You can add your memories of Truman Bullard at the bottom of the article, "An Appreciation of Truman Bullard: You Didn’t Want to Miss Him" or through the form at the bottom of this page. (Responses will be posted after they are reviewed.)
Steve Mercier '98:
Truman was passion personified - a musician, teacher, polymath, polyglot, and a friend and mentor to so many, including myself. Aside from the time I spent as his student in music classes and in Dickinson musical activities, I have fond memories of going to concerts with him in Philadelphia and DC. Farewell, my friend.
Meg Beaver Martin '89:
I am grateful to my mother for nurturing my musical gifts as a child, and to Prof. Bullard for helping me refine my choral singing in a way that has served me in the 35 years since I graduated. He ran a tight rehearsal! I've been singing with various choral ensembles since college, and because of my experience in the Chorale at Dickinson, I always show up early (never late) with two pencils in hand, and I sit quietly and I don't whisper and I pay attention!
I was thrilled to reunite with Prof. Bullard, and Beth, at Alumni Weekend 5 years ago, at the alumni choral gathering. What a delight to sing with him again after all these years.
Music is the gift of a lifetime, and Prof. Bullard exemplified that in a most memorable way. I will never forget him.
Stuart Pankin:
One of the pantheon of great teachers in my life. Proud to have been his student, and to share the stage with him. An inspiring educator. I will never forget him, his incites, and his love for music.
"No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renownèd be thy grave!"
Reid Spice '95:
As a music major, I spent a lot of time with Professor Bullard! I took many classes from him on a variety of different periods of music. I sang in the choir under his baton for 3 years. But the thing that sticks out to me is being invited into his office with a friend (and fellow music major), for a private introduction to jazz. He put on “Giant Steps” and told us all about the history, the players, the music theory. Of course Truman didn’t have to do things like this but it showed how passionate he was about music and his work as a teacher and leader. He also loaned me a book on learning how to meditate; he truly cared about his students and their growth & development as young adults. Like all great teachers, Professor Bullard left me with knowledge and memories that will stay with me for life.
Rebecca Somple '12:
My sophomore year I played clarinet in the Wind Quintet, which was directed by clarinet professor Beth Stimpert, and comprised of three other students on flute, oboe, and french horn, and Truman on bassoon. Truman’s warmth, enthusiasm, and musical guidance during those rehearsals and performances helped make them some of the most memorable of my time playing music at Dickinson.
Rich Mathieson '97:
I-iii-vi-ii-V-I-IV-I forever.
Rachael Jonassen '71:
It was not until graduate school that I began to explore music as something other than what arrived involuntarily over airwaves. But Professor Bullard’s welcoming smile as he moved across campus sent a message about music that remains with me. Thank you, Professor Bullard. And thank you Dickinson for your commitment to selecting professors like Truman Bullard.
Lisa Turchi:
Truman's sparkling, boyish energy drew you in, and I'm grateful that my whole family got to enjoy his infectious love of music firsthand. Among my favorite memories are singing his delightful arrangement of waltzes at a picnic, Truman and Beth accompanying our daughter's gavotte at church, and what I didn't realize would be my final performance with him - impromptu Gershwin in a friend's living room. There was never an elitist idea of where or when music should be shared or performed - only that it must be shared whenever and wherever possible. In a salon, on a stage, or poolside, Truman made music everywhere and the world is better for it.
Tim Neall '95:
As a music major and singer in the choir, I spent a lot of time with Professor Bullard. It's hard to express in words the passion he had not only for music but for fostering that passion in others. He always held his students to high standards, but he was always most supportive. Truman created opportunities for enjoying music through its creation. Singing Mozart's Requiem with the Harrisburg Orchestra is something one doesn't forget. His gift was igniting passion in others and I have no doubt that there are many others like me who are better people because of Truman.
