Richard Brannon Cass

1
Richard Brannon Cass

• Greenville High Wall of Fame
• By Dylan, Will, and Sam

2
Early Days

• Cass was born on May 3, 1931.
• He attended Greenville High School from
  1945-1949.
• He started playing the piano at the age of five.
  
• He got his inspiration from his mother, who was a
  singer.
• His favorite music to play was Mozart.
• He graduated from Furman with the Fulbright
  Scholarship. He used that scholarship in Paris,
  where he attended school.

3
Fame

• While spending two years Paris, he studied music
  and became a well-known concert pianist. He
  toured Europe, playing many concerts and at one
  time became the most requested pianist in the
  world.

4
Awards

• Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award
• National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist
  Competition Winner
• Violli International Contest Winner
• To quote Richard Riley, SC governor, and later
  Secretary of Education I took piano lessons for
  four or five years. I remember when I was in the
  third grade at Donaldson Elementary School in
  Greenville, South Carolina, and we were listening
  to a concert by Richard Cass. My teacher, Miss
  Bess Allen, leaned over and whispered, Dick,
  you, too, can play like that if you will take
  your music seriously. "

5
Later Years

• Richard Cass is retired from fulltime
  professorship at University of Missouri.
• He lives in Kansas City, MO.
• He still does concerts and recently had a concert
  in Greenville, performing with the Governor's
  School.
• He is a visiting professor at Furman, and comes
  to Greenville regularly.

6
Interview
PROF. CASS Still sounds like youre in an echo
chamber. SAM/DYLAN Haha ok. DYLAN Alright Prof.
Cass, what was your favorite memory from
Greenville high school? PROF. CASS My favorite
memory from Greenville High School? I think
probably, let me see. I was a member of
Demalay(?) and we used to have hay rides and, uh,
I had a date with a girl I liked a lot, and I
think thats certainly one of my favorites. SAM
Alright, What would you say is your favorite
piece of music? Did you have a favorite song
growing up? PROF. CASS Well I think when I was
younger I liked to play the music of Mozart a
lot. SAM Ok PROF. CASS And when you get older,
and more experienced as a pianist your ideas
change, but at that time I think Mozart was
probably my favorite DYLAN Who inspired you to
play piano? PROF. CASS Let me see, well I grew
up in a musical family. My mother was a singer
and my initial contact with music was, of course,
through her. When I was a teenager there was a
movie that came out called A Song to Remember,
and it was about the life of Chopin. And there
was a pianist who played the music of Chopin and
that was a big inspiration to me. SAM What age
did you first start playing piano? PROF. CASS
When I was five years old, and I started actual
lessons when I was eight years old SAM We read
somewhere that you traveled around Europe a lot.
Any memories on that? PROF. CASS When I was a
senior at Furman, I won a full ride scholarship,
and I also had a major in French at Furman, and I
wanted to go to France to study, So my senior
year I won a full-ride scholarship to France, and
lived there for two years, Then toured around
Europe a lot in the years following that. In
France, Switzerland, and Germany.
SAM Did you have a favorite city or favorite
place? PROF. CASS Paris was probably my favorite
city. SAM OK PROF. CASS It was the European
City that I knew best. You know there is only
one Paris. Ive loved other places too, but
Paris is my favorite. SAM Could you tell us
anything about the other awards youve won? PROF.
CASS Any what? SAM Any special award that
stands out to you? PROF. CASS I didnt get that,
most important what? SAM Most important award to
you? PROF. CASS The award that got me going on
my concert career of course is very important to
me and that was the National Affiliation(?) of
Music Clubs Young Artist Competition. I won that
in my senior year at Furman and that really
stands out for me. I got it in my teaching
career, I was eventually named a Curates
Distinguished Professor of the University of
Missouri, and that is the highest honor the
University of Missouri gives so I am pretty proud
of that one. DYLAN Do you still play any
concerts? PROF. CASS Yep, I still tour, I still
play. In fact I played in Greenville just
recently. I played a week and a half ago, I
played a recital at the Governors School. SAM Do
you still come to Greenville a lot? PROF. CASS
Yeah, I come every semester because I am a
distinguished visiting professor of music at
Furman. So I come to Furman a week or ten days
every semester and teach and usually play. My
wife and I are both from Greenville so weve gone
back frequently over the years. End of Interview.

7
Bibliography

• Cass, Richard. Interviewed 16 May 2009.
• Furman Music Department Visiting Professors.
  Furman. May 12, 2009 http//www.furman.edu/depts/m
  usic/faculty/profiles/visitingprofs.htmRC
• Riley, Richard. FAME Acceptance Speech. FAME
  Award Dinner. Washington, DC. Thursday, March 13,
  1997.

8
Contributions

• Research Sam, Dylan, and Will
• PowerPoint Sam and Dylan (Framework), Will
  (Formatting)
• Interview Sam and Dylan