Beloved former Birmingham-Southern Director of Bands Dr. Ron Hooten died April 23 after a difficult illness. He served in the position for 30 years, impacting the lives of countless BSC students, from musicians in his classes and bands to those in the stands at BSC basketball games.

“My brave husband passed away peacefully surrounded by his family and the sounds of ‘Fanfare for the Common Man.’ I am profoundly grateful for the gift of his life, for the wonderful family we were blessed with, and for the legacy of glorious music he performed, taught, and conducted for so many years,” says his wife, Pat Hooten.

Growing up in Florala, Alabama, Hooten always had a love for music and was formally trained on the trombone. He studied music education as an undergraduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi and earned his Master of Music in performance and Doctor of Arts in music education from the University of Mississippi.

He began his teaching career serving as the band director at Clinton High School in Clinton, Mississippi, and Lakeshore High School in Atlanta. Then, he was hired as the assistant director of bands and director of jazz band at the University of North Alabama.

After three years at UNA, Hooten came to the Hilltop in 1980 and served in the music department until his retirement. His leadership grew a small band into several bands and ensembles, including concert band, jazz band, small ensembles, jazz combo, and pep band for basketball and football. He also taught in the Conservatory of Fine and Performing Arts for many years.

Hooten’s pep band became known as “The Best Pep Band in the Land” as class after class cheered alongside them at BSC games. Their energetic spirit was paired with the musical precision Hooten instilled in his students.

“If you ever had the pleasure to attend a BSC basketball game in the 80s, 90s, or early 2000s, you likely had the great benefit of hearing ‘The Best Pep Band in the Land,’” says Kyndall Waters ’05, BSC athletic director. “Dr. Hooten and his band always added high energy to every BSC game.”

An outstanding member of our music faculty, Hooten served as the president of the Alabama Music Educators Association in 1988 and received BSC’s Bob Strain Distinguished Service Award in 2009. He also saw the BSC basketball team win two national championships, during which he and the pep band traveled to the NAIA tournaments to support them.

Above all, Hooten became a favorite professor for students in his bands and ensembles as well as non-music students who found a way into his classes. His Beginning Band interim course – which affectionately earned the name “Tootin’ for Hooten” – was designed for students who had no music experience but wished they did.

“Ron is Glenn Holland from the movie ‘Mr. Holland’s Opus’ – beloved by all,” says Jennifer Waters ’86, director of alumni engagement. “The ‘Tootin’ for Hooten’ interim was so popular. Students who had never picked up an instrument signed up for it just to spend the month of January being around this cool, neat guy. Learning to play an instrument was secondary to that experience.”

Hooten had a way of transforming music into something any student could pick up and enjoy. Even something a simple as a garden hose – which he turned into a “hose-a-phone” for his elementary school students – could become a fun and engaging teaching tool.

“I had never played an instrument or read music before taking ‘Tootin’ for Hooten,’ and he made it amazing,” Danielle Graff Reddington ’04 says. “Every class was pure excitement, and the joy he brought to teaching was such a refreshing experience. It remains one of my favorite classes to date.”

Hooten was a thoughtful and patient father and would do anything for one of his children or grandchildren. His longtime dedication to music and Birmingham-Southern is shared by his family: his two youngest children, Kirk Hooten ’09 and Claire Hooten Prendergast ’10, both graduated from BSC before his retirement, and his oldest son, Bryan Hooten, a jazz trombonist, and son-in-law, Edward Prendergast, a guitarist and vocalist, both followed the call to be musicians.

Hooten will be greatly missed by family, friends, and former students and colleagues.