Eldon Obrecht (1920–2011)

This memorial of Professor Emeritus Eldon Obrecht, School of Music, was written by Diana Gannett, currently Professor of Double Bass, University of Michigan, and formerly Professor of Double Bass, The University of Iowa (1992-2001).

Eldon R. Obrecht was born June 6, 1920 and died peacefully March 7, 2011 at age 90. His life as a bassist, composer, musician, tireless teacher, and ever-diplomatic and positive presence touched many lives.

Eldon bloomed where he was planted. He was born in Rolfe, Iowa, to William and Harriet (Petronek) Obrecht. His father ran a movie theater and I remember that some decades later he still kept a portion of the carpeting from the theater to serve as an endpin stop for his bass. Movies were still silent when Eldon was a child and his first exposure to music was listening to Mrs. La Chance play for the films. Eldon studied piano with her until movies became “talkies,” and Mrs. La Chance moved on. He then continued studying piano with Amy Ireland. Eldon played piano with ease and in later years, would often accompany his students in lessons. It was one of the many supportive ways he helped his students to excel.

While he was still a youth, an orchestra program was introduced into the Rolfe schools and Eldon, with his musical background, chose to play one of the two double basses that the school had bought. As the bass came to him, so did the lessons. Karl King's band traveled from town to town in those days, offering lessons for thirty-five cents per half hour. King’s bassist, Karl Spotvoldt, Sr., became his teacher, and Eldon excelled on the bass, becoming somewhat of a local phenomenon. So by the time Eldon had graduated from high school in 1936 he was already a known quantity to Phillip Greeley Clapp, then Director of the State University of Iowa (now University of Iowa) School of Music. Clapp, as a judge for state-wide high school competitions, was impressed enough with Eldon’s talent in solo and ensemble, that he offered him a scholarship to study composition with him. Again, it was the right teacher at the right time and Obrecht completed his baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees with Clapp. Eldon often spoke of Professor Clapp with much reverence.

While completing his master’s degree, Eldon met Maxine Schlanbusch who was also a graduate assistant in the music program. They were married in 1943. I have the pleasure of having known all of their lovely daughters each of whom has some tie to the music profession—as teacher, performer or both. Shortly after marriage, World War II became the national focus and Obrecht joined the Navy Pre-flight School Band in Iowa City. Near the end of the war, he was transferred to the Philippines. Upon returning home, they moved to the East Coast where Obrecht spent the first part of 1946 in Boston studying bass with Ludwig Juht. Obrecht’s degrees were in composition and he wanted to test his performing talent to find out if he could play well enough to win a spot in a professional symphony, which he did without delay. He was accepted into the Washington, DC, National Symphony Orchestra, where he performed during the 1946 summer season and the 1946-47 season. He didn’t stay long, as Clapp offered him the opportunity to return to Iowa to attain his doctoral degree and to serve as a teacher. He joined the faculty of The University of Iowa in the fall of 1947.

Obrecht was almost a celebrity through his enormously popular “Masterpieces of Music” course. It was a course that was dear to his heart. While a student he had attended Clapp's two-year History and Appreciation of Music course several times. As a master’s student he also assisted in the course and occasionally taught the course in summers when Clapp was away on vacation. When Clapp died in 1953, Obrecht took over the music appreciation/ history classes and with them the WSUI radio broadcasts that Clapp had begun in 1920. He broadcast the lectures with musical examples from recordings and live performances until 1972. During his tenure at the University, Obrecht taught studio double bass, as well as music appreciation, music theory, and composition. He also collaborated with a colleague, Tom Turner, in writing a book on musical form and analysis that was used for many years.

Obrecht retired from the University in 1990, but remained as the double bass professor until 1992. As a performer he served as the principal bassist with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra for most of his professional life and continued to play in the section until he was an octogenarian. He gave frequent solo recitals to enthusiastic audiences and I just recently found a recording of him playing Halsey Stevens Sonatina Giocosa on the web while searching for a copy of the music. It was good to hear him play again. He was an enormous influence in my life as well as so many of his other bass students.

Eldon's family includes his brother, Robert Obrecht of Redding, CT; daughters, Celia Obrecht (Stephen Hutchens) of Bellingham, WA, Julia Hardie (Gary) of Waco, TX, Nancy Jephcote of Martha's Vineyard, MA and Martha Spangler (David) of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Maxine; his parents; and his half-brother, Arthur Erwin Obrecht.


Respectfully submitted with appreciation to Dr. Mario Chiarello for his researched biography of Obrecht from his DMA essay on Obrecht’s music (1993) and the obituary from the Iowa City Press-Citizen (March 11, 2011).