Ross Powell, clarinetist, was Co-Founder of Voices of Change and served as President and Director from 1975-1983. He was a member of the First New Music Panel at the National Endowment for the Arts and was a panelist and evaluator for the Texas Commission on Arts, as well as with the Office of Cultural Affairs with the city of Dallas. Ross studied with Alberto Luconi, former principal clarinetist with the Toscanini at La Scala while earning a Bachelors Degree in Woodwind Instruments at the University of Michigan. Ross attended the Eastman School of Music, studying with D. Stanley Hasty and earned a Performers Certificate, Masters of Performance and Music Literature and completed course work for the Doctor of Music Degree. As an orchestral performer, he served with the Toledo Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Opera Orchestra. He served as Director of Educational Services with the Dallas Symphony developing and administering grants which provided performances for youth involving the symphony, opera, ballet and theater in Dallas. Ross joined the faculty of music at Southern Methodist University in 1966 as an Associate Professor of Clarinet and served as Head of the Orchestral Instruments Department from 1979 to 1995. He retired from SMU in 2005. As a recording artist with Voices of Change, you could hear him on various CDs distributed by CRI, Crystal Redwood, Odyssey and New World labels. In 1998, the Voices of Change were nominated for Small-Ensemble Performance by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (The Grammy Award.) Survivors are son, Evan Powell and his wife Karen and their son, Sam; son, Gavin Powell and his wife, Michele and their sons Landon and Elias. A memorial service is scheduled for 9:30 A.M., Saturday, May 18, 2013 at First Unitarian Church of Dallas 4015 Normandy Ave, Dallas, Texas 75205. If you would like to make a donation in Rosss memory, please consider VOICES OF CHANGE 3630 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75219 or voicesofchange.com