If it wasn’t for Dr. Jerry Perkins, there may not have been a Murfreesboro Pulse.

I was fortunate enough to study piano with the good doctor for a semester at MTSU. At that point, I was a piano performance major . . . but open to other options.

“You’ve gotten pretty darn good at playing; you really progressed more than I thought you would,” he told the 20-year-old version of myself at the end of the semester.

That’s a little bit of a backhanded compliment, I thought, but being the optimist I am, took it as flattery, and will always be proud of making some kind of a positive impression upon the master. I had already decided mid-semester, however, to switch majors. The immense gap between my skill level and his helped guide me to this decision, along with his expectation that I play scales for two hours every day.

I couldn’t help but think I was boring him during our weekly lesson. He was certainly very helpful, and I learned a lot those months, he was never out of line or (excessively) condescending, but sometimes I’d interpret his “let it rise and fall more within each phrase” or “you really need to take some time and break down the fingering of this passage this week” as “does this amateur know anything about the piano and will I ever have a student worthy of my expertise and time.”

Plus, college is about setting one up for career success, right? What does a piano performance major with average skill have in store for him?

“I’m never going to tour the world playing the Classical and Romantic masterpieces like Perkins,” I thought. Teaching, maybe? “Why would a high school want me as a music teacher? I don’t play a band instrument, I play piano.

“What’s the real point of turning what I love into hard work? What could I possibly enjoy, do well and ultimately actually earn a living doing? I like reading newspapers, keeping up with current events, telling people my opinions, learning the nuances of the English language. Journalism!”

So I spent most of my remaining time at MTSU in the Mass Comm Building. And as much as I enjoyed piano music, it certainly came a little more naturally for me. To this day I struggle playing four octaves of an E-flat major scale with any sort of speed, but I can crank out some news stories.

Still, I will not soon forget Perkins’ musical abilities and knowledge. Neither will I forget upon saying our goodbyes, he wanted to sit down for a few minutes, talk and showed a genuine interest in my future. He encouraged me to play music, to write, to travel, to create, to be happy.

Perkins passed away last year, but I imagine his legacy lives on with many of the students he taught in his 40-plus years at MTSU.

The MTSU Department of Music presented an evening of music Sept. 16 honoring the life and career of Dr. Perkins. Current and former music faculty gathered in the Wright Music Building to perform pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss and others in memory of their fellow musician.

“Jerry was a dear friend and colleague,” said Dr. Raphael Bundage, MTSU professor of choral music. “We all miss him greatly.”

Additionally, the Stones River Chamber Players, an ensemble Perkins co-founded and served as artistic director for, will open its season with a Monday, Oct. 8, performance in the Wright Music Building. This group of MTSU faculty continues to perform virtuosic pieces from various time periods at MTSU and all over the country, further keeping alive the musical vision of Jerry Perkins.

The Stones River Chamber Players traveling in Japan

I have never regretted my decision to go into the world of journalism. But if I had decided to stick with piano, to trudge through the hours upon hours of scales, drills, exercises and literature, I probably wouldn’t have regretted being able to work with Perkins for a few more years either.

To hear some of Perkins’ recorded work, visit jerryperkins.net.