Jerome (Jerry) Stephens. Primarily a baritone, and can also sing tenor. He is
of Welsh decent, and was born on St. David’s day in 1931 in Warren, Ohio. He
grew up in Monroe, Michigan, and Parma, Ohio. His mother was a great fan of
Jerome Kern, but she settled on Kenneth for his middle name.
He graduated from Miami University of Ohio in 1955, and worked for Republic
Steel before obtaining a master’s in Library Science in 1963. He was in the
Reference Department at the Warren Trumbull County Public Library from 1969
to 2001. On retiring, he went back to school, and received a Master of
Science in Geography from The University of Akron in 2006.
He married Lois Schultheis of West View, which is north of Pittsburgh, PA. ,
and is widowed. He has two sons, Michael, born 1962, and Donald, born 1964.
He has been singing in various church choirs and choruses since he was a
sophomore in the Parma, Ohio, high school, and both sang and ran track and
cross country at Miami. One thing he remembers quite well is being seated
back of the primary tympani set when the Miami University choruses did
Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Cincinnati Orchestra.
He has this to say to those who are thinking about joining the Stambaugh Chorus,
especially tenors and bases. He is, as far as vocal training goes, almost
completely self taught. He learns his parts at home by using a pitch pipe
and a metronome. Those who want to join the group should think in terms of
and extended trial, say a year. He also believes that it well worth the dues
to be able to belong to the Stambaugh Chorus, After all, what is the equivalent? A case
of beer?
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