Distinguished Music Faculty Endowed Scholarship

The original endowments were established to commemorate the careers of Professors Alvis Autrey, Walter Foster, Newton Strandberg and James B. Marks by the Department of Music, friends and colleagues, to provide financial assistance. Alvis Autrey was born in Somerville, TX on April 12, 1922. He attended Sam Houston State Teachers College from 1939-40 on a music scholarship. He served in the Army Air Corps, ultimately piloting B25 bombers and P51 fighter planes during WWII, resuming his studies after the war at Sam Houston and obtaining a bachelor’s degree in 1947. In 1965, Autrey began his teaching career at Sam Houston as a part-time
instructor in voice. He was hired as a full-time voice instructor in 1967. He was also the Sam Houston choir conductor from 1969 to 1978. He retired in September, 1987 after teaching 22 years in the music department. He passed away January 20, 1988. He was a well-liked and respected teacher, loved and beloved by students and former students. He made a significant contribution to the music program while at Sam Houston . He passed away on January 20, 1988. Dr. Foster was born March 23, 1934 in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. His family moved around Ohio (Berea, Strongsville, back to Olmsted Falls. He received his first musical training at Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory in Berea, Ohio before moving to Texas in 1946, where he graduated from Amarillo High School. He attended University of North Texas where he earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Music degrees, then completed his Ph.D. in Musicology from University of Texas at Austin. Since retiring from Sam Houston State University in 1998, Foster resides in Huntsville at Elkins Lake where he lives with his wife, pianist Jerry Lynn Foster. He remains active with private voice teaching, research and composing. Dr. Strandberg was born in River Falls, Wisconsin and raised in his youth in mid-America, Iowa. He first attended North Park College (now North Park University) in Chicago and later, in 1983, was awarded an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from the school. He studied piano and composition with Anthony Donato at Northwestern University, receiving a Bachelor of Music Education in 1942, a Master of Music in Piano Performance in 1947, and a Doctorate of Music in Composition in 1956, the first music degree of its sort to be awarded at Northwestern. Dr. James B. Marks, Sr. was born in Denver, Colorado on March 17, 1925. He spent a good portion of his childhood years in Atlanta, Georgia, but considered Caldwell, Texas his home. He graduated high school there in 1942. In 1965, he began his final teaching position at Sam Houston State university, where he settled as the Head of the Music Theory Department until retiring to halftime teaching in 1993 and full retirement in 1998 after 33 years of service. Dr. Marks ’s influence is reflected in the lives of numerous students of music throughout his teaching career. He possessed an innate and butle sense of humor, combined with an uncanny ability to reach so many young minds.