Void left in School of Music

They graced the stage with their music, spirit and talent. \nNow Jacobs School of Music officials say they are faced with the task of finding a way to fill the void left by the students who died in a plane crash late Thursday night. \n"They were extremely visible," said Carmen Helena Téllez, a professor of music in the choral department. "Their profile in the school was very prominent. These people were gifted in many, many, many ways." \nThe deceased students -- Robert Samels, Zachary Novak, Garth Eppley, Georgina Joshi and Chris Carducci -- were all graduate students in the music school. They held positions in ensembles and choral groups at the school and performed with outside groups throughout the country, said Jan Harrington, chairman of the chorus department. \n"They're going to be sorely missed," he said. \nNo positions had been cast for next year's opera performances or performing groups, although some initial auditions may have occurred, Harrington said. \n"There's no immediate holes in anything because nothing had been cast yet," he said. \nAt the music school, Harrington said each student had been active in ensembles and choral groups. \nJoshi was a member of the Pro Arte Singers, a chamber orchestra of about 24 people that performed music from the baroque, medieval and renaissance times, Harrington said. Eppley was a three-year member of the Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, which performed "new music," or classical music written by contemporary artists. Carducci, Novak and Samels were performers in the University Singers, a graduate chorus of about 24 people, he said. \nEach group performs about two or three times a semester, he said. In addition, he said the groups re-audition their members for their roles in the fall. \nThe deaths of the students represent no immediate impact on the performance schedules of the ensembles, since each has finished for the academic year, Harrington said.\nBut he said they would be difficult to replace. \n"They weren't moving from ego," he said. "They were moving from love of the art and joy of the art. And because of that they were great leaders and beloved by everyone." \nOne of the students, Samels, a doctoral choral conducting major, was an associate instructor in the theory department. He lectured to about 200 students in the Music Skills II course, a required undergraduate oral skills training class, said Eric Isaacson, chair of the music theory department. \n"He had a way of making it really fun for the kids to help them really see the relevance of it to their own musical lives," Isaacson said. "He was clearly very well-liked." \nSamels also served as course supervisor, overseeing between one and five other associate instructors who helped teach the course, Isaacson said. \nIsaacson referred to Samels as a "musical Superman." \n"It's unusual for a non-music theory major to be an AI in our department and even more so to be put in charge of one of these classes," he said. "The fact that he was in this position is not only a testament to his musical skills but also to his superb teaching abilities, as well." \nSince his death came near the end of the semester, a substitute has been arranged to help for the remainder of the semester, Isaacson said. \nSamels had already decided not to teach the course next year, and so before he died a replacement had been named for the coming year, he said. \nTéllez said deciding how to fill the inevitable void left by the students was not a primary concern. More importantly, she said, was that the community be able to mourn the loss of the students and remember their lives.\n"We're going through a mourning period," she said. "The students are very affected by this. They are coming forward very generously to participate in memorial services. It's kind of early in the story for us to take account the consequences practically for all of us from now on. I think we'll deal with all of that next week"