinnati. He and other Miami faculty performed at local events as The Four Professors.

Visitation will be held from 3-7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, with the funeral service at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at Ogle, Paul R. Young Funeral Home in Oxford. Burial follows at Oxford Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Miami University Men’s Glee Club Director’s Fund, 725 E. Chestnut Street, Oxford, OH 45056.