{"id":3244,"date":"2021-05-02T17:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-02T23:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=3244"},"modified":"2021-04-25T17:17:47","modified_gmt":"2021-04-25T23:17:47","slug":"in-memory-of-rod-cathey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=3244","title":{"rendered":"In Memory of Rod Cathey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our youngest son David went to Azusa Pacific University<\/a>, graduating in 2003. Although he majored in Business, he spent most of his time in the music building, playing piano for the renowned University Choir and Orchestra and other music-related activities. The foundation for all that was laid by Dr. Rod Cathey, who conducted Men’s Chorale, for which David sang his freshman year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly after David graduated, Rod suffered a brain tumor, from which he never fully recovered, finally passing on April 20. Rod was one of the great ones, as the School of Music posted: “To his students, he was equal parts teacher, mentor and pastor.” You can see David’s FaceBook posts here<\/a>. Here is what I wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am David Ewell\u2019s father, also a pianist. When David was a freshman, singing in male chorale, we had already heard one concert before parents\u2019 weekend. I knew they always closed with \u201cI\u2019m On the Battlefield for my Lord.\u201d I told David that sure would be fun to play. During the rehearsal we were observing at parents\u2019 weekend, Rod turned to me and said, \u201dDo you want to sit in on Battlefield?\u201d You bet! So I played it during rehearsal. Great fun. Afterward, as we were walking away, David said, \u201cNow tomorrow night at the concert…\u201d I said, \u201cYou mean he expects me to play that at the concert?\u201d Yes. To make a long story short, I played it at the concert without music because the score was simple and it was 12 pages long! I did OK until I did one of the key changes prematurely. It took a few bars for the guitar and bass to realize what I\u2019d done. We got through it. What will stick with me forever was that neither Rod nor anyone else said anything about my mistake. The concert wasn\u2019t about me, it wasn\u2019t about the Chorale, it was for the Lord. Some musicians will say that. Rod Cathey lived it.\u00a0Rest in peace, my brother. Thanks for all you did for David, and we\u2019ll reprise Battlefield some day on the new earth!\u00a0–<\/em>Bob Ewell, Facebook post on Rod Cathey <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn’t find a recording of Battlefield, but here are a few representative recordings of APU music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n