Dr. Dennis Roy Hill

Dr. Dennis Hill went home to be with The Lord after a brief illness. He passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by the love of his family. Dr. Hill has been a well known and respected educator, musician and conductor in South West Florida for over forty years. He was a Professor of Music at Edison State College, which included being director of The Edison State College Band, Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble. Upon his retirement, Dr. Hill became the founding conductor and musical director of The Bonita Springs Concert Band. He is survived by his wife Constance, of 25 years, a sister Judith Scott of Ohio, a brother Jeffrey Hill of Texas, and three nephews, including Dennis Scott and wife Cindi of Naples. He will be greatly missed by all those who loved him and had the pleasure of sharing his love of music. A Memorial Service for Dr. Dennis Hill will be celebrated 11 AM, Saturday, February 28, 2015 at the Covenant Church of Naples, 6926 Trail Blvd, Naples, FL 34108 (across from Pelican Bay). In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The Dennis Hill Music Scholarship Fund, make checks payable to: FSW College Foundation, 8099 College Parkway, Ft. Myers, FL 33919 in loving memory of Dr. Dennis Hill. The family of Dr. Hill would like to share the eulogy that was shared at the service: EULOGY for DENNIS R. HILL Good morning. My name is Michael Ciccarone and for many years it was my honor and pleasure to call Dennis Hill my friend. When he was born in Ravenna, Ohio, on June 7, 1943, his parents, Roy and Helen, named him “Dennis Roy”------a good name, to be sure, but one that could never be adequate to describe a man of his accomplishments and force of personality. The name “Dennis” does invoke a certain sense of mischief ---- perhaps based on the famous comic strip “Dennis the Menace” - ---- and, when he got that twinkle in his eye and sly smile on his face, the name “Dennis” did seem most apt. Certainly, to his family he was “Dennis”, but to the rest of the world, who recognized his strength, his intellect , his passion, and especially his preeminence in all matters musical, he was, is, and always will be----you can say it with me----- “The Hill.” The second oldest of four children, the boy, who one day would become a one-man institution, grew up in the very small town of Palmyra, Ohio, where, by today’s standards, there wasn’t much to do. But he discovered a love of the outdoors and learned fishing from his grandfather, a passion which stayed with him all of his life. Indeed, he once described himself as a fisherman who just happened to play music for a living. However, regardless of whether it is the fish or the rhythmically-challenged student percussionists of Southwest Florida who feel the safer for his passing, nobody ever could say that The Hill did things by half measures. Not content just to fish on his Grady White, he earned his Captain’s license from The United States Coast Guard in October of 2000. The exam, he stated later, was almost as difficult as getting his Ph.D. But that was how Dennis approached everything in his life, with an incredible work ethic, and tenacity that had no limits. He discovered the clarinet in grade school and practiced so much that his parents begged him more than once to stop. He mastered the saxophone, but fell in love with the flute. His fondness for the clarinet diminished rapidly as he pursued his love affair with flute. I recall once saying to him in passing that I had always wanted to learn to play the clarinet, whereupon he immediately offered to sell me his---and I think he was serious, although, when he got that little “Dennis the Menace” grin, I could not be sure of it. He earned both Bachelor and Master degrees from the prestigious and difficult Dana School of Music of Youngstown State University in Ohio. To those accomplishments he later added a Ph.D. in music education from the University of North Texas in Denton, an even more formidable musical institution then recognized more as or less as THE jazz school. But he was so much more than a gifted instrumentalist. He was an academic, an educator, a man of intellect, and a gifted writer. I recall once an email debate we had over the relative merits of the saxophone versus the trombone, based mainly on totally fictional, and somewhat scatological, histories of both instruments, as invented by their dueling critics. I tell you, the man could write! Were he not so handicapped by his choice of which instrument to defend, he might well have won that one. Dennis loved hats, which he wore, figuratively and literally. Some maintained that his literal fondness was motivated by the need to avoid sunburn to his follicle-challenged scalp, but it must be admitted that he did wear a pony-tail like someone who had invented it. And I know from first-hand listening that the women in his audiences liked it----almost as much as they liked watching the rest of him from behind. But I digress. His musical tastes were many. Thank goodness they did not extend to Zydeco, but his love for classical music was great and might have been surpassed only by his love of jazz. He was equally as comfortable playing flute in a symphony orchestra as he was blowing Coltrane licks on his saxophone in a jazz club. A walking encyclopedia of music, The Hill loved teaching music history---and it seemed to me that he knew ALL of it that there is to know! He tutored many students on flute, clarinet and saxophone, some of whom went on to pursue professional playing careers. THE HILL was “Mister Music”! He knew how to play it. He knew how to teach it. He knew the art of it. He knew the business of it. He knew the history of it. He knew the academic world of music, the music hall, and the dance stage, and, not least of all, he knew how to conduct it. Conducting might have been Dennis’ greatest talent and that is saying a lot, considering how great his talents were in so many other aspects of music. For thirty-two years, until his retirement in 2008, he was the director of the Edison State College Band, the Edison Orchestra, and the Edison Jazz Ensemble. In appreciation, The Edison State College Endowment Corporation named a perpetual scholarship in his honor in 2007. Upon his