SHELTON TUNES UP FOR RETIREMENT

Southeast Missouri State University music professor Dr. John Shelton has spent much of his career on the bench, tickling the ivories on his office piano.

But after 36 years, Shelton is readying for retirement this month.

He is one of three Southeast faculty members who have taught at the school that long. All three are retiring this spring.

Shelton isn't putting a halt to teaching entirely. "I am hedging a little bit," he said Wednesday while seated on his piano bench.

Shelton, 66, will teach piano classes at Southeast on a part-time basis next school year. "It is just on a year to year basis."

Shelton said he didn't want to give up teaching completely, particularly since he has no retirement hobbies in mind.

The first member of the music faculty to obtain a doctorate, Shelton arrived at Southeast as the department began to train students to be music teachers.

In his nearly four decades at Southeast, Shelton has taught piano to more than 900 students.

He teaches music students both in a class setting and individually in his office.

"There is a lot of one-on-one work," he said. "You do develop quite a closeness to many of those students."

In addition to teaching piano, Shelton organized the Choral Union and served as director of the choir for three years.

He directed the choir at Centenary United Methodist Church for 25 years. He ceased directing the choir 10 years ago.

In 1991, he became interim director of the choir at First Christian Church in Cape Girardeau.

Shelton expected to handle the duties for only three months. In the end, he directed the choir for three years.

"I have always had two jobs -- college teaching and church music," he said.

Shelton grew up in Murray, Ky. He has been playing piano since first grade.

Since coming to Southeast in 1962, he has seen many changes on the Cape Girardeau campus.

He has had a good view of some of those changes from his windowed office on the north side of Brandt Hall.

"Nothing was there," he said as he looked out at over the north part of the campus where the Towers complex and numerous academic buildings now stand.

"This was the home of the birds," recalled Shelton.

It was full of trees and had a gully running through it.

In 1962, Southeast had about 3,000 students. Today, it has about 8,000.

Many new buildings were constructed at Southeast during Shelton's first 10 years at the school.

"That was a decade of real growth," he said.

In recent decades, more buildings have gone up.

But the campus still doesn't have a recital hall. "We need a recital hall," said Shelton.

Brandt Hall had been open only a few years when Shelton arrived.

The music building's location has been a problem at times. The building is near the campus power plant.

At times, noise from the plant has made it difficult for both students and faculty to hear the music.

The music department currently holds its music recitals in Academic Hall Auditorium and in a practice room.

But Shelton said the campus needs a recital hall that could seat 250 to 300 people.

When Shelton came to Southeast, it was managed by then-president Mark Scully, who ran a tight ship. Faculty didn't have to contend with a large bureaucracy of administrators, Shelton said.

Today, there are numerous layers to the hierarchy, he said. "Now it is hard to know who to go to."

When it comes to music, Shelton doesn't have a favorite composer. He loves the work of many classical composers.

Shelton loves the piano for its versatility. Piano music sounds good solo or as part of an ensemble.

"You don't need an accompaniment like you do with voice," he said.

Music speaks to people, he said. "It is a medium through sound that expresses feelings and emotions."

Shelton said people don't have to be music teachers to appreciate music. "Music is part of everybody's life," he said.