Maintaining 100-year-old buildings requires care and respect. The University of Oregon School of Music and Dance director of facilities services, Dr. Steve Dunn, understands that well. Two of the buildings he helps maintain for the SOMD, Beall Hall (part of Frohnmayer Music Building) and Collier House, are about a century old, the former capturing his imagination. “Beall Hall has housed concerts for nearly a hundred years,” Steve said. “Scientifically, we do not know why that would affect the structure, but one way or another, some magic stays in the walls.”
Steve stays busy in his current role. He is responsible for performing and/or overseeing operations and maintenance of all SOMD buildings; overseeing interior and exterior upgrades and renovations; managing the day-to-day building safety concerns; managing building security and access; maintaining furnishings and equipment; submitting work order/service requests; coordinating office moves; and maintaining an inventory of space, occupancy, and equipment.
But what some who see Steve around may not know is that he has a storied history with the SOMD. He was an instructor of trumpet and music fundamentals from 1999 to 2005. “I loved the School of Music when I taught here,” he said. “It is so diversified in its distinct areas of study. The academics are strong and so are the performance opportunities, in a wide variety of musical styles.”
His time at SOMD was abundant with memorable moments. But one that sticks with him the most is when his first daughter, Sarah, was born in 2004. “I have these memories of stepping out of a lecture class wanting a minute to decompress and my wife, Shelley, would hand Sarah to me and say she needs a diaper change and to be fed,” he laughed. “She said, ‘see ya later!’ and then she went off to teach her classes, so we have deep history here.”
Steve smiles with his wife, Shelley
Steve’s love for trumpet grew when he first started playing in his sixth-grade band. “I loved it from the beginning,” he recalled. “I really loved jazz more than anything else. When I was in my senior year of high school, I had this epiphany that I wanted to become a trumpet professor.” He started on that path at the University of North Texas. He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor’s in music education. Next, he attended Northwestern University for his MM in trumpet performance. After graduating in 1990 he decided to try his hand at teaching. He taught trumpet at a junior high school in Utah for three years. After studying in Europe for a year, he headed back to school for his DMA in trumpet performance at Arizona State University.
Throughout his career, he has taught at several different schools, including Fort Lewis College, the University of Denver, and Northern Arizona University, where he was the trumpet professor for sixteen years. In all, he has more than 25 years of experience in a School of Music working with various systems for scheduling recitals, masterclasses, concerts, rehearsals, and recording sessions.
In 2021, Steve came back to Oregon to take the facilities position at SOMD. "I really love the SOMD facilities,” he said. “Beall Hall is just an outstanding venue for many different concerts. It has its challenges in terms of accommodating large orchestra performances, but for chamber music, it is an exceptional hall.” Newer additions to the music building have provided excellent classrooms, rehearsal spaces, student lobbies, and practice rooms.
Steve and his wife are repeating history as both are back at SOMD again! Shelley is the associate director at Community Music Institute. “She's amazing at what she does,” he said. “Sometimes she throws in a few extra honey-do requests that maybe other faculty wouldn't ask from me, but I really do love working with her.”
Steve and Shelley live in southeast Eugene with their daughter Rachel. Their daughter Sarah is attending a liberal arts college in Minnesota.
Steve poses with his daughters, Rachel and Sarah