05/01/2024
The Scot Band community mourns the loss of longtime Director of Bands and Professor
Emerita of Music, Nancy Ditmer.
A passionate advocate for music education, her leadership shaped the Scot Bands for decades and her legacy will live on through the thousands of Wooster alumni that she mentored.
Nancy Ditmer, Professor Emerita of Music, appointed to The College of Wooster in 1984. B. Mus., Capital University; M.A., University of Iowa. Professor Ditmer taught public school for 9 years in Arcanum and Versailles, Ohio, where her bands consistently earned top ratings in concert and marching festivals. As graduate assistant at Iowa, she taught conducting and instrumental methods, conducted the University Band, and assisted with the Hawkeye Marching Band, including writing portions of shows for the Rose and Peach Bowl games. Her duties at Wooster included directing the Scot Marching and Symphonic Bands, teaching music education and conducting courses, supervising student teachers, and chairing the Department of Music. She was the founder and director of the Wooster Music Camp, a summer program for middle and high school instrumental music students, which served thousands of young musicians in its 21 years of existence. Ditmer served as President of the North Central Division of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) (2002-04) and national President from 2012-2014; was President of the Ohio Music Education Association (1996-98) and Editor of Triad (1991-93); also chaired the Executive Director Task Force, the Government Relations Committee, the Da Capo Board, and was a member of the Strategic Plan Committee. Ditmer served as Co-Chair for the 2009 OMEA Professional Development Conference – OMEA at the Foundation of Music Education – held in Columbus, January 15-17, 2009. For NAfME, she was a member of the Strategic Plan Committee and served as reviewer and editor for Model Music Programs. Additionally, she served on the Board of the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education, three terms as President of the Ohio Private College Instrumental Conductors Association (OPCICA), and as a consultant for a U.S. Department of Education grant for the Canton (OH) Symphony Orchestra. She presented workshops throughout the country and in Europe, South America, and Australia on such topics as advocacy, rehearsal techniques, professional development for music teachers, assessment, classroom management, and state and national music education initiatives. Ditmer maintained an active guest conducting and adjudication schedule throughout Ohio and across the country, and served as the primary adjudicator for the New South Wales School Band Festival in Sydney, Australia. She was the recipient of the 2006 OMEA Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the association, and was designated by NAfME as a Lowell Mason Fellow, awarded by this national organization in recognition of outstanding contributions to music education. In April of 2016, Ditmer was recognized with the Alumni Achievement Award from her undergraduate alma mater, Capital University.
