Considered "one of the most compelling artists on the international concert circuit," Grammy Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn has appeared regularly with orchestras around the globe. On March 3, 2009, Hahn will share her musical gifts with members of the Wittenberg and Springfield communities during a special Witt Series recital sponsored by Margaret and Lanty Smith in memory of her grandfather S. Wilfred Hahn, Wittenberg professor emeritus of mathematics, who died July 31, and her grandmother Martha Anne Strowd Hahn, former librarian at South High School, who passed away in 2002.
Throughout his 25-year Wittenberg career, Will Hahn inspired countless students, colleagues and alumni with his passion for teaching and service to the mathematics department, the university and the Mathematical Association of America, both on the regional and national level. In light of his dedicated service, the university's Alumni Association bestowed on him its most prestigious recognition, The Class of 1914 Award, given to an individual from the university community who has served Wittenberg above and beyond what might be expected of any contributor to the college's welfare.
Lanty Smith, chairman of Wachovia Corp., founder and CEO of Tippet Capital and a 1964 graduate of Wittenberg, was one student whom Hahn inspired.
"Will Hahn epitomized what a superb professor at a liberal arts college should be," Smith said. "He used his exceptional scholarly intellect and abiding interest in students to be a remarkably effective teacher, counselor, mentor and role model. He profoundly influenced the careers and lives of many dozens of his Wittenberg students."
A memorial service was held for Hahn on Aug. 9 at First Lutheran Church in Springfield and was preceded by a prelude featuring Hilary Hahn and organist Shirley Tennant. Hilary Hahn's Witt Series tribute recital will take place at 7:30 p.m. March 3, 2009, at Kuss Auditorium, Clark State Performing Arts Center.
