Leonard Ott
Leonard Ott, associate professor of music at the University of Missouri–St. Louis for 40 years, and a consummate teacher who brought his love of music to generations of students and St. Louis audiences alike, died July 7 after a long illness. He was 69 years old.
Ott earned two undergraduate degrees from Wisconsin State University, one in music education and the other in history. He also earned master’s and doctoral degrees in music theory from Michigan State University, East Lansing.
He became a member of the UMSL music faculty in September 1969 and taught music theory, 20th century techniques, counterpoint and music history. He retired in August 2009. In addition to his teaching, he served as chair of the department for 21 years – from 1977 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2003. He also served as interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from December 1997 to August 2000. For more than 20 years he taught “Know the Score,” a companion course to many St. Louis Symphony Orchestra subscription concerts. It was offered to the music-loving public through UMSL’s Division of Continuing Education. An author of articles on the piano music of Liszt and the orchestral styles of Berlioz and Debussy, he also presented pre-concert lectures for the popular Premiere Performance concert series.
“Len created and taught the important sequence of courses in music theory to our students,” said John Hylton, dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication. “He was well loved by several decades of music students. Each year, we held a beginning of the year meeting with faculty and students. Len always got a round of applause, which was not the case for all faculty. He became well-known throughout the St. Louis community as a music lecturer and will be missed by many.”
Ott is survived by his two sons, Leonard Ott, Jr. of Columbia, Ill., and Benjamin Ott of Boise, Idaho.
A memorial service is planned for August 5, 2010, at 4 p.m., in 205 Music Building, on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. For further information call (314) 516-5981, or (314) 516-4571.