Professor Adams was a great music teacher, and I am truly saddened to hear of his passing.  He was always supportive, and whether I was practicing a classical piano piece one day, or composing a piece the next, he was always happy to listen to whatever I was working on.  He made me feel comfortable to experiment with many genres of music, and he even encouraged me to perform my compositions at recitals.  His advice continues to be invaluable in my work and life.  It was an honor to learn from him, and he is greatly missed.

I met John Adams when I first visited the University of South Carolina in 1996.  My current teachers told me it was important to choose a graduate school based on the teacher in my subject.  After I played my audition in piano, he told me I needed to “find my legs,” and used his hand to illustrate a spider standing on its legs.  I truly did not know what this meant.  I thanked him, and called him “Dr. Adams,” to which he corrected “Professor.”  Though I came to learn others called him “Mr. Adams,” my name for him was permanently secured as “Professor.”  A good friend thought it would be appropriate to say “We did it, John,” when he presented me with my doctoral hood six years later.  I couldn’t do it.  My respect for him and the life he led had me trembling in the knees at that moment.  

It was a joy to see him in his home, have him visit Jacksonville State University where I work, and to be with him in Cortona, Italy and Varna, Bulgaria.  One never worried about the environment being dull when he was around!  He had a jubilant laugh.  He spoke his mind.  He was kind, and he was direct.  He held the greatest ideals in music and piano performing.  He was a great support for me, and continued to advise me in my career, as well as share his endeavors, over the years.

I was glad to work with the South Carolina Music Teachers Association to name him a “MTNA Fellow” and attend a banquet in his honor in San Antonio in March 2016 (the following photo shows he and I with Nancy Elton at that event).  I have so many wonderful memories of him.  He loved his family, his friends, his students, good food and drink, his home, his garden, traveling and music.  I was lucky to find in him a mentor, and feel that I am one of many out there working and hoping to make a difference in the lives of students as he did. 

Dunbar Funeral Home

John Adams

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John Kenneth Adams

December 11, 1934 – April 29, 2018

Dunbar Funeral Home (Devine)

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