Chuck Cosson '88:
In the fall of 1986 I was a rather mediocre student in Music Theory with Forrest Posey (RIP; also much missed), sitting at the piano in the Weiss Center flailing at an attempted composition, when I noticed someone was listening. You can already guess who; with a few deft suggestions from Professor Bullard I managed to weed out my parallel 5ths and make a decent piece of work (now slightly above mediocre), but more importantly, with his wry smile I regained my confidence. So while Prof. Bullard was of course inspirational to all of those who excelled in music studies at Dickinson, he was also that to those of us who did not.
James Bowman '92:
When I made the list of my preferred freshmen seminars, Music and Theater of the Russian People was my last choice. I was convinced that I would be able to find a place in one of the other four classes, so I chose the music seminar as something to fill out my five picks. When my letter came (I am a pre-email/internet alumnus) and I saw my seminar was, in fact, my last choice, I was understandably disappointed. At the close of summer, I moved into my dorm at Dickinson and went to my first seminar class with little enthusiasm. And that is when I first met Truman Bullard.
Over the next three months, Truman guided our class of novice college students through the dense and remarkable artistic history of Russia. I can honestly say that I remember little of the class – music has always been something I associate with soundtracks to movies or my time in high school when teenagers think every song has to do with them – but I distinctly remember Truman as a professor. He was thoughtful, brilliant, funny, and firm. He was an ally in pushing my writing up to a level that would afford me a college career of high achievement, and he was an advisor on how to approach getting the classes I needed to cobble together a pseudo-major in archaeology (that department didn’t’ exist at the time). Truman was the one who told me to think more about studying what I loved and worry less about what I thought I was supposed to do.
Truman encouraged (strong-armed) our entire freshman class to try out for choir. Having never made it past 30 seconds of any musical audition, I told him that I couldn’t sing and that he would be better off listening to the other students. But he insisted, in his typical enthusiastic, support way, that I try, especially because I had such a nice speaking voice. So I soldiered in and gave another painful rendition of America the Beautiful, after which he came to me, placed a hand on my shoulder, and graciously agreed with my original assessment – I couldn’t sing. I remember laughing away the embarrassment of that final musical humiliation with him that afternoon, no shame to be taken from a moment of candid, but caring, rejection.
As is the practice at Dickinson, I had to give Truman up as my advisor when I declared my anthropology major, but I never stopped coming by Weiss to chat with him about how things were going. When I graduated third in the class, it was Truman’s face I sought out in when I stood on the red stone steps of Old West – my success had been built on his foundation and I wanted to show him my appreciation. And he was the first person I found after graduation to introduce to my parents (it would be difficult to say who was happier that day – him or my family).
Years later I came back to Dickinson as graduate school advisor and recruiting coordinator for the Career Center and, no surprise, it was Truman who gave me the warmest welcome. Three years later I began my current role as the exhibition designer and registrar for The Trout Gallery (finally using my art history and archaeology graduate degree), so I was back in Weiss again, two floors below his office. He retired shortly afterward – no connection to my arrival, I assume – but I saw him often around campus and every time we would fall back into conversation as old friends often do. I, like many, cannot imagine Dickinson without Truman.
I have known Truman Bullard almost my whole life and I am all the better for it. I will miss him greatly.
Brian S. Keefer '85 P'21:
My first memory of Truman Bullard was when I auditioned for choir my first year at Dickinson. I believe he was shocked that I didn't know the Oklahoma tune that he selected, and I'm not the fastest pick-up when sight reading music. But he gave me a moment and lots of encouragement, and I made it through. I, like so many others, feel blessed to have known him.
Lisa A. Pawelski '79:
My heart hurts, having heard that we’ve lost Truman Bullard: “Professor Bullard” at Dickinson College…”Truman” to many musical upperclassmen…and “Bubbles” to us choir members, behind his back. Deserved tributes will flow. Here’s my fond memory.
