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Hear the Song
Illinois State University Art alumna and Bloomington native Mary McNamee Bower, '77, of Evansville, Ind., now has an even closer bond with her alma mater, having won the new school song competition to commemorate Illinois State's 150th anniversary this year.
Bower and her husband, David, wrote the lyrics to "Pride of Illinois" and their friend, Jeremy A. Korba, a church music director, wrote the music. A committee comprised of faculty, staff, alumni and students, headed by Music Professor Emeritus Jim Roderick, selected their work from 43 entries.
The new school song, which will be added to the University's repertoire of music, will be introduced to the general campus community during the Founders Day bell ringing ceremony at 10 a.m. Feb. 15, and featured during 150th Anniversary Celebration ceremonies and events throughout the year.
Illinois State announced the contest for a new school song last February. The winners share $5,000. The guidelines called for the song to commemorate Illinois State's history, capture the spirit of the University today and project a vision for the future. The guidelines called for the lyrics and melody to be positive and upbeat, easy to sing and appropriate for Illinois State's traditional events such as Founders Day and Commencement.
Mary Bower, whose parents, Paul and Suzanne McNamee, live in Bloomington, is a Bloomington High School graduate who majored in art history at Illinois State. She is the Virginia G. Schroeder Curator of Collections at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science. Her husband, David, is director of university development and president of the USI Foundation at the University of Southern Indiana.
The two composed the lyrics during a car ride to visit her parents in Bloomington last February. Mary read the notice of the song competition in the alumni magazine. When they got home, they asked their friend Jeremy to compose an original score. Korba, music director at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville, also owns a marketing and advertising firm in Evansville, Regent Promotions.
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