03/26/2025
Mary founded IUCC with Jean Sinor and served as the director from 1980-1995. She was a positive force in Music Education and a lifelong advocate for children.
Dear Friends,
It is with a great deal of sadness that we share with you that Mary Goetze, Co-Founder of the Mountain Lake Colloquium and Professor Emerita of Music at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music passed away last night.
"There are no words to describe the profound impact that Mary has had as a Musician, Educator, Scholar, Mentor, and Friend. I can remember very fondly seeing Mary present when I was a young teacher, and how much she inspired me. When I arrived at IU, I had the opportunity to also see what a true friend and advocate for children she was.
The excerpt below was part of an article written by Professor Constance Cook about Mary when she retired and was sent out by Dean Abra Bush as a part of her tribute to Mary. While we will never truly capture the many ways Mary was transformative, this gives a sense of the true impact she had on so many. You should also know that after she retired, Mary continued to volunteer in our community and was named the 2019 Woman of the Year in Bloomington, IN.
We are all so lucky to have known and been inspired by Mary Goetze. May we celebrate her legacy as we find peace, strength, and inspiration in her memory."
- Dr. Brent Gault
Adapted from an article by Dr. Constance Cook:
To fully comprehend the role Mary Goetze played in the realm of music—in particular choral music education—it is helpful to consider her accomplishments by applying the barometer used by Margaret Mead: “I must admit that I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings.” Mead would probably view Mary’s contributions as monumental, with far-reaching impact on an international scale. She was a woman who approached life with vigor, commitment, and high expectations for future change and possibility; her involvement at every level demonstrated a passion for advancing ideas that were important not only to her, but to populations at large.
Mary’s early years were spent in Warrensburg, Missouri. Her first musical experiences, integrated into school and community life, paved the way for the work she grew to take on, first with children’s choirs and later with diverse musical styles. She studied music at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, and the University of Colorado. Her Ph.D. dissertation, “Factors Affecting Accuracy in Children's Singing,” was named Outstanding Dissertation of 1985 by the Music Educators National Conference and the Council for Research in Music Education.
Mary was one of the driving forces of the children’s choir movement in the United States for decades. Her compositions and arrangements have reached multitudes of children’s choirs (published in the Mary Goetze Choral Series, Boosey & Hawkes). And her research and presentations on children’s voices have influenced music teachers throughout the world. She served as coordinating author for two series books published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill: Spotlight on Music (2005) and Share the Music (1995). In 1991, she cofounded the Mountain Lake Colloquium, a biannual conference for teachers of music methods. It became a major influence in music teacher education, expanded through a unique professional journal.
Mary was also in demand as a clinician and conductor both nationally and internationally.
She worked to advance diversity through choral music education, creating the field of international choral music where all musics and the cultures that beget them are valued. Her term for this approach was “social justice through music.” In 1995, she founded the International Vocal Ensemble (IVE) in the IU Jacobs School of Music. To bring world choral music and musicians to IVE, she went to the cultures themselves and lived and worked with the people—always according them the utmost respect.
Because of her approach, she was accepted in these communities. In order to make music of diverse cultures accessible for classrooms and choirs beyond IVE, she and Jay Fem authored a series of interactive CDROMs and DVDs. Global Voices offers students experiences with music of a variety of countries, including South Africa, Japan, Hungary, Azerbaijan, and New Zealand. Her involvement with the Lotus World Music Festival board was another reminder that her commitment to multiculturalism was far-reaching. Several of her projects were funded by IU’s Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center.
At Jacobs, Mary had a dual appointment in Music and General Studies, and the Choral Department. She led the area of general studies from its infancy to its current position as a destination for non-majors from across the IU community. Her vision for expanding the general studies offerings was central to enlarging Jacobs’ mission. Faculty and students alike found her to be insightful and supportive, always willing to volunteer advice, ideas, and resources. Her initial IU appointment was in the Music Education Department, from 1977 to 1998. During that time, she was also the cofounder and director of the IU Children’s Choir (1980-95). Earlier in her career (1970-83), she taught music in several Bloomington schools, developing a well-regarded music program for the Elm Heights Elementary School. Countless numbers of children have benefited from her innovative approaches and musical guidance.
Throughout her long and distinguished career, Mary was the recipient of numerous awards, including the Building Bridges 2007 Faculty Award from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Committee and the R. L. Jones Distinguished Professorship at the Fletcher School of Music, East Carolina University (2005). Other notable awards include the Distinguished Alum of 2003 (Oberlin Conservatory of Music), the 1999 Outstanding Hoosier Musician (Indiana Music Educators Association), and the 1997 Faculty Award (IU Commission on Multicultural Understanding). She also received a President’s Award in Recognition of Distinguished Teaching from Indiana University (1991) and a Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Colorado College of Music (1992). She was named Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Organization of American Kodaly Educators (1993). In 1996, she was awarded a grant from Indiana University for her project “Multicultural Music Education” that allowed her to do research in Zimbabwe and South Africa in 1997 and 1998.
In retirement, Mary spent time with her son Erin and his family, and continued her yearly treks with her husband, Bob Althauser, to Greece. She also continued to produce multimedia materials for the oral transmission of music from around the globe and participated in occasional choral festivals, workshops, and short-term residencies at universities around the country.
Mary’s long and illustrious career as a music educator earned her respect throughout the music community and placed her in the unique position of being an inspiring leader. The result was a stunning life, marked repeatedly by contributions to musical understanding and active musical “citizenship.” Mead surely would have evaluated Mary Goetze as successful beyond measure.
