Giving Thanks: Dr. Timothy Kramer

I am thankful for the friendship and guidance of former Trinity University professor Timothy Kramer. Kramer, who is now the chair of the Music Department at Illinois College, was one of my favorite professors while I was a student at Trinity.


Although I was not a music major, nor did I even minor in music, I did hang about the department a fair amount. Two of the courses I took were Electronic Music and Music Composition, both taught by Dr. Kramer.

Electronic Music was fantastic because we students got to play with an incredible collection of musical toys, including synthesizers, voltage-controlled oscillators, wave generators, and many, many other noisemakers. And I’ll never forget the first day of Composition class, when Dr. Kramer knocked a music stand over on the floor and asked us “How do you like my piece?” He was illustrating the infinite possibilities that came with the modern definition of music. Creating a framework and rules from which we constructed our pieces was then part of the learning process for us all. Hearing my final project that semester, scored for oboe, piano, double bass, and percussion, performed live, is still one of the great musical joys of my life.

His enthusiasm for innovation and musical experimentation was infectious. Thank you Dr. Tim Kramer!

Nathan Cone, Director of Classical Programming, TU Class of 1995.