I met Truman in 1975 during orientation choir auditions in a side room of Dickinson’s Holland Union Building. And I remember sitting nervously a few days later in steeply-canted ATS Auditorium, waiting for my first College Choir rehearsal to begin. The tribe chatted animatedly…accompanist Jon Barnhart studiously leafed through his music at the 7’ Yamaha grand piano…and in strode briskly a magical, determined, delightful, insistent, captivating creature who leapt up onto a cafeteria table, waved us all into standing positions, proclaimed “Psalm!” and pointed at Jon for a major chord…signaled us all a preparatory breath…a pause, Truman’s eyes sparkling…then an explosion of sound, with 3/4 of the choir chiming a robust triple-forte arpeggio, up and down, with their jaws dropped into a perfect “Äääääh.” (We freshmen got it the second time around, a half step up.)
College Choir, Chapel Choir (we sang Sunday services in Old West’s Memorial Hall), later Chamber Choir, Music 101-102…because Truman had learned Russian and it was my minor, he called me by my diminutive (Саша/Sasha—my middle name is Alexandra)…he hired and oversaw me as departmental accompanist for Catholic Mass, College Church, occasional Reformed Jewish services, voice students, harpsichord with the Orchestra (the late Peter Papadakos ‘77 as Orfeo) and as a definite second piano to Jon Barnhart’s far more professional first piano part when we took Truman’s “Six Russian Folk Songs” (with its extended alto solo in part one!) on the road with Chamber Choir to the University of Pittsburgh to commune with its Russian Club. That was my first-ever visit to now-home Pittsburgh. I still remember our touring bus rounding the big bend on the Parkway East just shy of Bates Street, and seeing the beautiful city, absolutely glowing, near dusk.
Truman traveled with students to Russia in the summer of ‘79 for a seminar on language, music, and culture. At the Bolshoi for Opera, we spanned the next-to-last row at the very top of the house. (And we experienced it in sound-surround; the Yale Russian Chorus was in the top row, humming along with the choruses.) Truman also played bassoon in the College Orchestra, enjoyed jazz, and participated in small ensembles at Wednesday noon musical gatherings in Memorial Hall (organized by his beloved wife Beth Bullard, flautist and also on faculty). Truman composed a medley of Noels (Latin-French-English) that Chapel Choir sang, with Beth playing flute and Allen Krantz on guitar. I still have the cassette tape.
On a campus of 1600 students, even those of us who were not exactly professional material could do good and joyful work, and spread our wings beyond our majors. Formative and intersectional opportunities abounded. The faculty seemed giants.
Dr. Bullard was one of those personalities whose spirit you carry with you for your whole life. (Isn’t it cool that so many of them are musicians?) My heart goes out to Beth Bullard and the family, and to the Dickinson College and Carlisle, PA communities Truman continues to enrich, even in memory. May the angels lead you, dear one.
John Reggio '90:
Thanks to Professor Bullard, not only am I a jazz fan, but a jazz aficionado. He taught me to listen and learn about the music; to understand the rhythm and the time. I remember his passion and his teaching style more than 25 years later.
On thing I remember well, is that he told the class to protect their hearing. To this day, even though I live in NYC, I still plug my ears when an ambulance drives by.
Maria (Ejzak) Zarod '99:
First semester freshman year, I took Music History 101 with him (though he normally taught 102). Twenty-five years later I can still recall tidbits that I learned from that class. Professor Bullard was passionate about music and about sharing that music. When he conducted the college choir, he did so with his entire being. Professor Bullard had such faith in me and my ability, even though I was not a music major. His words have left a lasting imprint upon me.
Chuck Williams '84:
Truman Bullard was a very special human being. The kind you only come across once or twice in your lifetime. He was an impeccable educator, bassoonist, musician, and friend. I knew when I came to Dickinson that I was going to major in Computer Science and get a BS. After meeting him at my,first orchestra rehearsal - I had the pleasure of of sitting next to him if memory serves me correct - I remember the ease of the conversation. Later that semester I found myself in his office and was.somehow suddenly a double major in Music and Computer Science!! Fast-forward to my senior year and he volunteered to be my accompianist for my senior recital. When he met my mom after the recital - she threw one helluva a reception afterwards - he left an indullable impression on her as well. If you had the occasion to be around him in a social setting, where there happened to be a piano, well that was special as he would sit down at the piano and proceed to play any piece of music - not just classical! - in any style requested. Think Beethoven a la ragtime!
