Spring 2007 | Volume 65, No. 3

Teacher of hymns: Cecil Roper, emeritus music professor, dies at 82

Cecil Roper, emeritus professor of church music, died Feb. 27 in Fort Worth. He was 82. Roper was born in Bangor, Ala., on Nov. 6, 1924. He served on the faculty of the School of Church Music for 30 years, 1960-1990.

Roper first came to Southwestern in 1950 to prepare for a career as a music minister. He and his wife, Milly, were actively involved in campus life. He served one year as president of Zimrah, the music student organization, and then became president of the student body. Milly was active in Southwestern Singers.

 “When I think of Cecil, I do not focus on his considerable accomplishments - chair of the music ministry department, hymnologist, historian, and conductor -  but on his personal qualities,” said Dr. Robert Smith, professor of piano who worked alongside Roper in the 1980s and maintained a close friendship with him ever since. “He had a most original and refreshing sense of humor, a quality which lightened everybody’s load as they walked away from many a conversation shaking their heads in amazement. It had a way of reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously, and that is a gift everyone needs occasionally.”

Roper earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sacred music from Southwestern, and later earned a doctorate in musical arts from the University of Southern California. He also studied at the University of Strasbourg and Cambridge University.

During his tenure at the seminary, Roper taught classes in music education, and the history and philosophy of church music. He conducted the Men’s Chorus for six years and directed Collegium Musicum, an instrumental group, for 20 years. Among his contributions to the seminary were the development of an introductory church music course for religious education and theology students, and the Oxford Summer Study Program.

Roper was survived by his wife, Milly, who was a staff accompaniest at the seminary for many years; and daughter, Elizabeth Ann.