Wayne Wilkinson, a Cincinnati music educator and former Baldwin organ/keyboard
performance artist, died on Thursday, November 6 from complications following
heart surgery. Mr. Wilkinson was 64. Wayne, together with his wife Lenore now
two years deceased, were active supporters of local area arts and music
education organizations and frequent attendees at Cincinnati symphony and
theater events.
Mr. Wilkinson was most recently associated with the Cincinnati Music Academy
in Kenwood as a business partner along with Paul McCready and Amy Immerman, and
instructor of piano and keyboard, specializing in improvization. He was a lover
of jazz and pop stylings, and his arrangement of the Henry Mancini piece
"Charade" appears in multiple teaching publications. An active member of OMTA,
Mr. Wilkinson was webmaster for CMA, JME and OMTA, as well as database manager
for JME.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1944 and educated at Illinois Institute of
Technology in Chicago, Mr. Wilkinson became an accomplished organist and worked
for the Baldwin Piano Company as a touring representative of Baldwin organ
products. Later, he developed an interest in graphic design, in which he was
employed at local area companies and in his own consulting business.
Friends and associates will remember Wayne for his irreverent wit, his sharp
intellect and love of jazz and literature, but most of all for his lifelong
devotion to his partner in life, Lenore, and his great enthusiasm for excellence
in music education. This was expressed in particular in his contributions to
Junior Music Experience, founded by his wife Lenore and family friend Linda Henn
Bergholz in 1982. With Wayne's assistance, JME became and remains a unique
Cincinnati organization of local area piano teachers dedicated to the
development of piano students at all levels in a supportive environment.
Wayne is survived by relatives of his wife Lenore in Minnesota, Montana and
Nebraska, a niece and nephew in Texas and the Cayman Islands, his cats Murphy
and BC, and by many friends, neighbors, and fellow music teachers who have all
showed their love and support in the last weeks of his life.
A memorial service will be held on Sunday, December 7, at Church of the
Saviour, 8005 Pfeiffer Rd. from 2 - 4 pm. Reception following at Wayne's home,
5518 Mapleridge Dr. Kenwood Hills. Donations may be made to "Wilkinson
Memorial" and sent to c/o JME, 6766 Little River Lane, Loveland, Ohio 45140. Condolences may be sent at WWW.STRAWSERFUNERALHOME.COM
Wayne and Lenore - bless you both.
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