retirement he became the founding conductor and musical director of the very successful Bonita Springs Concert Band, which draws thousands to its monthly Sunday outdoor concerts. In 2014 he was named a “Paul Harris Fellow” for his cultural contribution to Bonita Springs. Through his company, Creative Musical Productions, The Dennis Hill Band provided music for a virtual “who’s who” of corporate America at five-star hotels, concert venues, and private clubs throughout Florida between 1985 and 2005. He contracted for and backed-up a long list of nationally and internationally known musical artists and entertainers, whose recordings are heard daily on radio stations and music halls throughout the world. But, of course, you already know all of this. How could you be here and not know it? What you may not know is Dennis Hill, the husband. Let me tell you about that Dennis Hill. Dennis’ marriage to Connie was one that all persons could admire and many perhaps even envy. Jazz musicians--- and I think that is how Dennis thought of himself, especially in his younger days---are not generally known for their piety. Fathers did not want their daughters to marry one; Parents did not want their children to become one. It was astonishing to many when into his life walked Connie, a strikingly beautiful woman, to be sure, but one so straight that Dennis’ jazz compatriots immediately labeled her “Attila the Nun”. How, they wondered, could the Hill ever be tamed by one so pious? Like a great tiger, which may be domesticated but is never truly tamed, the Hill surrendered to his fate, and, as the saying goes, the rest is history, perhaps even magic. I can personally say that Dennis would light up when he talked to me about Connie. He not only loved her; he adored her. With her by his side The Hill rose to even greater heights of personal and professional accomplishment. To Connie, I say on Dennis’ behalf, “Thank you for being you. You have made my life complete. You have made be so very happy. How could I not love you?” *********************************************** Dennis Hill, the friend, was a reliable, solid and caring person. He also was just so much fun. Of him one could say with complete confidence that, if you did not know how to laugh and have fun with Dennis Hill, then you did not know how to have fun. He could be self-deprecating, witty, silly, and clever all at the same time. He was forgiving and understanding. In Yiddish he was a “Mensch”. And could he tell stories! Who else but The Hill could have been playing a gig when the front of the night club in which he was performing was blown off by a rival club owner----surely the harshest critical review in music history? O how we shall miss those stories! *************************************************** No eulogy of The Hill would be complete without sharing some “Hillisms”; For those who were not privy to these, let me explain. Dennis had a way of getting his point across to students and musicians playing under his guidance in a style that became legendary, hence the word “Hillism”. We all have our favorites; here are some samples: “Do you think you could make your bass sound like a bass, and not like a cow plodding through mud?” Wind players were not immune. ”You sound like a power tool,” or “That sounded like a bodily function!” Perhaps some of you here remember the ever-popular------ “Do you prefer the way you just played the song, or the way it was written?” Dennis had a love/hate relationship with his percussion sections. In many a rehearsal you would see his head tilt, as those immortal words would flow from his mouth, “You know, man, time is not just a magazine”, followed by, “I don’t think you guys could swing from a rope”. The Hill believed that practicing was what it was all about. For example, “Somewhere in the Universe someone is practicing his instrument”, or, “You know, man, if you don’t want to practice, we always need an audience”. *********************************************** It feels good to laugh as we remember The Hill, because today is not a day that anyone here ever wanted to face and it hurts. Nevertheless, let us do it as Dennis did---straight on with his head held high. Dennis fought his final battle, just as he lived his life, with dignity and strength, never complaining for a moment, that this was unfair. Dennis had great faith in His Lord, Jesus Christ and he knew where he was going. He told Connie when they were at Moffitt, “I’ve never wondered for one moment ‘Why me’. I just pray that God will give me the strength through Christ Jesus to endure whatever pain there will be.” He told her and he also told me, “I know that my pain will be so small and insignificant compared to the pain Jesus went through on the Cross for me.” This faith, that Dennis and Connie both have, gave them a great peace throughout a very difficult journey, and his example is his final gift to you, his family, his friends, his colleagues and to all of you here. In life he was a great man; In passing he has reached even greater heights. He lives on as an inspiration for all who believe in the American Dream, in the power of music to make this world a happier one, in the value of education, hard work, humor, honesty, self-confidence and dedication. When he retired his friends commissioned a jazz piece that was performed in his honor; The title was a foregone conclusion: “Not Yet Over The Hill”. How apt it was then and now! Perhaps the simplest way to sum up the life of so very complex a man as The Hill , a man who touched the lives of so many to make them and this world better, is to read from the plaque that was placed next to the band room at Edison College when he retired. Dennis R. Hill Professor of Music, Director of Bands and Orchestra 1976-2008 Artist, Musician, Educator, Mentor, inspiration, and Friend to Edison College and the thousands of musicians who played under his baton during his years of faithful service and dedication to the College, the Community, the bands and the orchestras which he led with such distinction and elegance. He shall always be remembered, respected and loved as “The Hill” *********************************************** Rest in peace, old friend. We shall never forget you.

Dr. Dennis Roy Hill

June 7, 1943 - February 4, 2015