A passion for music — Robert Cundick receives a life-achievement award

The 8-year-old boy had just stepped up to bat at a neighborhood softball game, back when Sandy had vacant lots where that was possible.

"Bobby," his mother called, "it's time for your piano lesson."

"I said, 'aw, shucks,' and threw down the bat," said Robert Cundick, "and trudged home, never dreaming that I was starting something that would become a lifelong passion."

But his mother never again had to tell him to practice, as he discovered an intense interest in, and an affinity for, making music.

Cundick's life took another turn when his local LDS Church ward acquired a Hammond organ. "Before that, we had reed organs that had to be pumped, either by the organist — a lot of work — or by the deacons. So the Hammond was a whole new world for a young boy." By age 12, Cundick was playing the organ well enough that he became the ward organist.

Not everyone finds a career path at age 12, but Cundick was firmly ensconced on one that would take him to the heights of his profession, provide a long and fulfilling life of service as teacher, composer and Mormon Tabernacle organist.

His profession would also earn Cundick numerous awards and accolades, the most recent being the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Faith Centered Music Association at the 2004 Pearl Awards.

Before he actively pursued his career, of course, there were more studies. During high school, Cundick studied classical music and performed in a jazz band.

Then came World War II, and the Merchant Marines. "When the A-bomb was dropped, I was on a troop ship in San Francisco, getting ready to invade Japan. We were sent to the Philippines instead."

After the war, Cundick entered the University of Utah, studying composition under Leroy J. Robertson and the organ with Alexander Schreiner. In 1955, he received a doctorate in music with an emphasis on composition.

"I was the first Ph.D. in music in Utah," he said. "I've always thought it represented the progress in music that has happened since the pioneers entered the valley. In just over a hundred years, we had developed a sophisticated education and music system capable of producing a Ph.D."

A year earlier, Cundick was a finalist in the young-artist competition of the American Guild of Organists, and he became the guild chairman for Utah.