Mruzek honored for excellence in music education

Professor Emeritus of Music David Mruzek was presented with the Collegiate Educator of Excellence Award by the Indiana Music Education Association. He received the honor during a mid-January professional development conference in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Mruzek, who served as a member of Hanover’s faculty from 2006-22, was the longtime director of the College’s instrumental music programs and ensembles, including the Hanover Concert Band, Hanover College-Community Orchestra and the Hanover Saxophone Ensemble. Throughout his tenure, he taught introduction to music and fundamentals of music, along with instrumental lessons, and served as department chair and coordinator of the music theory computer lab.

Prior to his arrival at Hanover, Mruzek taught at Colby Community College, Dodge City Community College and Columbus State Community College. In the fall of 2004, he was selected as the outstanding college music educator for the northwest district of the Kansas Music Educators Association. He is credited with having founded the concert band at Columbus State.

In 2020, he received the Years-of-Service Award from the Kentucky Music Educators Association in honor of his commitment to the profession.

Indiana Music Education Association is a not-for-profit professional organization serving music teachers of all primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Membership includes nearly 1,100 active teachers, 100 retirees and 700 collegiate music education majors. IMEA’s professional development conference is the largest, most diverse professional development event for Indiana music educators. The three-day conference includes music teachers of all levels and features more than 100 sessions and 20 concerts.