He was truly a special person. Rest in peace Professor B. May his memory be a blessing.
Bill Jenks '68:
Words fail me. There is no way to adequately express the impact Truman Bullard had on me and my life. I was a sophomore intending to major in English when Truman joined the faculty at Dickinson. I had always been involved in music, both as a cellist and as a choral singer, but never thought about making a career in music. The music department had just begun offering a music major; it just wasn’t on my radar. My first experience with Truman was playing cello for one of the pieces on the first choir concert of the year. The difference in the choir, in every way, compared to the previous year was remarkable. I took Music History 102 with him as a distribution requirement second semester that year. It was nothing short of revelatory. Truman’s love and passion for music was more than infectious; it was irresistible! I very soon declared a music major.
Over the next year, Truman became much more than a teacher, or even a mentor to me. We became close friends and colleagues. He and Beth welcomed me into their home and family, as they have so many other students over the years since then. I came to realize that Truman’s greatest genius, his greatest love and passion, was connecting with people; all people. Music was for him the most natural, the most universal way for him to connect, especially with large groups of people, but it was certainly not the only way. His generosity was limitless. His love of music and love of people were one and the same.
Truman Bullard changed my life; he and Beth changed me. I am forever honored and grateful for their friendship and love. Truman has never left me and never will.
Don Riggs '74:
Truman was one reason I chose Dickinson. When I came for my on-campus visit, I sat in on a music history course of his where he played a piano piece of his own in the style of Debussy that wowed me. When I was a student, I babysat his two boys Martin and Dexter over one exhausting weekend. At that point I made a jelly omelette for them, and that became a tradition in their family thereafter.
Megan (Conlon) Sarno '09:
When I arrived at Dickinson, Truman had retired already from his position as music history professor, but it would be inaccurate to say he had retired from the musical life on campus. I had the privilege of performing in a woodwind quintet in which Truman held down the bassoon part while four students filled the other positions. He was affable, exacting, but never dominated the musical discussion--only using his extensive knowledge and experience of Russian music to gently crystallize our grasp of the 'troika' rhythm in a Prokofiev quintet. My fondest memory of Truman is when he chaperoned a few of us music majors on a trip he sponsored to the Philadelphia Orchestra's performance of Mahler's massive 2nd symphony. He put us in contact with a truly magical musical moment, as well as taking us out for a delightful meal beforehand. Truman's musicality, generosity, enthusiasm, and kindness all did more to enhance my encounters with music on a campus where his legacy was felt throughout the music department.
Audree M. Chase '90:
I had my Freshman Seminar with Dr. Bullard, "Music as a Message." It was fantastic and possibly shaped me in how I write, how I think of things, and how I view the world. Dr. Bullard recommended me as a future Writing Center tutor, his confidence in my young writing skills a major boost to my young ego. His love of all things Russian of course exceeded mine, but provided inspiration to explore more. Even to changing my major from Spanish to Russian/Soviet Studies. I was privileged to work in the music department and learned more about his passion for music, art, and culture. His musicianship was second to none, whether he was performing, conducting, or lecturing.
My daughter is a Physics/Music double major at Dickinson now and I so wish she'd had the opportunity to meet Dr. Bullard. But I have seen and felt his legacy living on in the current Music Department and the experiences she is having there now.
Thank you, Dr. Bullard, for your faith in my writing ability. And to Beth, my sincerest condolences to you in your loss.
