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FAREWELL TO A BAY SECTION LEGEND |
 Steve Connolly passed away on September 5, 2007. Before his retirement in 1991, Mr. Connolly stood as one of the giants in the field of music education in Northern California. During his storied career, his music program at Cloverdale High School was widely recognized as one of the finest small high school programs in the state. His ensembles had amassed a continuous string of Superior ratings that exceeded 40 years, and he always had students in the NorCal and CBDA All-State Honor Bands. He was sought after as a conductor of regional honor bands, as an adjudicator, as a clinician for student ensembles, and leading workshops for colleagues in music education. He was a proud graduate of Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley (1938) and San Jose State College.
Mr. Connolly’s many honors and awards includes induction into the CMEA Hall of Fame, the CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Music Educator Award, the CMEA Bay Section Gilbert T. Freitas Memorial Award for Outstanding Music Educator, the National Band Association Citation of Excellence, and the Northern California Band Directors Association Band Director of the Year Award.
A leader in the music education community, Mr. Connolly served as CMEA Bay Section President from 1983-1985, and has served as President of the Northern California Band Directors Association and the Sonoma County Music Educators Association. First and foremost, he was a loving and caring teacher who had given a lifetime of devoted service to his students.
There is a scholarship fund set up in Steve Connolly’s name at California State University, Chico. You can contact Dr. Royce Tevis at
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for more information regarding the memorial scholarship.
California State University, Chico
The Steve Connolly Scholarship Fund
Attn: Dr. Royce Tevis
400 West First Street
Chico, California 95929-0805
(530) 898-5582
Personally, I had the privilege of meeting him in 1983 at the CMEA Bay Section Winter Conference at Chabot College when I was a young beginning teacher. I remember him being a soft-spoken and gentle man, and I’ll never forget his warm sincerity and kindness to me. He was a master teacher and a positive role model for the music educators in our section. It was visionaries and legends such as Mr. Connolly which paved the way for all of us today. He was a hero to many, and we are all diminished by his passing. He’ll be missed by all of us.
Norman Dea
Vice President
CMEA-The California Association for Music Education
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