A lifelong resident of Lewis County, Ted Teitzel Jr., died on July 7. As he was always a somewhat quiet, retiring type of personality, but increasingly so in the last several years, very little has been said. A short article appeared in the July 8 Chronicle.
Most likely, Ted would have wanted it that way. No fuss.
But it seems a little sad to let such a fine person depart from the scene without remembering at least a few of his good works. As one of his former students, I will attempt to outline a number of his accomplishments.
Many Lewis County folks might remember his father, Ted Teitzel Sr., who served on the Chehalis School Board for many years (in the 1950s and ’60s).
Ted Jr. was undoubtedly one of the most talented music students ever to graduate from W.F. West High School. By the age of 18, he had already had about 10 years of piano study and had developed into a fine accompanist. In high school, he had also taken up the study of percussion instruments — timpani in particular — and it was in this discipline that he received a music scholarship for study at Eastern Washington University at Cheney. His university music studies included several years of both organ and timpani.
After college graduation, Ted returned to Lewis County and started teaching organ and piano students in the Chehalis-Centralia area, and also in Longview. It was as a high school sophomore that I met Ted at Longview’s Korten’s Music Store, where he taught several students. For about 10 years, Ted was also the adjunct instructor of organ for Lower Columbia College in Longview.
Additionally, Ted served as organist for a number of churches in the Chehalis-Centralia area, most notably St. John’s Lutheran, Chehalis Methodist and St. Mary’s Catholic.
As I began my high school organ and piano studies with Ted, he encouraged me to listen to recordings (and attend live concerts whenever possible) of all types of music — chamber music, brass ensemble, piano, vocal, choral, symphonic, Middle Ages, Baroque, Impressionism, 20th century (a little bit of everything!), in addition to organ music.
As a result, I received a truly democratic, eclectic background, a broad outlook on music and music-making. (This is probably one of the most valuable legacies a mentor can bestow upon a young student.)
If the success of a teacher is measured by the paths of his former students, then it could be mentioned at least two of Ted’s went on to advanced study: Greg Vancil, from Longview, (who had studied organ with Ted as a high school student) continued his education at the University of Washington, eventually earning a doctorate in choral conducting; and, after studying organ with Ted for five years (high school and LCC) I finished my undergraduate studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and later earned a doctorate from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.
As I continued with my later studies and subsequent career, I came to see that Ted was a teacher who possessed rare gifts. He had a generally quiet personality style, but this was very effective, all of his points supported by thorough intellectual grounding. As he had a rather unique and quirky sense of humor, my several years of lessons with him were always enjoyable.
Decades after I had finished my studies with Ted, I would occasionally come home to Washington state and play some music for him.
I’m not sure if it was because of the many years spent on his farm, among the animals and nature, or simply because of that unusual wit, but he frequently had highly individual views on music (and sometimes performance) that hadn’t occurred to me.
I can only speak with some authority about these musical activities. There may be a few local folks who still remember Ted’s prize-winning Scottish-Highlander cattle from the Southwest Washington Fair.
Ted Teitzel was a fine teacher, and a wonderful friend. He will be greatly missed.
Editor’s note: Jonathan Wright grew up in Winlock, and is a graduate of Winlock High School. He currently lives in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he is music director for Blessed Trinity Catholic Church.
