Victor R. Schoen

VICTOR R. SCHOEN Victor Robert Schoen, age 74, of Maryville, died Sunday night, February 15, after a brief illness. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1929 and received a B.A. degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1950 and a Master of Music degree from Indiana University in 1952. He received the Performance Certificate from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria in 1954. With his pianist wife Sallie, he was an Associate Professor of Music at Maryville College from 1954 through 1994. His honors and awards include the Ford Foundation Asian Studies Seminars, the National Defense Foreign Language Fellowship (Chinese), a Mellon Foundation Faculty Development Grant (Composition), the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Seminar (Japanese Theater Music), and the New Music Festival XIV (Guest Composer). An accomplished composer, his published works include choral pieces, chamber music, piano solos, and an organ prelude. His ballet, The Dancing Princesses, was performed by the Appalachian Ballet Company. He also appeared for many years in the role of Herr Drosselmeyer in their annual production of The Nutcracker. A longtime communicant of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Maryville, Victor was active in several local organizations. He served on the Cultural Subcommittee of the Blount County Sister City Organization, was a board member of the Evelyn Miller Young Pianist Series, Volunteer Advisory Council member of the Knoxville Museum of Art, KMA Guild member, and loyal supporter of and volunteer for both the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and the Knoxville Opera Company. Victor was also a member of the East TN Jazz Society, a self-described ''lazy gardener,'' and an award-winning gourmet cook who contributed his gifts to the KSO Elegant Dining, and enjoyed entertaining throughout his life. Following his retirement from Maryville College, Victor traveled to such countries as China, Egypt, Hungary, Russia, Greece, and Thailand. His lifelong love of music and the arts, especially opera, was evident in his many trips to Atlanta, Nashville, Santa Fe, and New York opera performances. He was a member of The Metropolitan Opera Guild. He was preceded in death by his parents Victor Hugo Schoen and Rose Kiss Schoen, his wife of 41 years Sallie Warth Schoen, and sister Louise Kruse. Survivors include sister Marguerite Carpenter of Anderson, South Carolina; daughter Suzanne Vest and husband Bobby of Augusta, Georgia, daughter Lydia Schoen of Knoxville, and daughter Emily Kiss Schoen of Knoxville; nephews John, Robert, and Victor Carpenter; nieces Margo Allen and Betsey Kassen; devoted friend Rick Russell of Knoxville; and a diverse community of beloved friends. A memorial service will be held this Saturday, February 21st, at 4 pm at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 314 West Broadway in Maryville, with receiving of friends to follow at the family home on Mark Lane, Maryville. McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Knoxville Museum of Art, the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, the Knoxville Opera Company, and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Maryville. McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home 982-6812 www.mccammonammonsclick.com