![\"flutes.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/flutes.jpg\" "\\"flutes.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\nOXFORD, Miss. – Mary Lee Sneed Hill knew the power of music \n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n“To her, music was a way of communicating with people,” \nMary Lee Sneed Hill of Memphis died in January 2007. But \nThe scholarship is to provide assistance to deserving \n“We hope recipients will share their talents with those who \n“We want to be able to pass her thoughts and attitude on \nDean Hill also donated a collection of 54 flutes from \n” The collection started with me and my father,” Dean Hill \nThe flutes enhance the university’s efforts to include \nLinda Pereksta, a UM music instructor and former member of \n“With this gift, they will be able to gain a greater \nTo the surviving members of the Hill family, their gift is \n“That was a miracle to me,” he said. “She would be in such \nIt was only after she suffered two strokes toward the end \n“She really lived and breathed music,” he said. “Whenever \nFor more information about the UM Foundation, go to \n
\n– how it can chase away the blues, and brighten the darkest
\ndays. That’s why, for more than 40 years, the University of
\nMississippi alumna shared her voice with the sick and
\nshut-in, performing at nursing homes throughout Memphis and
\nthe Mid-South.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsaid her son, Richard Dean Hill. “Whenever she sang, there
\nwas something special about her voice that brought out the
\njoy and love in other people. That’s what she was trying to
\ndo – to communicate the good parts of humanity.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nher family has ensured that her legacy will live on in the
\nMary Lee Sneed Hill Vocal Music Scholarship Endowment,
\nestablished with a $25,000 gift, and a gift of flutes to
\nthe UM Department of Music.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nstudents pursuing a degree in music in the College of
\nLiberal Arts. Selection of recipients will be made on the
\nbasis of academics, leadership abilities and\/or the display
\nof talent in the vocal music field, specifically religious
\nmusic. The family hopes a spirit of service will live on as
\nwell.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nneed it most – the elderly, the poor and the sick,” said
\nDean Hill, Mary Lee’s widower.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nlife, through her music, to other people out there,” said
\nRichard Dean Hill. “If the recipient can convey that
\nmessage, we’ve accomplished what we wanted to do.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\naround the world to the music department. He and his wife
\ncollected the traditional folk instruments during their
\nmissionary work to such exotic locales as China, Argentina,
\nYugoslavia, Haiti and Spain.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nsaid. “I traveled with the United Methodist Church as a
\nmissionary, and later Mary Lee said she’d go with me. And
\nwe’d go out on tourist-type visits, and our collections
\ngrew from there.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nmusic from all cultures in its curriculum, said Ron Vernon,
\nassociate dean of liberal arts and professor of music. “We
\nplan to use these instruments as resources in our world
\nmusic and music appreciation classes,” he said.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nthe Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, is also grateful for
\nthe gift. She knows these flutes will impact her students.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nperspective of the flute outside of its Western category,”
\nPereksta said. “These flutes will help open their eyes that
\nthe world is a bigger place.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nan extension of Mary Lee’s undying love of music and
\npeople. She earned a degree in music and fine arts from UM
\nin 1941. She spent much of her life sharing her voice, and
\neven after a near-fatal car accident in the 1970s, she
\ncontinued to perform for the sick and elderly at nursing
\nhomes, said Richard Dean Hill.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\npain, but she wouldn’t turn anyone down. I went with her to
\nnursing homes several times, and people would be sad for
\none reason or another. As I watched the people she
\nperformed for, I saw their faces go from sorrow to just
\nsmiling and clapping.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nof her life that she was no longer able to give the gift of
\nmusic, said Richard Dean Hill.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nshe sang, there was something special about her voice. That
\nwas the magic she created.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.umfoundation.com<\/a>.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"