David Metzer '87:
During my years at Dickinson, Truman played many roles in my life: professor, piano accompanist, and fellow member of the woodwind section in the college orchestra. He would go on to play other roles. I consider Truman to be a mentor. It is because of him that I am now a musicologist. I didn’t even know what musicology was when I entered Dickinson, and I have now been working in that field for almost thirty years. Without him, I would never have gone on to graduate school to study music history. Truman and his wife Beth also became dear friends. When visiting my family in Pennsylvania, I have made the trip to Carlisle. In their cozy music room, the three of us have played sonatas. I treasure the memory of those performances. As someone who has been a professor for many years, I can see why Truman was so loved by Dickinson students. I have yet to meet a colleague who has found so much joy in teaching. Truman was generous with that joy, sharing it with students in and out of the classroom. I feel truly fortunate to have had the chance to study and make music with Truman.
Eileen Swidler:
What a gift Truman was to our Carlisle Community. Thank you Dickinson for sharing him with us!
Kirk Doran:
When we moved to Carlisle in 1973 and my father began working at Dickinson, Truman was part of a wonderful wave of young faculty members hired in the 60s and 70s. That great generation has long since retired, and is gradually leaving us forever. Their legacies shine on, and Truman's is an especially bright gem. His vast teaching accomplishments I will leave to others to extoll. On a more personal note, I was lucky to play bassoon with Truman in the Dickinson College Community Orchestra when I was in high school. And I was never happier that he was first chair (and I was second) than when we played under the baton of Aaron Copland in 1975. Still new to the bassoon, Truman played a difficult solo beautifully. Over the years, our family got to enjoy the full spectrum of his conducting and performing talents. As first-rate as he was, Truman was never snobbish or overly serious. At one choral concert, he stopped conducting (while the singers continued), disappeared behind the stage, and came out playing jazz-- on his bassoon! Truman was always very kind and supportive. He encouraged me as I trembled in the presence of Aaron Copland. Years later, I gave an informal piano recital at Dickinson. Not many people attended, but one of them was Truman, and he took the time to talk to me afterwards, specifically about what had impressed him the most on the program. When Truman retired, his presence in our community hardly diminished. When my father died, Truman spoke kind words about him to the retired faculty group. (My father was a big fan of the Bullards.) When I retired from Dickinson's library, I was always cheered to still see Truman at concerts or in church or walking briskly through our neighborhood. Since joining St. John's Episcopal Church twelve years ago, I have had many a Sunday morning brightened with Baroque music for bassoon and flute, thanks to Truman and Beth. I told them I wished I could begin every day listening to them playing such great music music. Truman will be missed by so many, but not forgotten.
Karen Daniel '72:
Prof. Bullard led the rehearsal of the chorus with the orchestra. Joe Sobel and I, sitting first stand, watched his hands, his baton, stilling as the last chord receded. I sighed and started to relax my bow down. His eyes turned to me and glared. "Don't move!" he commanded. I froze. Prof. Bullard asked for the very best from us, encouraging us to perform in a professional way, even in rehearsal. When I later played in the orchestra as a community member, I enjoyed his comradery as well as his leadership. And recently I have been grateful for the opportunity share music with Truman and Beth and the Retired Dickinson College Professionals. We will miss everything about Prof. Truman Bullard.
Raymond C. Jones '70:
I probably would have enjoyed my class with Truman Bullard a bit more if I'd waited to take Music 102. That course covered the classical period up until the present. Music 101, the course I did take, devoted a lot of time to Gregorian plainsong. Emphasis on "plain." Pretty tame stuff if you were expecting lots of engaging symphonic melodies and full orchestral sounds.
Being a history major, I probably absorbed more about European history from Truman than medieval music. A few years later, however, when I participated in the Bologna program, I came to appreciate Truman a little more each and every time I entered a cathedral. I could close my eyes and imagine the type of music he'd talked about (and performed). I could better envision the musicians and clerical folk of the period, producing sounds that conformed to the architecture they inhabited and the religious tone of the times.
