Memorial Set for University Wind Ensemble Founder, Benton Minor

Benton Minor, emeritus professor of music at California State University, Fullerton and a dedicated music educator for 40 years, died Feb. 25 of natural causes. He was 75 years old.

A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, March 7, at Rose Drive Friends Church in Yorba Linda.

During his 26-year tenure at Cal State Fullerton, Minor served in a number of capacities, including director of bands. He chaired the Music Department for 10 years and founded the University Wind Ensemble. An integral part of the department’s program for outstanding instrumental majors, the ensemble — under Minor’s direction — received international acclaim while performing in Europe and Japan.

“Music is life,” Minor once said. “It comes from life, it stems from our feelings and deals with our emotions.”

Minor’s life in music began as a tuba-playing fifth-grader in Escondido. Later, his junior high school band director inspired him to make music his career. After graduating from Escondido High in 1946, Minor enlisted in the Navy and served as a weatherman for two years at Pearl Harbor. Following his discharge, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from UCLA and a master’s degree in music education from Claremont Graduate School.

Prior to joining the faculty at CSUF, Minor was an acclaimed director of high school bands for 14 years. Bands under his direction were consistently rated among the top groups in California and won numerous awards — and on five occasions, marched in the Rose Parade.

One of his legacies is the legion of former students who have become highly successful music educators and performers throughout the United States. Minor’s passion for music inspired them to develop their own musicianship. Gene Pokorny, tuba player with the Chicago Symphony, considers Minor “one of the most influential guiding lights” in his career. “Mr. Minor was a person who made a difference in the lives he touched,” he said.

Minor retired from the university in 1993 and in 1995, the instrumental rehearsal hall on campus was named the Benton L. Minor Instrumental Rehearsal Hall, in his honor.

A board member of the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, Minor served as its president from 1981-1985 and received the association’s Honorary Life Award in 1984. Throughout his career, Minor guest-conducted district, county and state high school honor bands and led the Fullerton Civic Light Opera Co.’s orchestra for numerous productions.

During his retirement, the Anaheim resident rediscovered the joy of playing the tuba as a member of the Rose Drive Friends Church Orchestra and the Placentia Community Concert Band.

Minor is survived by his wife of 53 years, Geraldine Cassem Minor; daughters Carolynn Reed of Redlands, Denise Newberry of Placentia and Deborah Buckles of Riverside; sons Ronald Minor of Anaheim and Robert Minor of Fullerton; and seven grandchildren.

Flowers for the memorial service may be sent Friday to the Rose Drive Friends Church, 4221 Rose Drive, Yorba Linda. Donations to the “Benton Minor Scholarship” fund may be sent to the CSUF Music Department, C/O Benton Minor Scholarship, P.O. Box 6850, Fullerton, CA 92834. Please make checks payable to the University Advancement Foundation.