Musician Paul Vander Gheynst dies

His friend George Corradino says Paul Vander Gheynst of Columbus, who died Sunday morning at age 72, was the “epitome of a professional musician.”

“Not only was he an outstanding trombone player, but a great educator. When he directed the Columbus State University Jazz Band it was as fine a musical group as you would find. He motivated a of lot musicians,” said Corradino, an award-winning director of high school bands and former director of music education for the Muscogee County School District.

Vander Gheynst’s family said he died at 6:02 a.m. at Midtown Medical Center.

Visitation will be Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at McMullen Funeral Home on Gentian Boulevard. A memorial service will be Thursday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Luke Unted Methodist Church on Second Avenue. Burial will be in Ohio.

A native of New Jersey, Vander Gheynst served as dean of the CSU College of Arts and Letters from 1972 to 2006.

“He was someone you could always count on, just a wonderful team player,” said former CSU President Frank Brown.

Brown called Vander Gheynst the “heartbeat of musical arts in Columbus.”

Vander Gheynst played a key role in the building of the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.

“I remember at that time everywhere he went he had a roll of plans for the structure under his arm. He was scrutinizing every nook and cranny,” recalled Paul Pierce, the producing artistic director for the Springer Opera House.

Vander Gheynst served as the musical director for numerous shows at the Springer. Pierce said because of Vandser Gheynst’s work with the jazz program at CSU, “we had some of the finest musicians in the world in our pit.”

“The musicians were always disciplined and prepared,” he said. “They would do anything for him.”

Vander Gheynst was an early supporter of Pierce when the director first came to Columbus and he gave him guidance that helped build the Springer into an successful operation.

“A lot of people do not understand his impact on cultural life in Columbus,” Pierce said.

Georgia Brown, who worked with Vander Gheynst at CSU, loved his enthusiasm and said he was the “rare combination of academic administrator and artist.”

“He was loved,” Georgia Brown said.

Vander Gheynst, who performed with both the Columbus Symphony Orchestra And Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, was particularly fond of jazz and served as a president of the Columbus Jazz Society.

“He loved working with musicians. Music was his passion. My father was committed to excellence,” said his son, John Vander Gheynst.

His wife, Sharon Vander Gheynst, called him a “visionary.”

“He was an influential leader in Columbus for many years,” she said. “He made a huge artistic contribution.”

But it was not all about the arts.

“Paul was a gentle man in every sense of the world,” she said. “He always had an interest in helping people,” she said. “He did things to make this a better world.”

Besides his wife and son, Vander Gheynst, who was an avid stamp collector, is survived by two daughters, Amy Nixon and Sally Baker, and two stepchildren, Brent Rasor and Lorinda Babb. There are five grandchildren. His first wife, Carol, died in 2007.

This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Musician Paul Vander Gheynst dies."