Benjamin Locke
From KCpedia
Benjamin R. Locke came to Kenyon in 1984 as an Assistant Professor of Music. Today, as a full Professor, he conducts the Chamber Singers, the Community Choir, and the Knox County Symphony Orchestra. An accomplished tenor and composer, Professor Locke, known on campus as "Doc Locke," also teaches music theory, conducting, and voice, and has received several awards from the college
Education, Employment, Honors
Professor Locke attended Oberlin College, Mary Manse College, and the University of Wisconsin, where he obtained his master's degree and doctorate in music.
Three years after he was hired, in 1987, Kenyon's Board of Trustees renewed Locke's contract for the second time under President Jordan. In the spring of 1990, he attained tenure and was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. Mid-1999, Professor Locke was again promoted, this time to full Professor.
During the 1995-1996 and 2003-2004 academic years, Professor Locke served as chair of Kenyon's faculty. He is head of Kenyon's Music Department.
In 1992, Professor Locke won a Trustee Award for Distinguished Teaching in the junior faculty category. In 1998, he was named first incumbent of the James and Cornelia Ireland Chair in Music. In 2003, Doc and his wife, Kathleen R. Locke, were awarded the William A. Long Memorial Award on Prize Day.
Accomplishments
Each year, Professor Locke conducts the Kenyon Chamber Singers, an elite group that performs once each semester and goes on a spring tour. The tour, which usually features stops across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, occurs during the first week of spring break. Professor Locke also re-introduced the Community Choir to Kenyon, a group open to all members of the student body, faculty, staff, and local community. The community choir also performs once a semester. In addition, he teaches courses in the music department.
On February 17, 1990, Professor Locke performed as a tenor soloist in Ascension Hall, accompanied by Stephen Self, the chair of the Music Department at Mount Vernon Nazarene College. The concert featured works by Brahms, Copland, and Handel, among others. While on sabbatical during the 2001-2002 school year, Doc performed another concert in Brandi Recital Hall, during which he sang selections from Brigadoon and West Side Story, along with pieces by Bach and Mozart.
Professor Locke wrote Libera me, Domine, his first work, in 1991. After its premiere in 1992, he was commisioned by a Methodist Church in Ohio to write "I Will Declare Thy Name," and has since been an active composer. In the fall of 2002, the Knox County Smyphony performed his Two Motets for String Orchestra- Motet I: "Gesualdo" and Motet II: "di Lasso."
In the summer of 1994, Professor Locke performed in Ruddigore, a Gilbert and Sullivan musical, with the Columbus Light Opera Company, playing the role of Richard Dauntless.
Professor Locke spent the summer of 1998 serving as first-ever guest conductor of the Libertas Choir of South Africa, a well-known group under the direction of Johan de Villiers.
Resources in the Kenyon College Archives
- Benjamin Locke -- collected materials
