Frederick C. Tillis, professor emeritus of music and former Fine Arts Center director at the University of Massachusetts. Tillis died May 3 at age 90.Ben Barnhart
AMHERST – Frederick C. Tillis, an esteemed jazz musician and composer who joined the University of Massachusetts faculty in the early 1970s and spent 20 years as director of the UMass Fine Arts Center, died Sunday at the age of 90, the university announced.
“Dr. Fred Tillis leaves an extraordinary legacy at UMass Amherst,” said Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. “He was a gentle soul who made me feel at once like we had known each other for a long time.”
The cause of death was the result of complications following a recent hip-replacement surgery, according to his family.
As a composer, performer, poet, educator, and arts administrator, Tillis helped shape the cultural and musical life at UMass, the Pioneer Valley and beyond. As a composer and performer, his work spanned both jazz and European traditions, and his more than 100 compositions included works for piano and voice, orchestra and chorus, chamber music and works in the African-American spiritual tradition.
At UMass, he founded many programs and courses of study while at UMass, Tillis founded numerous programs and courses of study that greatly enriched the life of music majors and the general student body. In 1978, he was appointed the director of the Fine Arts Center and helped start some of the university’s most successful art initiatives, including the Jazz and Afro-American Music Studies program, the Jazz in July Summer Music program, the New World Theater, the Augusta Savage Gallery and the Asian Arts and Culture Program.
He also received many awards and represented the UMass Music Department and the university as a cultural ambassador, performing locally, nationally, and internationally with students, alumni, and faculty such as Salvatore Macchia, Jeffrey Holmes, David Sporny, and Horace Boyer.
Upon his retirement from UMass, Tillis was appointed emeritus director of the Fine Arts Center.
In this file photo from November 5, 1997, Frederick C. Tillis stands outside the University of Massachusetts Fine Arts Center. Tillis, the long-time director and faculty member, died May 3 at age 90.
Macchia, the chair of the UMass Department of Music and Dance, said the entire department mourns the loss of Tillis as a both a friend and colleague, and as a gifted composer and performer, poet and administrator.
“I first met Fred in 1978, and have many wonderful memories of touring Russia with him, playing local jazz clubs, and presenting concerts of new music in a variety of venue,” Macchia said. "He was then, as he remained for the rest of his life, a kind, caring, and knowledgeable human being. He will be sorely missed.”
Tillis joined the faculty at UMass in 1970 after previously being on the faculty at Grambling University and Kentucky State University. He would stay at UMass until retiring in 1997.
Willie Hill Jr., a former student who would go on to succeed Tillis as Fine Arts Center director for 20 years until his retirement last year, said he had a gigantic influence on his life and on the lives of many others.
“He has meant so much to me since 1964 when I had the privilege of having him as my music theory and orchestra teacher at Grambling State University for two years," he said. "He will be sorely missed for his unselfish contributions to our organization, by the FAC staff, advisory board, friends, and UMass community at large.”
Current Fine Arts Center Director Jamilla Deria said “I did not have the opportunity to know Dr. Tillis well, but I’ve felt his indelible imprint in every facet of our work. From our very first meeting last summer to our many brief encounters at performances throughout the year, it was clear to me that the FAC was not just a place he worked, but was, in fact, a piece of him.”
Upon his retirement from UMass in 1997, Tillis was appointed emeritus director of the Fine Arts Center.
The W.E.B. Du Bois Library maintains the Frederick Tillis papers, which document his career in the arts and in arts administration, as well as Tillis’s role as a composer and poet.
Tillis, a native of Galveston, Texas, began his jazz career as a teen under the name Baby Tillis, playing trumpet and saxophone.
He enrolled in Wiley College at age 16, graduated three years later with a bachelor’s degree, and after graduation, was immediately hired by the college to teach music education. This was the start of his lifelong dual careers as a musician and educator.
He earned his master’s degree from the University of Iowa in 1952, and then served the Air Force for four years, during which he led the Air Force band.
He earned his Ph.D from the University of Iowa in 1963, and began teaching at Grambling University a year later.
During an interview with The Republican prior to his retirement in 1997, Tillis said he had no regrets about choosing to combine teaching with his music, instead of following many of his contemporaries and becoming a full-time musician and performer.
“I would probably be much less comfortable with what I’ve accomplished," he said.
He also said that in his time at UMass, he was most proud of helping shape the Fine Arts Center into a vibrant showcase for the arts from around the world.
“Art is so important to the life of human beings,” he said. “I feel I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunities to share with others the importance of art to humanity.”
A celebration of Tillis’ life and impact will be held in the future due to restrictions on public gatherings due to the COVID-19 emergency. The Fine Arts Center has established a memorial webpage dedicated to Tillis where people may read about his life, see photos, and leave personal remembrances.
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