Continuing to reside in Carlisle after graduating, I attended college concerts and performances too numerous to remember now. But I'll never forget Truman's ebullient personality, his mastery of multiple instruments, and his close bonds with the students he worked with. I should mention that, when I studied with Truman, his wife Beth often came in to perform on the recorder or the flute. And Truman could play anything on a piano. Not only did he not need sheet music, he didn't even need to look at the keyboard.
As residents of Carlisle, my wife and I enjoyed having a friendship relationship with Truman and Beth, not just a teacher-student relationship. What an asset they were to the community at large, not just the college community.
One time, as a convention planner, I worked with Truman to bring the "Buzz Jones Big Band" to a meeting venue in Hershey. The audience of newspaper editors and publishers loved the performance. Truman was a key part of it, sitting on the piano bench, banging out any big band song you could imagine -- again without having any music in front of him.
My impression of Truman never changed. He was, quite simply, a genius. Having a chance to know him as young college students, we were all luckier than we could know at the time.
Finally, the longevity that Truman and Beth had was remarkable. I don't know that many people, personally, who have spent more than a few years in one place or at one job. The Bullards spent their entire careers at the college, and of course stayed active after retirement. What a blessing for Dickinson and the Carlisle community. Truman left shoes that I doubt will be filled any time soon. He sure will be missed by all of us who knew him.
Daniel Bastien '99:
While I've always loved music, Prof. Bullard was the ONLY reason I continued to pursue, learn, and improve at Dickinson and beyond. Just being near him you would feel his passion for music and know his willingness to share it with his students. A wonderful human.
Richard Macklin '73:
When I first arrived at Dickinson as a freshman, I was "burnt out" as a high school instrumentalist (marching band, concert band, jazz band, etc.) and didn't pursue musical activities in favor of exploring other things. But Music 102 with Truman Bullard renewed my love of music, and singing in his college choir introduced me to a whole new world of choral music. Years later, after volunteering as an accompanist for a church choir, I found myself pressed into service as the choir's director when the actual director departed unexpectedly. I had no idea what I was doing but learned along the way, and am still leading that choir some 35+ years later. Roughly 10 years in, I suddenly realized that everything I did, from rehearsing to performing, was simply channeling Truman Bullard, and that in many ways he had become my most influential and valued teacher. I had the pleasure of thanking him for that in person at a choir reunion in 2017, and I know my story ranks as only one within a countless multitude. What a great man, and a life well lived. I will be forever grateful.
Mike Anderson '97:
Truman was my musical father. At a time when I thought I had sung all I needed to sing, and I would never bother performing again, an odd little man in the HUB asked if I'd be interested in auditioning for the college choir. ME?!? AUDITION?!? It was my first full semester on campus after I transferred to Dickinson. I'd already sung for Presidents, heads of state, and a pope. Audition for the Dickinson College Choir? You must be joking! I had put my music behind me. I returned to playing football. But that odd little beret wearing man from the HUB persisted. He'd see me on campus and ask about singing in the choir every day, until one day I relented. I've never looked back.
Because of Truman, I started singing again. Because of Truman, the Octals were born. Because of Truman, I met my wife in the choir. Because of Truman, my family was born. Because of Truman, I kept singing well beyond Dickinson, and continue to sing professionally. It seems hollow to call Truman my teacher, my mentor, or my friend. He was, is, and always will be my musical father.
I've had so many opportunities to perform with Truman that I lost count, but I will always remember singing in the Messiah sing along. Truman assigned me "The Trumpet Shall Sound" in my junior year with Don Roeder on trumpet. I must have performed that piece well over 300 times since that initial performance. The day I learned of Truman's passing, I got in my car after a day at work full of emotions. The radio was tuned to NPR, and as I turned on the car "The Trumpet Shall Sound" played out from the radio like a clarion call from beyond. I sat and cried for a long time. I had lost something immeasurable in Truman's passing, but in that moment, I knew he would always be watching over me, baton in hand or bassoon at the ready. Truman, I miss you.