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Wilson has taught music at IUP since 1991 and is currently the department chair. Previously, she was supervisor of music for the public schools of New Orleans. “My family is deeply rooted in New Orleans,” she said, “back to my grandfather’s grandfather. As a child, I felt deprived because I didn’t have relatives in any rural areas to visit. When we’d go visiting, I was always going uptown or downtown.” Growing up in New Orleans also connected Wilson to the power of music and to its history. “My next door neighbor when I was a little girl was Johnny St. Cyr,a famous banjo player with the New Orleans Hot Five, which was the band Louis [Armstrong] led. “By day, Johnny was a plasterer. In the evenings, if it was warm out, the musicians would gather over at his house and practice on the porch. If it wasn’t warm, they moved inside to the living room. And their music would drift over to my house. “Johnny wasn’t the only musician, of course. Three blocks away lived Baba Ridgely, a well-known trombone player.” Wilson, who regretted not learning about rural life while growing up, teaches a senior synthesis course titled “New Orleans: Perspectives on a Multicultural City” and brings a bit of the Crescent City to IUP. Eventually, she hopes to teach the course as a three-week summer offering and take students to the city itself. “The course is an homage to the city,” said Wilson, who still considers New Orleans “home.” Wilson lived in New Orleans until the mid-1980s, when she left to complete her doctoral degree at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. Previously, she received her master’s from Loyola University and her bachelor’s from Xavier University, both in New Orleans. Wilson played the French horn and intended to major in music performance and, after graduation, to pursue a position in a major symphony orchestra. “The chair of the music department was Sister Elise,” said Wilson, “and she talked to me about the music education route. ‘“Well, dear,’ she said, ‘The road is so long and hard for Blacks’—it was then and still is in orchestral music—‘Why don’t you take some education courses just in case?’ “Being the obedient student, I did. And I have enjoyed my experiences. I love teaching—maybe I should say, ‘Thanks to Sister Elise.’” |
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