Oyen, Eldon (1928-1993) | University of Illinois Archives
Name: Oyen, Eldon (1928-1993)
Historical Note: Eldon Oyen (1928-1993) was born in Minonk, Illinois. He received his bachelor and master degrees in music education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He then went on to hold the director of bands position at the Momence Public Schools for fourteen years. In 1969 he joined the University of Illinois Bands staff as the Assistant to the Director of University Bands. He held this position through three directors that included Hindsley, Begian, and Keene. In addition to directing the Second Concert Band his responsibilities included overseeing business dealings for the band department, purchasing and care of equipment and instruments, and travel arrangements for the band. He also supervised the care of the Busch instrument collection, and the John Philip Sousa, Herbert L. Clarke, and A. Austin Harding Papers. Membership in professional associations included the Big Ten Band Directors Association, Illinois Music Education Association, National Education Association, Illinois Education Association, and Phi Kappa Lambda.