3111 Hlrmnrg nf HENRY PEDER OPSETH 0890-I95OD Long ago Callimachus said, A good man never dies. ln a striking way this seems true of the Artist and especially therefore, also, of Professor Opseth. Though his time WGS COI1C6rneCl with other things than establishing himself as one not to be forgotten fthe thought was ab- horrent to himl, the very nature of his work perpetuates his presence - In l1Ul'1ClreClS of lIV6S and in many lands. Professor Opseth is not least among those who have shaped Augsburg College and who now enjoy this strange and .wonderful kind of immortality. . Those who sang or played under his direction never went away quite the same as when they had come-the change being conditioned only by the students' degree of receptivity and desire to grow. Something of life as seen through Oppie's temperament, fashioned by him in musical tones and illumined by the peculiar powers of sound and rhythm, infused the per- formers, and life for them became a richer experience. And now, living on this widened hori- zon, what may be rightly called the Opseth heritage inevitably is shared by all with whom his pupils associate and work. , Fortunately, this goodly heritage fell not only to -his students, his choir members, and his close friends, for his influence made its way into almost every area of college life at its finest. His interests were astonishingly wide, and he would devote himself quite as wholly to a dis- cussion of a relatively obscure subject, or to playing a game of kittenball, as to an intense choir rehearsal or a class in Harmony. This fact of complete absorption in the matter at hand marked Oppie and, in a sense, epitomized his life: his protests against half-hearted effort were a reflection of his own inability to undertake anything only half-heartedly. Evidences of his untiring service as Head of the Department of Music are not wanting. He is most immediately associated with the Augsburg College Choir, but the Choir is merely a single, though not insignificant flowering of the department in which he was the guiding spirit for twenty-eight years. When one contemplates the growth and recognition which has come- to the department, his work as a teacher and director, his success in assembling a mu- sic faculty of distinction, his influence .upon the ministry of music within the Church, his posi- tion as a leader in the fleld of choral music, the countless conferences, consultations and talks with students and other friends who needed his help, discipline, inspiration, or encourage- ment-who can number his works, and who can measure his stature? The prospect is breath- taking and endlessly challenging, yet giving one courage and, not least of all, a spirit of pr0- found gratitude to God that Oppie devoted a life to his Art at Augsburg and now lives on in all of us. n II
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