ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 13, 1997 TAG: 9704110023
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: MARGIE FISHER
SOURCE: MARGIE FISHER
ELDON C. Grover's name isn't nearly as familiar to most Roanokers as that of the late millionairess Marion Via, whose philanthropic support for the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra is widely credited with the orchestra's evolution into one of the best small-city symphonies in this country.
But Grover, too, has lavished love and support on the RSO, along with many of the Roanoke Valley's other musical standouts, and he deserves more public recognition than he has ever sought or received.
The audience should certainly reserve a round of applause for him at the RSO's first live concert recording at the Roanoke Civic Center on April 28. A special grant from Grover is footing the bill for the symphony's and Roanoke Valley Choral Society's entree onto cassettes and compact discs. The performance, of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the soul-lifting ``Ode To Joy,'' is a sellout - all the more reason to appreciate that it's being professionally recorded and preserved.
Grover, like Via, was not born and bred in Roanoke, so it is not sentimental attachment to the symphony's 1953 beginnings or its early years that so endears it to him. He is, by the standards of many Virginians, a ``newcomer'' - having moved to Blue Ridge only 24 years ago.
That was when he retired as a psychologist, much of his career spent with Florida's State Department of Education. But to hear Grover talk about his life is to get the clear impression that psychology was a sideline interest, that his real calling and first love is music.
Grover, a Pennsylvania native, attended Ohio University where, in addition to psychology, he studied choral conducting, served as director of the Men's Glee Club and was the music critic for the college newspaper. Several of his articles were published in Cleveland's Plain Dealer. He jokes: ``That was probably because the editor's daughter was wearing my fraternity pin.''
At Ohio U., in the early 1930s, Grover's first musical composition, ``The Sweetheart of Theta Chi,'' was also published. It was introduced, with Grover as the vocalist, by Ohio grad Sammy Kaye, whose ``swing and sway band'' was headed for big-band-era fame.
Not long after, Grover heard that the new Buckingham County High School in Virginia was looking for someone to teach a music-appreciation class. He took the job - at salary of $100 a month. (His father encouraged him to instead stay home and help out around the house, but, says Grover, ``he was sure I wouldn't be worth $100 a month.'') In Buckingham, Grover established a school chorus and the Jubilee Choir that performed at area churches - and he took a liking to Virginia's fried chicken and sweet-potato pie.
Decades of study (University of Florida, University of London), work and world travel later, Grover, a bachelor, visited friends in the Roanoke area - and decided to retire here. He said it was the smartest move he ever made.
His involvement with the symphony began almost immediately. Early on, he made a $100,000-plus stock contribution to RSO, and set up the symphony's Guest Artist Fund and an endowment that finances the Youth Symphony's Young Artists Awards. His philanthropy has also benefited church music programs, including those at Greene Memorial United Methodist and his own ``beloved'' St. John's Episcopal.
Recently, musicians at St. John's and at Second Presbyterian honored Grover by performing his latest composition, an anthem, ``Early Will I Seek Thee.'' Grover took the text for it from a Hebrew hymnal given to him years ago by a rabbi (and still close friend) he met in Kentucky.
Grover is not the RSO's only six-figure ``angel.'' But his story, and the symphony's recording of ``Ode to Joy,'' should remind us to not take for granted those who generously but quietly support local arts. Their support richly enhances the valley's quality of life, and is a gift to us all.
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